Full Stack Software Lead – National Security

Location: Gloucester or Manchester (with travel to customer sites as required)

Copello is recruiting for an experienced Full Stack Software Lead to join a growing National Security team delivering mission-critical software solutions that support the UK's safety and resilience.

This is an opportunity to work on highly secure, technically challenging projects, developing software that protects people, platforms, missions and information against evolving threats. You'll combine hands-on technical leadership with mentoring and team development, helping to deliver innovative solutions for customers operating in some of the UK's most demanding environments.

The Role

As a Full Stack Software Lead, you will:

• Lead an agile software development team, delivering high-quality increments across back-end technologies.
• Work closely with engineering leaders and customer technical stakeholders to shape technical roadmaps and delivery plans.
• Translate user requirements into epics and user stories, establishing effective delivery practices.
• Develop secure, scalable and maintainable software using test-driven development principles.
• Select appropriate design patterns and technologies to deliver robust software solutions.
• Convert technical designs into working implementations while producing documentation to the required standards.
• Develop and maintain APIs, user interface components and data pipelines within existing data platforms.
• Lead and contribute to Agile ceremonies including stand-ups, sprint planning, backlog refinement and demonstrations.
• Ensure the team remains aligned on priorities, upcoming features and customer needs.
• Provide technical guidance and mentor software engineers to support their ongoing development.

Skills & Experience

We're looking for candidates with experience in many of the following:

• Commercial experience developing back-end applications using Java (Spring Boot) and/or Go.
• Front-end development experience using React or Vue.js.
• Experience with automated testing frameworks such as JUnit, Jest or Cypress.
• Familiarity with modern DevOps and containerisation technologies including Git, GitLab, Docker, Kubernetes, Helm, GitLab CI, Argo CD or Jenkins.
• Experience using Jira and Confluence within Agile delivery environments.
• Previous experience leading Agile software development teams; Scrum Master experience or certification would be advantageous.
• Experience using AI-assisted development tools, such as coding assistants, chatbots or agentic workflows, to improve software delivery.
• A proactive approach to learning new technologies and solving complex technical challenges.

Location

This role can be based from Gloucester or Manchester, with regular travel to secure customer sites for integration and deployment activities. Limited hybrid working may be available depending on project requirements.

Security Clearance

Due to the nature of the work, candidates must hold valid UKIC DV clearance to be considered for this position.