About us
Birketts is a full service, UK Top 50 law firm. With a heritage spanning 160 years, we have more than 700 lawyers and legal professionals and over 600 staff based in Bristol, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Ipswich, London, Norwich and Sevenoaks. We advise businesses, government and public sector organisations and individuals in the UK and internationally across four principal practice groups: Real Estate, Corporate Services, Dispute Resolution and Private Client.
We are defined by our Next Level Law proposition. We work with our clients as a proactive partner, horizon scanning and thinking ahead to the changes, challenges or opportunities that they may face.
Next Level Law is also applied to our people. Our collegiate culture means everyone is encouraged to achieve their next level in everything they do. RollOnFriday recently ranked us as the 6th best law firm to work at in 2026.
With our ambition to succeed, comes a strong desire to make a positive contribution to the communities we serve, and we are committed to delivering the objectives set out in our ESG strategy. Diversity plays an integral part in all that we do, with female partners comprising 42% of our partnership.
The team you will join
The wider IT Team is responsible for all aspects of IT across the business, covering User Support, Infrastructure, Network, Security, Product Delivery, Data System and Development Teams.
The work you will be doing
We are looking for an experienced and pro-active senior software developer to join our team. This is a hands-on software engineering role, ideal for someone who thrives on solving complex problems in a collaborative, agile environment. You will:
*Design, develop and test Azure cloud native software using C# and .Net technologies, in line with an agreed schedule
*Ensure code is testable, safe, functional, secure, performant and reliable, all proven through testing
*Apply software development, microservices and API design best practices, and participate in code reviews
*Produce relevant and high standard documentation, developer-level tests, and deployment procedures
*Give accurate task estimates, and provide progress status to management
*Collaborate with cross-functional teams including frontend developers, product managers, DevOps, and QA
*Help monitor and optimise system performance, availability, and scalability
*Help the team to shape and continuously improve their working practices and software development processes
*Use modern AI-assisted development tools to improve delivery speed and quality across coding, test creation, debugging, refactoring and documentation
*Critically review, validate and refine AI-generated output to ensure it is correct, secure, maintainable and aligned with business and technical requirements
*Help the wider development team adopt effective AI-assisted development practices through practical guidance, coaching and leading by example
Please note that this job profile is not an exhaustive list of duties but merely an outline of the key components of the role. You may be required by your line manager to take on additional responsibilities when requested.
What we are looking for
You will have:
*Extensive experience in C# and .NET
*Proven experience building cloud-native, scalable, and secure backend solutions on Microsoft Azure
*Understanding of Azure services such as Azure functions, Azure App Services, Azure SQL, Service Bus
*Solid grasp of microservices architecture, distributed systems, and inter-service communication patterns
*Experience of API design principles and building performant REST APIs
*Understanding of development best practices – SOLID, unit testing and test driven development, mocking, code reviews, CI/CD practices
*Database and SQL knowledge
*Experience using AI-assisted development tools in a professional software engineering environment
*Ability to evaluate and improve AI-generated output, including identifying errors, insecure patterns and poor design choices
*Understanding of the governance and risk considerations of AI-assisted development, especially around confidentiality, sensitive data and compliance
*Ability to help other developers adopt effective AI-assisted development practices through practical guidance, coaching and leading by example
*Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
*Comfortable with agile methodologies, Git based version control, tools like Azure DevOps
Hybrid Working
Birketts is a flexible business which has embraced a hybrid working model where our colleagues enjoy a mix of home and office working. This role attracts a split of 60% office days and 40% working from home days per week.
Benefits
As a Birketts colleague, you will be eligible to receive a wide range of benefits:
*25 days holiday (FTE) plus Bank Holidays
*Long Service holiday award – 1 extra week every 10 years continuous service
*Private Healthcare with BUPA (offered after probation is passed)
*Scottish Widows Pension Scheme (5% employer / 5% Employee)
*Staff Profit Share and Individual Performance Bonus Scheme
*Salary sacrifice (Pensions, Staff Profit Share)
*Life Assurance - 4 x salary / Permanent Health Insurance
*Paid CSR Day
*Enhanced Maternity/Paternity Leave
*Subsidised gym membership
*Electric car scheme
*Dress for your Day Policy
You can find out more on our website: https://recognition-reward-benefits/
Inclusivity and Culture
At Birketts, our culture is driven by ambition and a commitment to positively impact all the communities we serve. We are dedicated to the success, development, and wellbeing of our colleagues, helping them achieve their goals and seize the opportunities that come with our growth.
Birketts is committed to being an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our policy is unequivocal: we do not tolerate discrimination based on age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, or sexual orientation.
We pride ourselves on being an inclusive organisation that actively promotes equality of opportunity for all, valuing the right mix of talent, skills, and potential. We welcome applications from a diverse range of candidates, and selection for roles is based solely on individual merit.