Head of Software Engineering

Head of Software Engineering

Location: Bristol, GB, BS16 1EJ Westminster, London, GB, W1U 1QX GB Rosyth, Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy, GB, KY11 2YD Leicester, GB, LE3 1UF Portsmouth, GB, PO6 3EN Devonport, Plymouth, GB, PL1 4SG

Onsite or Hybrid: Hybrid

Job Title: Head of Software Engineering

Location: UK, Hybrid

Compensation: Competitive Salary + Benefits

Role Type: Full time / Permanent

Role ID: SF71422

Lead the Digital Engineering Vision Behind Critical National Capabilities

At Babcock, we're working to create a safe and secure world, together. If you join us, you can play your part as a Head of Software Engineering at any of our main UK locations, near your nearest commutable town and county.

The role

As a Head of Software Engineering, you will shape and lead the future of AI enabled software development across Babcock's Corporate Services. This is a senior technology leadership role where you will guide multiple development teams through a major transformation: moving from traditional engineering towards AI augmented, agent driven, high automation software delivery.

You will build and lead a unified engineering capability that blends software development, quality engineering, DevSecOps, AIOps, and intelligent automation. Your work will define how Babcock adopts Agentic AI systems and workflows, use of AI throughout the software development lifecycle, automated testing, and data driven delivery practices.

Day to day, the impact of your work will directly shape how digital solutions support defence and critical national infrastructure programmes.

In this role, you will:

• Lead the design, implementation, and optimisation of software solutions across multiple business areas.
• Oversee a unified software development and assurance function, driving consistency, shared standards, and intelligent automation across engineering teams.
• Embed modern DevSecOps and AI Ops practices, ensuring agentic AI workflows are integrated into coding, testing, deployment, and monitoring.
• Grow capability across software, AI, and data engineering disciplines, building teams that confidently use AI tooling and automated development patterns.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement, transparency, curiosity.
• Champion the adoption of software workflow tools and AI enhanced engineering pipelines across all our development teams.
• Lead and mentor team leaders, who in turn guide developers and quality engineers, ensuring each team effectively adopts AI powered tools and delivery practices.
• Work closely with senior stakeholders to align technical delivery, AI strategy, and digital transformation with wider business and IT objectives.

This role is full time (37.5 hours per week) and offers hybrid working arrangements, with a balance of onsite and remote working.

Essential Experience for the Head of Software Engineering

Strong knowledge of Azure DevOps and experience embedding AI assisted workflows within CI/CD pipelines.

• Hands on experience designing, implementing, and maturing DevOps, AIOps practices.
• Deep understanding of modern engineering practices including agentic AI systems, code assistants, test generation AI, and autonomous delivery patterns.
• Extensive experience leading, coaching, and developing multidisciplinary engineering teams through cultural and technical change.
• Excellent communication skills, able to explain complex engineering concepts clearly to stakeholders at all levels.

Qualifications for the Head of Software Engineering

We value difference and don't have a fixed idea when it comes to background or education, provided you can show the required level of experience and/or willingness to learn then we would like to hear from you.

Security Clearance

The successful candidate must be able to achieve and maintain Standard (BPSS) / Security Check (SC) security clearance for this role. Must be Nationals / Passport Holders.

Many of the positions within our company are subject to national security clearance and Trade Control restrictions. This means that your eligibility for certain roles may be affected by your place of birth, nationality, current or former citizenship, and any residency you hold or have held. Further details are available at United Kingdom Security Vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK () .

What we offer

• Matched contribution pension scheme, with life assurance
• Access to a Digital GP, annual health check and nutritional consultations through Aviva DigiCare+
• Employee share scheme
• Employee shopping savings portal
• Payment of Professional Fees
• Reservists in the armed forces receive 10 days special paid leave
• Holiday Trading - buy or sell up to one working week of annual leave
• 'Be Kind Day' - one paid volunteering day each year
• Flexible working options
• A dynamic working environment
• Single Private Medical Insurance (as noted in the briefing plan)

Babcock

We're Babcock a global FTSE 100 organisation with over 26,000 people working together to make a difference.

Here, you'll be part of something bigger. From initial design to final decommissioning, your work will contribute to products and services that are essential to national security and public infrastructure. Together, we're building a future that lasts not just through the impact we make, but through meaningful careers that respect your work life balance.

We call that lifetime engineering.

Join us and see how far we can go, together.

We are a disability confident committed employer. If you have a disability or need any reasonable adjustments during the application and selection stages, please email with the subject header 'Reasonable adjustments requirement'. We're committed to building an inclusive culture where everyone's free to thrive. We are happy to talk about flexible working - please ask about alternative patterns of work at interview.