Job Summary
UCLH is looking for a Senior Software Engineer to lead the design and delivery of secure, high-quality data pipelines. This will ultimately lead to AI-ready platforms that let clinicians and researchers move faster from hypothesis to patient impact. You’ll join the SAFEHR team that turns routinely-collected NHS data into research-grade assets. The stack is modern (R, Python and moving to a data platform) and the problems are hard (clinical data at scale, governance, real-world messiness). This role would also be suitable for a research software engineer or data engineer as there are considerable overlaps in skills and abilities. This is a leadership role. You’ll line-manage up to three engineers, develop our technical roadmap, and make architecture and technology decisions. You’ll drive best practices in software engineering and data quality, and champion practices across the Trust’s data environment. This position is classified as Grade 8a, offering a competitive salary (£66,274 – £73,496). If you want technically demanding work with direct clinical impact: not just dashboards, but infrastructure that underpins clinical research, precision care, and operational excellence; we’d like to hear from you.
Main duties of the job
- Software and Data Engineering
- Architect and deliver scalable data pipelines that extract, transform, and load clinical data from UCLH’s data sources.
- Design and maintain data models that support reporting, advanced analytics, and research use cases — balancing normalisation, performance, and usability.
- Implement continuous improvements to the existing data warehouse, business intelligence, and analytical products, including identifying and reducing technical debt (e.g. duplication, fragile dependencies). Architecture and Documentation
- Evolve the technical roadmap for SAFEHR’s data engineering products, making architecture and technology decisions with key stakeholders.
- Produce and maintain documentation covering UCLH data and analytics systems, in collaboration with key stakeholders.
- Lead the development of documentation that enables the scalable, correct use of clinical datasets by reporting teams, clinical users, and research projects.
- Line-manage up to three technical staff: set priorities, conduct appraisals, identify training needs, and foster an open, inclusive working environment.
- Mentor and develop colleagues technically, ensuring the team’s overall standard of work improves over time.
- Lead the adoption of software engineering practices across the information services teams at UCLH: automated testing, code review, CI/CD, performance profiling, and documentation.
Person Specification
Knowledge and Qualifications
Essential
- Masters degree level or equivalent professional experience within a healthcare information environment
- Understanding of healthcare data
- Understanding of data retrieval, data processing, information analysis and interpretation within acute hospitals
Experience
Essential
- Well-versed in use of version control, CI/CD pipelines, and DevOps practices
- Experience of mentoring or leading others, either through line management or guiding work of more junior colleagues
- Experience with containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes)
Desirable
- Substantial experience in senior information role in an NHS or other healthcare information environment
- Experience with modern data engineering tools and frameworks (e.g. Airflow, Spark, Snowflake etc.)
- Proven track record of staff management, change management, and performance management
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Knowledge of information analysis and the use of information across the NHS acquired through degree or equivalent experience
- Ability to interrogate databases, data warehouses and solve complex problems
- Strong software engineering fundamentals and architectural patterns (design patterns, SOLID principles)
- Proven ability to acquire knowledge of new technologies
- Project management skills, track record of working closely with engineering teams
- Experience with at least two programming languages used for research (At least one from Python or R, and optionally Java, TypeScript, or C++) at a level and breadth commensurate with seniority
- Ability to independently interpret the requirements of information users and present detailed, complex reports that can be understood by a wide audience.
- Substantial experience architecting and building data systems (including data modelling and processing)
- Understanding of data quality issues and how these relate to the organisation as a whole
- Understanding of the Healthcare business environment
Desirable
- Experience with agile methodologies, such as Scrum and Kanban
Communication
Essential
- Ability to communicate effectively with staff at all levels
- Excellent Oral and Written Communication Skills
- Ability to train information staff in the use of information systems
- Ability to communicate on issues which can be complex and multi-stranded.
- Effective leadership of staff
Planning and Organisation Skills
Essential
- Ability to delegate work
- Ability to plan, prioritise and meet deadlines
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Closing Date: 13 May 2026
