Lead Developer - SC or DV Cleared (Azure/.NET/Microservices)

Location: London/Manchester/Bristol/Glasgow (Hybrid)
Clearance: Active SC Clearance (essential)
Rate: £550-6500 per day (Inside IR35)

We're supporting a major government programme building out scalable, cloud-native platforms to support critical national services.

This role sits within a growing engineering function focused on modernising Legacy systems, delivering microservices architectures, and embedding DevOps-first delivery practices.

We are looking for a hands-on Lead Developer who can set technical direction, lead teams, and deliver complex solutions in highly regulated environments.

As a Lead Developer, you will:

• Lead and mentor engineering teams across full-stack development
• Architect and deliver cloud-native, microservices-based solutions
• Drive best practices across DevOps, CI/CD, and Agile delivery
• Work closely with architects and stakeholders to define technical roadmaps
• Oversee integration with government platforms (eg payments, notifications, identity services)
• Contribute hands-on to development where required

• Strong experience with C#/.NET (Core, 6, 7, 8+)
• Deep knowledge of REST APIs, Web APIs, and distributed systems
• Experience building event-driven microservices architectures
• Strong understanding of design patterns, SOLID principles, and clean architecture

• Proven experience with Microsoft Azure (App Services, Functions, Service Bus, AKS, etc.)
• Exposure to AWS environments (desirable)
• Strong DevOps capability:
  • CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps)
  • Infrastructure as Code (Bicep/Terraform)
  • Containerisation (Docker, Kubernetes)

• Experience designing:
  • Microservices & event-driven systems (CQRS, Event Sourcing)
  • API integrations (REST, GraphQL)
• Experience integrating with third-party and enterprise platforms (eg CRM, payment systems)

• Experience with Angular or React
• Strong understanding of modern JavaScript/TypeScript frameworks

• Strong experience with:
  • TDD/BDD (SpecFlow, Gherkin)
  • Unit & integration testing frameworks
• Commitment to engineering best practice and code quality

• Proven experience leading Agile teams
• Ability to mentor engineers and provide technical guidance
• Experience working alongside Solution Architects and Product teams

• .NET Core/.NET 8+
• Azure (Functions, Service Bus, AKS, Key Vault, etc.)
• Microservices & event-driven architecture
• Docker/Kubernetes
• Azure DevOps (CI/CD)
• GraphQL/REST APIs

• A strong technical leader who remains hands-on
• Someone comfortable working in complex, fast-moving government environments
• Experience delivering at scale across multiple systems and teams
• A pragmatic approach to engineering and problem-solving