Consultant Systems Engineer | NHS England
| Posting date: | 07 October 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | Not specified |
| Additional salary information: | £118,744 - £136,938 per annum includes RRP payment of 30% (Excludes London weighting) |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 06 November 2025 |
| Location: | Nationally, LS1 4PL |
| Company: | NHS England |
| Job type: | Contract |
| Job reference: | 7510551/990-TD-PP-17361-E |
Summary
Digital delivery is a cornerstone of the NHS's 10-year plan, aiming to revolutionise healthcare. Digital transformation is expected to improve patient outcomesandalleviate the burden on healthcare professionals by reducing paperwork and enabling personalised care.
We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced systems engineer to join our Digital Citizen Portfolio as Head of Systems Engineering. The successful candidate will primarily focus on leading the engineering for the NHSapp,however they will also have responsibility for other parts of the digital citizen national channels which includes the NHK.uk website. NHS.uk is a widely used medical resource for providing guidance to citizens across the UK.
The NHS app and NHS.uk website serviceswill be pivotal in the delivery of the NHS 10-year plan. The NHS Appis used by millions of citizens daily and increasinglywill put citizens in control of their own health and care, and the health and care of those they care for.The App connects citizensto health prevention servicesand increases their skills confidence knowledge and capacity for self-advocacy.Itis set to become the complete digital front door to the NHS, enabling patients to book appointments, manage medications, and access their medical records.
TheNHS Appis a mobile-native appbuilt withSwiftandKotlin. Some other technologies used in this teamincludeAzure, Terraform,andC# for the backend servicesused by the mobile app.
As a Head of Systems Engineering your role will include:
• Technical leadership and delivery of national,highly availablemobile apps anddistributed systems, adhering to NHS England’sengineeringprinciples
• Working with key internal and external partners and stakeholders to develop the architectureand design ofmobile apps andsystems
• Ensuring continued availability,resilience, and cost effectivenessof existingmobileapps andsystems
• Maintaining service security, providing security controls for large volumes ofhighly sensitivedata
• Building and leading high-performing teams(a multi-team structurecomprisingof100+ engineers)based on a culture of collaboration,anddrivingcontinuous improvement through Agile, Lean and DevOps delivery
• Mentoring and coachingstaffin yourteam
• Engagingin peer-to-peer collaboration to solve engineering problems and drive-up organisation-wideengineering standards. Thismayinclude forming & leading communities of practice, etc.
• Working with peers to define the organisation’sengineering strategy,with particular focus ondefiningmobile app developmentstandards,andgrowingmobile app developmentcommunities of practice
• Presenting highly technical and complex information to non-technical audiences
• Acting as Subject Matter Expert for systems design, delivery, and operation,including withexternal suppliers/partners
Our work supports the NHS to deliver high quality services for patients and best value for taxpayers.
Our staff bring expertise across hundreds of specialisms — including clinical, operational, commissioning, technology, data science, cyber security, software engineering, education, and commercial — enabling us to design and deliver high-quality NHS services.
We lead the NHS in England by:
• Enabling local systems and providers to improve the health of their people and patients and reduce health inequalities
• Making the NHS a great place to work, where our people can make a difference and achieve their potential
• Working collaboratively to ensure our healthcare workforce has the right knowledge, skills, values and behaviours to deliver accessible, compassionate care
• Optimising the use of digital technology, research, and innovation
• Delivering value for money
Earlier this year, the Government announced that NHS England will gradually merge with the Department of Health and Social Care, leading to full integration. The aim is to create a smaller, more strategic centre that reduces duplication and eliminates waste.
If successful at interview, we will initiate an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR). This retrieves key data from your current or previous NHS employer to support onboarding, including competency status, Continuous Service Dates (CSD), and annual leave entitlement. You may opt out at any stage of the recruitment process.
Candidates will need to demonstrateexperience of the followingin their application form:
• Deep nativemobileexpertise – Strong technical grounding in iOS and/or Android architecture, native capabilities, security, biometrics, andappstorecompliance.
• Implementing system security & resilience techniques / controls / practices
• Workingonhighly availablesystems
• Providingtechnicalleadership forkeysystems
It would also beadvantageousif the candidate has experience in:
• Working in a mobile application where delivery is distributed acrossa number ofengineering teams
• Hands on full-stack Engineering experience, including cloud infrastructure
• Mentoring/ coaching members of the team
• Management ofsenior/ non-technicalstakeholders
• Agile delivery
As well as the technical skills and experience needed to be successful in this role,we’llalso be exploring some of the following core competencies at interview:
INFLUENCE: Uses evidence to make decisions and defend ideas. Builds alignments with other teams or departments.
KNOWLEDGE: Builds own knowledge, stays updated and sharesexpertise. Recognises and meets evolving customer needs.
BUSINESS SKILLS: Develops and deploys strategies andnew technologies, makes commercially sounddecisionsand optimises resources.
COMPLEXITY: Synthesises complex information, deliverables, and stakeholder needs. Communicates complex concepts in a clear and effective manner.
AUTONOMY: Empowers and coaches othersin order todevelop talent and drive engagement. Holds self and others accountable.
You can find further details about the role,includingkeyresponsibilities and accountabilities, alongside theorganisational structureand person specificationin the attached Job Descriptionand other supporting documents.
Secondments:
Applicants from within the NHS willbe offered on a secondment basis only, agreementshouldbeobtainedfromtheiremployerpriortosubmittingtheapplication.
The post of Consultant Systems Engineer has been awarded a Recruitment and Retention Premia (RRP) in response to current labour market conditions. In recognition of this, the role attracts anadditionalmonthly RRP payment equal to 30% per annum.
Please be aware that RRP is none contractual and subject to review.
This advert closes on Tuesday 21 Oct 2025