Lead Software Engineer

In this Lead Software Engineer role, you will guide delivery within a commercial development team, shaping scalable, production-ready systems. You’ll bring senior technical expertise, mentor engineers, and influence architecture and DevOps practices. You’ll work in a collaborative, client-centric environment that values learning and practical delivery. You’ll leverage AI tooling to accelerate results and de-risk delivery, contributing to meaningful client outcomes and growth of the practice. This is a hands-on leadership position at the intersection of technology and client impact.

• 25 days bookable holiday + flexible Bank Holidays
• Pension: 6% employer + 2% employee
• Aviva healthcare cover
• Flexibenefit with 1000 allowance
• Life Assurance
• Parental Benefits: Enhanced Maternity & Partner Leave

• Provide technical leadership and delivery decisions across teams
• Mentor junior engineers and support Squad Leads on complex initiatives
• Drive architecture, DevOps, performance, and security best practices
• Ensure quality through TDD, SOLID, and XP; own CI/CD and deployments
• Create and share effective documentation and learning materials
• Develop rapid prototypes to validate solutions and de-risk delivery
• Utilize AI coding assistants (e.g., Claude Code) to enhance productivity

• Proven experience as a Lead Engineer in a commercial development setting
• Expert knowledge of Java (and willingness to consider other tools/frameworks)
• Experience with agile methodologies and delivering scalable, production-ready systems
• Ability to balance technical decisions with wider client business concerns
• Strong understanding of architecture, DevOps, performance, and security best practices
• Strong mentoring and leadership capabilities as the most senior engineer on projects
• Solid CI/CD and deployment know-how
• Experience translating technical expertise into learning and knowledge sharing
• Experience developing rapid prototypes and evaluating technical solutions
• Familiarity with AI coding assistants (e.g., Claude Code)

• Clear communication and trust-building with clients and teammates
• Ability to navigate ambiguity and solve complex problems collaboratively
• Pragmatic, adaptable and outcome-focused
• Java (expert)
• Architecture and design leadership
• DevOps and CI/CD practices