Principal software developer

Band 8b · Software developer · 604 job evaluation points

UK GDaD PCF level: Principal developer

Most often performed at Civil Service grade G7 or G6.

A principal developer leads and plans development across large or multiple teams.
At this role level, you will:
be an expert in many technical areas or a specialist with very deep knowledge in a particular technical area
use this knowledge, and work with related disciplines, to keep multiple teams working effectively
develop capability by facilitating internal mobility, shaping career paths and recruiting talent, ensuring they collaborate
identify, test and champion the adoption of emerging technologies
There are 2 different roles at this level - a technical role and a management role.

Contains public sector information from the UK Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework (https://understand-digital-data-roles-skills.service.gov.uk/), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.

Responsibilities

Set the engineering strategy, standards, and practices for the organisation's software development.
Advise senior leaders on technology choices, risks, and investment.
Lead the resolution of the most complex technical problems across services.
Represent the organisation in cross-organisation and open source engineering communities.
Lead and develop lead developers and grow the organisation's engineering capability.

Skills

Skill	Expected level	What this level means
Availability and capacity managementUK GDaD PCF	Working (2)	You can: manage service components to ensure they meet business needs and key performance indicators (KPIs)
Development process optimisationUK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: analyse current processes identify and implement opportunities to optimise processes lead and develop a team of experts to deliver service improvements help to evaluate and establish requirements for the implementation of changes by setting policy and standards
Information securityUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: design, review and quality assure solutions and services, ensuring that they are specifically engineered to mitigate security threats lead others in using appropriate information security practices
Modern development standardsUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: identify and apply modern development standards to support complex projects and programmes lead others in applying modern development standards
Programming and build (software engineering)UK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: advise on the right way to apply standards and methods to ensure compliance maintain technical responsibility for all the stages and iterations of a software development project provide technical advice to stakeholders and set the team-based standards for programming tools and techniques
PrototypingUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: use a variety of prototyping methods share best practice and coach others look at strategic service design end to end
Service supportUK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: identify, locate and fix service faults
Systems designUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: design systems characterised by high levels of risk, impact, and business or technical complexity control system design practice within an enterprise or industry architecture influence industry-based models for the development of new technology applications develop effective implementation and procurement strategies, consistent with business needs ensure adherence to relevant technical strategies, policies, standards and practices
Systems integrationUK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: define the integration build co-ordinate build activities across systems understand how to undertake and support integration testing activities
User focusUK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: collaborate with user researchers and can represent users internally explain the difference between user needs and the desires of the user champion user research to focus on all users prioritise and define approaches to understand the user story, guiding others in doing so offer recommendations on the best tools and methods to use
Understanding health and care servicesThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: analyse how a service fits into care pathways across organisations work with clinicians, care staff, and patients to shape digital services explain the effect of digital decisions on care, safety, and staff workload
Clinical risk managementThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: lead hazard identification and risk assessment for a product or change write and maintain hazard logs and clinical safety case reports agree risk controls with product teams and check that they work advise teams on applying clinical risk management standards
Information governance and data protectionThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: lead data protection impact assessments and information sharing agreements advise teams on lawful basis, consent, confidentiality, and retention investigate incidents and recommend improvements
Health data interoperabilityThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: set interoperability standards and strategy for the organisation lead national or cross-organisation standards work assure the design of critical integrations across many systems
Medical device software regulationThis reference	Working (2)	You can: follow a software life cycle process that meets medical device standards produce the records that such a process requires
People managementThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: line manage a team, setting objectives and running appraisals support wellbeing and manage attendance, performance, and conduct plan the team's development and succession

Typical qualifications and experience

Extensive experience of leading engineering across multiple teams or organisations.

Band 8b outline

Knowledge: Expert knowledge across several disciplines or a large service.
Autonomy: Shapes policy and strategy for a large area.
Scope: Several services or teams, or a principal-level discipline.
Leadership: Manages managers, or is the principal authority in a discipline.
Accountability: Several services, their staff, and their budgets.

Job evaluation (illustrative)

Factor	Level	Level summary	Points
Communication and relationship skills	5	Gives highly complex or contentious information needing developed persuasion and negotiation, presents to large groups, or communicates where there are significant barriers to acceptance.	45
Knowledge, training, and experience	8	Advanced knowledge (doctorate plus further training or equivalent), or specialist knowledge across more than one discipline built over a long period.	240
Analytical and judgemental skills	5	Judgements on highly complex facts or situations needing analysis, interpretation, and comparison of options.	60
Planning and organisational skills	4	Plans a broad range of complex activities or strategies, adjusting them as needed.	42
Physical skills	2	Skills gained through practice, such as standard keyboard use or driving.	15
Responsibility for patient and client care	1	Helps patients, clients, or relatives during incidental contact.	4
Responsibility for policy and service development	4	Implements policy and develops policy or services for a service or several areas.	32
Responsibility for financial and physical resources	3	Authorises payments, buys some assets or supplies, monitors or holds a delegated budget, or maintains assets.	21
Responsibility for people	3	Manages a group of staff day to day, teaches core or specialist training, or gives core HR advice.	21
Responsibility for information resources	5	Designs and develops major information systems, or runs information systems for several services as the main duty.	34
Responsibility for research and development	2	Regularly does research, development, trials, or equipment and system testing as part of the job.	12
Freedom to act	5	Works within general policies, and in most cases decides how to interpret them.	45
Physical effort	1	Sitting, standing, and walking, with little physical effort.	3
Mental effort	4	Frequent prolonged concentration, or occasional intense concentration.	18
Emotional effort	1	Rare exposure, or occasional indirect exposure, to distressing circumstances.	5
Working conditions	2	Occasional unpleasant conditions, frequent travel or outdoor work, or near-continuous screen use on most days.	7
Total (Band 8b: 585 to 629)			604