Are you an experienced software engineer ready to shape the future of digital services at scale?
Join The Open University as a Senior Software Engineer and play a key role in designing, building, and evolving innovative, high‑impact systems that support learning and transformation across the organisation.
About the Role
We are recruiting multiple Senior Engineers across different teams. These roles sit in teams delivering a range of business‑critical digital products, typically involving .NET‑based systems hosted on Azure and operating in a modern DevOps environment.
While the core expectations are consistent across all roles, the specific context will vary: most positions will work within product teams delivering and evolving user‑facing services, while at least one role will operate in an integration‑focused context, where the Senior Engineer will work on the design, development, and support of API‑based services using C# and a modern Azure‑based technology stack, enabling secure access to institutional data for consumption by other systems across the University. Candidates are not expected to have experience across all contexts, and role‑specific focus and technologies will be discussed during the recruitment process.
As a Senior Software Engineer (known internally as a Senior Engineer), you will lead the design, development, and delivery of innovative software solutions that drive our organization forward. Collaborating with product managers, designers, and other engineers, you will create scalable systems that meet user needs and support our growth.
You’ll be responsible for driving technical excellence, making key architectural decisions, and ensuring best practices across all projects. Leveraging your extensive experience, you will mentor junior engineers, provide technical leadership, and solve complex problems to build secure, efficient, and high‑performing systems.
We’re looking for a proactive and passionate engineer who thrives in a dynamic environment and is committed to continuous improvement. If you’re excited about exploring emerging technologies and making a significant impact, this is your opportunity to advance your career and contribute to meaningful projects.
Join our agile engineering team and help shape the integration of cutting‑edge solutions across a diverse technology stack, including both on‑premises and cloud platforms like AWS and Microsoft Azure. We embrace DevOps practices, supporting seamless development pipelines and deployments as part of our commitment to innovation and professional growth.
The role may be applied across teams operating in different technical contexts, delivery models, and technology stacks, with emphasis varying according to team and service needs.
At The Open University, we never stand still. Be part of our journey to push the boundaries of technology and make a real difference.
Key Responsibilities
* Lead Software Development Projects: Guide the design, development, and implementation of software solutions, ensuring they are robust, scalable, and aligned with The Open University objectives. Provide technical leadership and mentorship, and may include line management, to junior team members.
* Architect and Design Systems: Develop and refine system architectures and software designs that meet requirements and technical specifications. Ensure that all designs are maintainable, secure, and optimized for performance, and systems are designed to be observable, supportable, and resilient in live operation, with appropriate monitoring, alerting, and operational documentation in place.
* Drive Technical Excellence: Champion best practices in software development, including coding standards, TDD and automated testing approaches (e.g. unit and integration), and version control, to ensure the delivery of high‑quality, scalable and maintainable software products.
* Oversee System Integration: Manage the integration of multiple software components, ensuring seamless interaction and functionality across the system.
* Data Management and Analysis: Lead efforts in data modelling, database design, and business intelligence to support data‑driven decision making and improve system performance.
* Enhance User Experience: Collaborate with UX designers to ensure that user experience is a key consideration in the development process. Translate user needs into functional software features that deliver value.
* Monitor and Assess Emerging Technologies: Stay informed about new and emerging technologies, evaluating their potential to enhance current and future projects.
* Implement Security and Compliance Standards: Ensure that software solutions comply with security standards and industry regulations. Implement best practices to protect data and maintain system integrity.
* Quality Assurance and Testing: Oversee comprehensive testing strategies, including functional, non‑functional, and security testing, to ensure software reliability and performance.
* Support Operational Excellence: Contribute to the stability and performance of software applications by supporting incident and problem management, utilising observability data, as part of a build‑run‑own approach, including out‑of‑hours as required, as well as service level and capacity planning.
* Conduct Services, Products and Requirements Analysis: Work closely with stakeholders to understand their needs, define technical requirements, and assess the feasibility of proposed solutions. Document and manage requirements to ensure alignment with project goals.
* Resource and Supplier Management: Assist in managing resource allocation and collaborate with external vendors to ensure project needs are met effectively and efficiently.
About You
Key Skills and Experience
* Proven Software Engineering Expertise: Extensive experience in software development (coding, test writing and debugging), reviewing other people’s work, with a deep understanding of programming, system design, and testing practices.
* Strong System and Software Design Skills: Ability to design scalable and efficient systems, ensuring architectural integrity and alignment with The Open University objectives, with experience contributing to systems built using modern architectural patterns such as microservices, API‑first design, and cloud-native platforms.
* Advanced Data Management: Skilled in data modelling, database design, and implementing business intelligence solutions to support analytics and decision-making.
* User-Centric Development: Experience in integrating user experience design principles into the software development process to create intuitive and effective user interfaces.
* Emerging Technology Enthusiast: Passion for exploring and integrating new technologies to enhance software solutions and business capabilities.
* Security and Compliance Focus: Knowledgeable in implementing security protocols and ensuring compliance with industry standards to protect systems and data.
* Quality Assurance Leader: Strong focus on quality, with experience in leading comprehensive testing strategies to ensure the reliability and performance of software products.
* Effective Analysis and Requirement Management: Proven ability to translate user needs into technical requirements and assess the feasibility of proposed solutions.
* Operational and Resource Management: Experience in managing resources, supporting application operations, and working with external suppliers to meet project demands.
* Modern Engineering Practices and AI Enablement: Experience working in a modern engineering environment, applying practices such as automated testing, CI/CD pipelines, cloud-native development, and DevOps ways of working. Demonstrates effective use of AI-assisted development tools to enhance productivity, improve code quality, support testing and documentation, and enable faster delivery, while being mindful of governance, security, and cost considerations.
Behaviours
* Leadership and Mentorship: You lead by example, providing guidance and support to team members, and fostering a collaborative and inclusive team environment.
* Analytical and Strategic Thinking: You are capable of understanding complex business challenges and developing strategic technical solutions to address them.
* Proactive and Innovative: You actively seek out opportunities for improvement and are eager to integrate new technologies and methodologies into your work.
* Attention to Detail: You ensure accuracy and quality in all aspects of your work, from coding and testing to documentation and analysis.
* Effective Communicator: You are able to convey technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, ensuring clear understanding and alignment.
Support with your application
If you have any questions, or need support or adjustments relating to your application, the recruitment process, or the role, please contact us on 01908 541111 or email careers@open.ac.uk quoting the advert reference number.
Why Join The Open University?
At The Open University, we’re proud to be a leader in accessible education and digital innovation. This is your opportunity to work on meaningful, large‑scale systems that make a real difference to students and staff.
Our benefits include:
* 33 days annual leave, on top of bank holidays and a three‑day Christmas closure period.
* Access to a leading pension scheme for UK higher education with generous employer contributions.
* Staff Fee Waivers for OU study, meaning you could earn a degree for free.
* Hybrid working, with limited requirement to attend the office in‑person, with agile working and family friendly policies.
* Discounts, wellbeing support, and development opportunities.
Ready to make an impact?
Apply now and help us build secure, scalable, and innovative digital solutions that power the future of learning at one of the UK’s most respected institutions.
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