C++ Software Engineer

Job Description

Senior C++ Software Engineer - Scientific Software

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Location: Glasgow, hybrid WFH (50/50 split between home and office)

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Salary: Up to £65,000 DOE

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KO2's client develops advanced cheminformatics software. Their software helps scientists understand and work better with chemical data. They're looking for an experienced Senior C++ Software Engineer to join their small, growing team in Glasgow. You'll modernise their core C++ codebase and turn complex scientific algorithms into robust, high-performance code.

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The company is international and close-knit. The Glasgow team works closely with colleagues in small offices in Germany and France, so you'll be part of a collaborative, multicultural engineering group.

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You'll work closely with chemistry subject-matter experts and implement their algorithms using sound design patterns and modern C++. You'll be one of the main code reviewers, protect the quality and consistency of the architecture, and mentor junior developers as they continue to grow.

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Key responsibilities

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• Maintain and modernise a legacy C++ codebase, migrating it gradually to modern C++
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• Implement new cheminformatics algorithms specified by the SMEs
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• Review algorithm specifications for feasibility and clarity before implementation
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• Act as a primary code reviewer, protecting the team's architectural consistency and code quality
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• Own the test strategy for your work, covering unit and integration tests, edge cases and regression protection
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• Maintain the CMake build system and related Linux tooling
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• Mentor junior developers on clean code, architecture and design patterns
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• Work with colleagues in Glasgow, Germany and France
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• Document your implementations clearly
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Essential skills and experience

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• Significant commercial modern C++ experience, 17 onwards ideally.
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• An architectural mindset, with OOP, SOLID principles and design patterns as part of your everyday work
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• Confidence applying modern idioms to legacy code you didn't write
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• Strong code review skills. You give thorough, constructive feedback and can spot subtle logic errors and design drift
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• A solid understanding of concurrency, including writing, debugging and reasoning about multithreaded code, synchronisation and data races
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• Experience with the Linux development toolchain: CMake, GCC/Clang, gdb, and dynamic linking (RPATH, SONAME)
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• Familiarity with static and runtime analysis tools such as clang-tidy, Valgrind and sanitisers
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Desirable skills

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• Experience of AI-assisted development, such as using Claude Code and directing coding agents on architectural decisions
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• Implementing algorithms from specifications, and reasoning about their efficiency and complexity
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• Network programming (TCP/IP and sockets)
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• Python, and testing frameworks such as pytest and Catch2
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• Docker and containerised build environments
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• Maintaining CI/CD pipelines
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What's on offer

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• A competitive salary, depending on experience
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• Flexible hybrid working, split 50/50 between home and the Glasgow office
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• A small, growing Glasgow team that you can help shape
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• Working with international colleagues in Germany and France
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• Challenging, meaningful work on scientific software
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• A senior role with real influence over architecture and code quality
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How to apply

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Send your up-to-date CV to KO2 Embedded Recruitment Solutions, or contact Laurence Powell today for more details.