handbook/handbook-main/roles/sfia (legacy)/lead_software_engineer.txt

# SFIA Role Guidance: Lead Software Engineer

[SFIA Level 5: Ensure, Advise](https://sfia-online.org/en/sfia-7/responsibilities/level-5)

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## Summary of role

Leads teams to deliver digital, data and technology outcomes that improve society. They do this by establishing and leading teams to deliver software in public sector organisations.

## Required competency for role

### Autonomy

Accountable for workstream to customers, partners, account team, delivery assurance team and other stakeholders from a technical and delivery perspective.

### Influence

Drives workstream team towards technical excellence by influencing team, customers and partners.

### Complexity

Manages complex technical change of a workstream within a wider programme of work in multi-organisation stakeholder environments.

### Knowledge

Develops a deep understanding of digital and technology landscape in UK public sector.

### Business Skills

Demonstrates leadership. Communicates effectively, both formally and informally.

## Examples of behaviours and responsibilities

Below are examples of behaviours and responsibilities a person in this role might be expected to demonstrate. The list is provided for illustrative purposes only.

- Represents or delegates responsibility for representing workstream to customers, partners, account team, delivery assurance team and other stakeholders from a technical and sometimes delivery perspective
- Coaches Senior Engineers within the workstream team and/or customer staff, providing continuous feedback to individuals and their line managers, and supporting line managers to find career progression opportunities
- Able to lead bootup and delivery of a product workstream where outcomes are known, and the product is complicated rather than complex
- Able to work as part of a leadership team (with delivery and product support) in a bootup and delivery of a product workstream where outcomes are unknown, and the product is complex
- Able to work as part of a workstream team (with account and business support) in a bootup of a new account
- Able to contribute within the account team in non-strategic accounts
- Able to lead, advise and support up to two workstreams and ultimately be responsible for delivery of outcomes across their workstreams
- Able to synthesise outcomes with senior stakeholders by facilitating inception and discovery work
- Proactively identifies reputational and commercial risks and takes responsibility for mitigations and corrective actions
- Ensures all technical staff in their workstream are operating at a good performance level at minimum, identifying performance issues and supporting correct action where necessary
- Ensures their workstream team is operating in line with technical and delivery principles, and working towards technical excellence. Reports to the delivery assurance and account team
- Builds relationships with senior customer stakeholders, maintains them and leverages those relationships in their work to influence, challenge and support technical practices and strategy
- Works with customers, partners, account and workstream team to ensure workstream aligned with technical practices and strategy of customer organisation
- Regularly influences and supports improvement of technical practices within a customer’s organisation at a community of practice or organisational level
- Turns technical and delivery obstacles into opportunities for improvement and betterment of practices, and can lead a team to turn these opportunities into positive organisational impacts
- Influences direction and day-to-day running of the account
- Has overall technical authority within their workstreams
- Influences organisation-wide approach to technology as part of the technology leadership team
- Able to build relationships with senior customer and partner stakeholders, both technical and otherwise
- Works with customers to define outcomes, deadlines and budgets
- Has significant influence over the scheduling of technical staff to workstreams
- Likely is the most senior day-to-day representative of Made Tech within the account
- Ensures users’ needs are met consistently through each work stage
- Influences the technology industry by engaging at public events
- Able to architect and coordinate wide scale changes across multiple applications and platforms
- Can design migration strategies in legacy environments and coordinate others to deliver
- Can navigate complex stakeholder and organisational environments
- Able to support and manage multiple workstreams, while delivering within one or more of those workstreams
- Able to coordinate and manage supplier, partner and customer staff alongside Made Tech
- Able to lead hiring interviews for Engineer 1 to Lead Engineer candidates