Software Architect Lead

Roke Manor Research Limited; Romsey; On-site; GBP 55,000 - GBP 85,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading technology company in Romsey is seeking a Senior Software Developer/Architect to lead innovative software engineering projects. Ideal candidates must have experience in Defence or industrial domains and proficiency in multiple programming languages. Responsibilities include engaging with stakeholders to define software architectures and mentoring engineers. The role offers a competitive salary and a variety of flexible benefits, emphasizing a people-first approach and a commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Flexible benefits covering Health and Wellbeing

Diversity and Inclusion programs

Qualifications

• Experience in Defence or industrial domains.
• Experience in software development across multiple environments.
• Ability to work as part of diverse teams.

Responsibilities

• Conduct requirements elicitation with customers.
• Develop solution architectures and technical designs.
• Define software architectures and operational frameworks.
• Guide and mentor other engineers.

Skills

Senior software developer or software architect

Software development in multiple languages

Defining engineering management plans

Agile delivery methodologies

Turning research outputs into software products

Implementing middleware technologies

Designing plug-in and micro-service architectures

Data storage systems design

Deployment settings design

UML or Archimate design expression

Problem-solving and communication

Software configuration management knowledge

Job description

Roke, Roke Manor, Romsey, Hampshire, United Kingdom

Job Description

Posted Friday 30 January 2026 at 01:00

Great ideas come from different minds. That’s why we bring together engineers, scientists, analysts, and creatives from every background — and give them the trust, tools, and freedom to make a difference. What connects us is the mission: solving meaningful problems and building capability that protects what matters most.

And as the challenges evolve, so do we — working on the technologies that will shape tomorrow, not just today.

About Roke

Roke offers specialist knowledge in sensors, communications, cyber, and AI and ML. We change the way organisations think and act – through dynamic insights from the analysis of multiple layers of data. We take care of the innovative, technical stuff that keeps everyone safe – that’s our mission, passion, and motivation.

Joining a team united by purpose and ambition, you’ll be at the heart of an exciting growth journey: having doubled in size over the last 4 years. We push technical boundaries, together. We re‑invest in product innovation, and we empower our people to make a difference.

Areas of Responsibility/Tasks

• Work with customers (internal and external) conducting requirements elicitation, developing potential solution architectures and assist with technical designs.
• Develop architectural frameworks to manage relationships and communications between system software components in terms of operational, structural and cross‑cutting characteristics.
• Bring your technical, research and software development background to define the structure and behaviour of systems in various domains and maturity states.
• Understand stakeholder needs and support the generation of a prioritised software development backlog.
• Define software architectures that includes system boundaries, data flows, business workflows, system layouts, and deployment plans.
• Support the delivery of small to large‑scale software engineering projects through strong systems engineering methodologies.
• Provide guidance, mentoring, and coaching to other engineers across the wider business.

Key Skills

• Proven experience as a senior software developer or software architect in Defence OR industrial domains.
• Proven experience of software development in multiple software languages and environments.
• Demonstrable experience of defining robust engineering management plans and leading teams to follow them. These plans include use of continuous integration, continuous deployment, and test‑driven development.
• Familiarity with Agile delivery methodologies such as Scrum and Kanban.
• Proven experience in taking research outputs (e.g. data science experimentation) and turning into robust software products.
• Knowledge or Experience of implementing solutions using middleware technologies.
• Experience of designing both plug‑in and micro‑service architectures.
• Experience of designing software based on different data storage (e.g. relational, NoSQL, Big Data, streaming data analytics)
• Experience of designing software in a variety of deployment settings included on‑device, on‑premises and cloud.
• Ability to clearly express design decisions in text and graphical formats such as UML or Archimate.
• Demonstrate the willingness and capability to work as part of and lead diverse teams.
• Possess the ability to analyse problems and communicate well‑thought‑through solutions.
• Awareness and knowledge of Software configuration management and testing.

Technical Knowledge

• Demonstrate knowledge and familiarity with the some or all of the following:

Why You Should Join Us

Roke offer a competitive salary and access to a number of additional flexible benefits covering Health and Wellbeing, Savings and Protection & Life, Leisure and Entertainment.

Roke has a great community of groups with shared interests across a wide range of domains. We are a people‑first business, and fostering and developing the talent of our people is core to our continued success. Our approach to knowledge‑sharing and interest groups enables people to share ideas and be passionate about tools, technologies & techniques, which interest them, supporting fulfilment and professional development.

We are committed to a policy of Equal Opportunity, Diversity and Inclusion. Our working environment is friendly, creative and inclusive and support a diverse work‑force and those with additional needs.

Clearances

Due to the nature of this role, we require you to be eligible to achieve SC clearance. As a result, you should have resided in the U.K. for the last 5 years for SC.

The Next Step

Click apply, submitting an up‑to‑date CV. We look forward to hearing from you.

Roke, Roke Manor, Romsey, Hampshire, United Kingdom