Senior Software Engineer (Data & AI Enablement)

UCLH is looking for a Senior Software Engineer to lead the design and delivery of secure, high-quality data pipelines. This will ultimately lead to AI-ready platforms that let clinicians and researchers move faster from hypothesis to patient impact.

You'll join the SAFEHR team that turns routinely-collected NHS data into research-grade assets. The stack is modern (R, Python and moving to a data platform) and the problems are hard (clinical data at scale, governance, real-world messiness). This role would also be suitable for a research software engineer or data engineer as there are considerable overlaps in skills and abilities.

This is a leadership role. You'll line-manage up to three engineers, develop our technical roadmap, and make architecture and technology decisions. You'll drive best practices in software engineering and data quality, and champion practices across the Trust's data environment.

This position is classified as Grade 8a, offering a competitive salary (£66,274 - £73,496). If you want technically demanding work with direct clinical impact: not just dashboards, but infrastructure that underpins clinical research, precision care, and operational excellence; we'd like to hear from you.

Software and Data Engineering

• Architect and deliver scalable data pipelines that extract, transform, and load clinical data from UCLH's data sources.
• Design and maintain data models that support reporting, advanced analytics, and research use cases — balancing normalisation, performance, and usability.
• Implement continuous improvements to the existing data warehouse, business intelligence, and analytical products, including identifying and reducing technical debt (e.g. duplication, fragile dependencies).

Architecture and Documentation

• Evolve the technical roadmap for SAFEHR's data engineering products, making architecture and technology decisions with key stakeholders.
• Produce and maintain documentation covering UCLH data and analytics systems, in collaboration with key stakeholders.
• Lead the development of documentation that enables the scalable, correct use of clinical datasets by reporting teams, clinical users, and research projects.

Leadership

• Line-manage up to three technical staff: set priorities, conduct appraisals, identify training needs, and foster an open, inclusive working environment.
• Mentor and develop colleagues technically, ensuring the team's overall standard of work improves over time.
• Lead the adoption of software engineering practices across the information services teams at UCLH: automated testing, code review, CI/CD, performance profiling, and documentation.

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) is one of the most complex NHS trusts in the UK, serving a large and diverse population. We provide academically led acute and specialist services, to people from the local area, from throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. Our vision is to deliver top-quality patient care, excellent education, and world-class research.

We provide first-class acute and specialist services across eight sites:

• University College Hospital (incorporating the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing)
• National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery
• Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospitals
• University College Hospital Grafton Way Building
• Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine
• University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre
• The Hospital for Tropical Diseases
• University College Hospital at Westmoreland Street

We are dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of many complex illnesses. UCLH specialises in women’s health and the treatment of cancer, infection, neurological, gastrointestinal and oral disease. It has world class support services including critical care, imaging, nuclear medicine and pathology.

We are committed to sustainability and have pledged to become a carbon net zero health service, embedding sustainable practice throughout UCLH. We have set an ambitious target of net zero for our direct emissions by 2031 and indirect emissions by 2040.

For further details / informal visits contact: Name: Dr Stef Piatek Job title: Technical Programme Manager Email address: [email protected]