Overview
Senior Software Developer/Ruby Specialist - CO - G7 at Manchester Digital / Gov Wi‑Fi
Location: Bristol, London, Manchester
Job summary: The Senior Software Developer / Ruby Specialist role is pivotal to the future success of Gov Wi-Fi, the UK's government-wide Wi-Fi authentication service. As a highly skilled Ruby developer and technical lead, you will drive continuous improvement of Gov Wi‑Fi’s platform, ensuring a secure, scalable, and reliable service that meets SLA targets for millions of authentications monthly. You will collaborate closely with Site Reliability Engineers (SREs) to maintain 100% uptime and operational resilience, lead automation efforts in certificate management, and innovate solutions for large-scale onboarding challenges, including major public sector organisations like the NHS. In this role, you will mentor junior developers and foster a culture of agile delivery, quality code, and user-centric design. Ideal candidates have deep Ruby and Rails expertise, experience with AWS cloud deployment, CI/CD, and a proven track record in digital service resilience and security. If you’re passionate about improving public services through technology and thrive in collaborative, fast-paced environments, this role offers a unique opportunity to shape the future of secure government Wi‑Fi.
Job Description
As the Senior Software Developer and Ruby Specialist on the Gov Wi‑Fi team, you will take technical ownership of the mission-critical Ruby-based platform that enables secure Wi‑Fi access across the UK public sector. Your day-to-day responsibilities will include:
* Leading the development and delivery of scalable, robust Ruby on Rails applications to support service growth and operational resilience.
* Collaborating closely with Site Reliability Engineers (SREs) and product leadership to maintain 100% service uptime and meet SLAs through proactive incident management and response.
* Designing, implementing, and automating key operational processes such as certificate rotation, deployment pipelines, and system monitoring.
* Serving as the technical escalation point for complex incidents, working to diagnose and resolve issues swiftly to minimise service disruption.
* Architecting and delivering solutions that support onboarding of large and complex clients, including pilot projects to enhance seamless WiFi experiences.
* Driving improvements to disaster recovery capabilities, security remediations, and platform monitoring, ensuring high resilience and compliance with IT health check standards.
* Mentoring and providing hands-on guidance to junior developers and cross-functional colleagues, fostering a culture of collaboration, code quality, and continuous improvement.
* Translating the product vision and strategic goals into clear, actionable technical tasks and sprint deliverables in partnership with the Product Manager.
* Staying abreast of emerging trends and innovations, including AI-based enhancements, to continuously evolve the platform and user experience.
* Supporting broader service modernisation initiatives and transitions involving technology migrations and integrations with key external tools.
* Preparing reports and briefings on technical progress, risks, and incidents for product leadership and central government stakeholders.
This role offers a unique opportunity to combine expert Ruby development skills with leadership responsibilities, influencing the future of a vital digital public service while working in a supportive, agile, and innovative environment.
Person specification
Technical Skills
* Expert in Ruby development and Rails framework.
* Proficiency in AWS and modern CI/CD pipelines.
* Experience configuring automation for security (certificates, updates).
* Knowledge of infrastructure-as-code and cloud monitoring.
* Familiarity with incident response and resilience strategies.
Behaviours
* Leadership with mentoring ability.
* Collaborative mindset across multidisciplinary teams.
* Agile and continuous delivery focus.
* Innovative problem-solving approach.
* Customer focus and stakeholder engagement.
Other
* Ability and willingness to adapt and learn.
* Commitment to Gov Wi‑Fi mission and public sector values.
Additional Information
A minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace. Although requirements to attend other locations for official business will also count towards this level of attendance.
Qualifications
Ruby and Ruby on Rails
AWS
Selected behaviours
* Delivering at Pace
* Developing Self and Others
* Leadership
* Making Effective Decisions
* Seeing the Big Picture
Technical skills
* Expertise in Ruby and Ruby on Rails
* Certificate Management
* Integration with Third-Party APIs and Tools
* Emerging Technologies & AI Proof-of-Concepts
* AWS Cloud: Deployment using IaC with Terraform
Seniority level
* Mid-Senior level
Employment type
* Full-time
Job function
* Engineering and Information Technology
* Industries: Technology, Information and Internet
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