Overview
Salary: £76,117 (National) or £80,237 (Croydon) plus skills allowance of up to £19,483 pending assessment.
Location: Croydon, Manchester or Sheffield on a hybrid basis
Advert Close: 11:55 pm Tuesday 10th February 2026
Please note that this role requires Security Check (SC) clearance, which would normally need 5 years’ UK residency in the past 5 years.
👀 What you'll bring to the role 👀
The Principal Developer works on challenging technical problems, which require broad thinking while remaining hands-on developing software. You will be expected to actively deliver but will have more of a focus on ensuring delivery quality and overall service value. You will be working on large scale problems on critical services setting strategy and standards for the wider team to follow.
You will be working on the National Communications Data Service (NCDS) a critical capability within UK law enforcement, providing secure, reliable, and scalable services for the acquisition and analysis of communications data to support investigations and protect the public. Operating at the heart of national security and policing, NCDS ensures compliance with legal frameworks while delivering innovative technology solutions that enable rapid, accurate, and ethical data handling.
You will be expected to understand and use the latest AWS technology as well as applying Secure by Design Principals.
We are currently looking for 2 roles. One is working in the Homeland Security Group and the other is within Policing.
See the job advert for full details!
Tools and Technologies we use
We are keen for Engineers to continue learning new technologies, we have a large range in the Home Office but would especially welcome applications from candidates with experience in the below:
Role 1:
* Languages and Frameworks: React, Vue, Node.js
* Other Languages used across the service include: Python, PHP, Drupal, Databases, PostgreSQL and/or MySQL, AWS, Docker, Kubernetes, Jenkins, Terraform
Role 2:
* Databases: Oracle RDBMS Enterprise Edition 11gR1, Oracle WebLogic 11gR1
* Elastic
You’ll have a demonstrable passion for software development, with the following skills or strong experience in:
* Selecting appropriate tooling, and specifying, designing, refactoring, and documenting complex scripts, frameworks, and infrastructure-as-code definitions, to automate build and deployment activities. (PROG - Programming/software development)
* Specify and lead the implementation of master data management processes and standards, ensuring data integrity, transformation, availability and searchability through formal methods and protection measures. (DATM – Data management)
* Specifying and setting standards for automated testing, scanning and code analysis in collaboration with testers, architects, service owners and developers. (TEST - Testing)
* Specifying, guiding, and leading the adoption of automation frameworks for CI/CD and ETL data pipelines. (SINT - Systems integration and build)
* Specifying and ensuring good use of processes, procedures and tooling for application or database monitoring, maintenance, and incident response. (ASUP - Application support)
* Design, specification, development of large and complex cloud data platforms. Intergrading data presentation, analysis and GIS – leading the development strategy and peer reviewing code changes (Role 1), or Support and development of a complex intelligence platform incorporating data ingest, analytics and matching. Peer reviewing code changes (Role 2) (SWDN – Software Design)
Skills for the Information Age (SFIA) is the technical framework that sets the standard capability and development of all levels in the Home Office. This is a link to the capability framework: All skills A - Z English (sfia-online.org).
What's in it for you?
* A civil service pension with employer contribution rates of at least 28.97%.
* In-year reward scheme for one-off or sustained exceptional personal or team achievements.
* The ability to potentially adopt flexible working options that suit your work/life balance, plus the opportunity in future to take a career break.
* 25 days annual leave on appointment, rising with service.
* Eight days public holidays, plus one additional privilege day.
* 26 weeks maternity, adoption or shared parental leave at full pay, followed by 13 weeks statutory pay and a further 13 weeks unpaid, after qualifying service.
* Maternity and adoption support leave (also known as paternity leave) of two weeks full pay, after qualifying service.
* Paid leave for fostering approval processes, support when a child is substantively placed with you plus a foster to adopt policy.
* Support for guardians and kinship carers.
* Corporate membership of ‘Employers for Carers’ providing additional information and advice for carers, plus a ‘Carer’s Passport’ to discuss workplace needs and underpin supportive conversations.
* Time off to deal with emergencies and certain other unplanned special circumstances.
Please click on apply now where you will be redirected to the full job advert and our application portal
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