University Hospital Southampton NHS FT
Lead Computer Scientist - Software Development
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Job Overview
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust is delighted to offer a fantastic opportunity to work with us.
Please see below for detailed job description of the role.
Main duties of the job
About The Role
Join us in developing software that directly improves patient care!
We're looking for a Lead Computer Scientist or Software Engineer to drive software development within our Clinical Scientific Computing (CSC) service — building and maintaining the in-house clinical and healthcare software that supports patient care across the Trust, all within the framework of an ISO13485-certified Quality Management System. This is a hands-on technical leadership role; therefore, if you love writing good quality code and also enjoy shaping how a team builds it, and you want your software skills to make a real, tangible difference to patients, this could be the role for you.
Please note: This is a Band 8A Agenda for Change (AfC) role. However, we are able to recruit at a lower Band 7 for a promising candidate who requires further experience or skill development.
Working for our organisation
As one of the largest acute teaching Trusts in England, we offer learning and development opportunities to help you achieve the career you aspire to. UHS is rated ‘Good’ by the CQC and in the latest national NHS Staff Survey, we were in the top 10 acute trusts for staff engagement and for staff recommending the hospital as a place to work or receive care.
We support flexible working and will consider requests taking into account the needs of the service. UHS employees are able to access a range of NHS discounts, are entitled to a minimum of 35 days paid holiday (pro rata), and we offer a generous pension scheme.
Southampton is an attractive place to live and work situated on the south coast, with an international airport and direct trains to London. The New Forest National Park and beaches of the Jurassic coast are also right on our doorstep. The city offers living costs 30% lower than London and 17 schools rated outstanding by Ofsted.
Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities
This successful candidate will be responsible for:
- Leading the software development life cycle of bespoke healthcare software, with an emphasis on JavaScript, TypeScript, and Python, for client and server environments
- Establishing and maintaining robust design, version control, and quality assurance practices for in-house systems, in line with the ISO 13485 QMS
- Designing, building, and supporting the data layer behind our clinical software, working across both relational and non-relational databases
- Troubleshooting complex software faults across highly complex information systems, working closely with software engineers and clinical staff to ensure optimal system uptime
- Mentoring and training other members of the CSC team, while contributing to the wider technical strategy for digital and computing solutions across Medical Physics
- Supporting R&D and academic activities through collaboration, project management, engineering support and students supervision
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What We're Looking For
A good honours degree (MSc equivalent) in computer science, physics, (software) engineering, or a related subject (a higher degree in a physical or computing science is desirable), alongside solid knowledge of software development lifecycles and project management
- Strong software development experience in JavaScript, TypeScript, and Python; familiarity with C/C++, shell scripting, or other languages is an advantage
- Practical experience with web technologies, client-server frameworks, and AI-assisted development tools; mobile application development experience is an advantage
- Hands-on experience working with both relational and non-relational databases
- Experience working within a regulated or quality-managed environment, with an understanding of risk assessment, validation, and clinical safety as applied to software
- A collaborative, autonomous working style, comfortable leading technical work and mentoring colleagues within a multidisciplinary team
About The Team
This is an exciting opportunity to join our team! We are a multidisciplinary, close-knit team where clinical scientists, computer scientists, and software engineers work side by side. Together, we design, build, and maintain bespoke clinical and healthcare software, collaborating closely with healthcare scientists and clinicians across the Trust. We combine the rigour of a regulated, ISO 13485-certified QMS with the pace and creativity of modern software development—giving you the chance to work on genuinely novel in-house systems, rather than off-the-shelf configuration.
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Our team values autonomy, technical depth, and continuous learning. We have won several grants and innovation competitions for the software products we have designed and delivered. As the team grows, this role offers real scope to shape both our products and the engineering processes behind them. Furthermore, we maintain strong links with the University of Southampton and proudly run the STP training programme in Clinical Scientific Computing, alongside bespoke work experiences, internships, and fellowships.
This role reports directly to the Head of Clinical Scientific Computing, and will line manage the software development staff, if appointed at Band 8A.
Person specification
Qualifications, Knowledge And Experience
Essential criteria
- Honours degree in computer science, physics, engineering or appropriate subject
- Formal specialist training and accreditation in software development life cycle and Quality Systems
- Higher degree (e.g. MSc) in a Physical or Computing Science
- Experience in working and maintaining multiple operating systems, such as Windows and/or Linux
- Direct experience and knowledge of computing hardware installation, maintenance and troubleshooting
- Experience in clinical IT systems’ acceptance, commissioning and management
- Line management, teaching, supervision and /or mentoring experience required
Desirable criteria
- PhD or equivalent level of knowledge and experience to be able to act as an expert in clinical scientific computing
- Experience in designing and conducting internal clinical and technical audits
- IT infrastructure and server management within a regulated industry (e.g. healthcare, medical technology)
- Experience of programming in a variety of different programming languages
- Experience in setting up and managing an IT Help Desk and a successful relation with IT services’ clients
- Experience in the management of server critical applications such as database servers, security and backup systems
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