Lead Software Engineer

I'm working with a transformative EdTech redefining how schools, learning facilities, and staff track and monitor students whilst providing real-time analytics and data to caregivers and parents alike. It's a really innovative technology with a strong track record of success. The firm has a CTO and developers in place, now, whilst the core product has been built, they're really looking for someone to sit between the two as a hands-on technical leader, someone who thoroughly enjoys coding, someone who relishes in keeping their team up-to-date in the latest technologies and practices, and someone who can innovate and think outside of the box. This isn't a CTO role but is a future Head of Development position.

Who This Suits?

• This role is ideal for someone who has already been a Lead Developer or Senior Engineer with unofficial team leadership responsibilities and is ready to step up.
• Enjoys both shipping features and coaching people.
• Can bring clarity and stability to a team with big ambitions and growing demands.
• Likes to work across the stack - and isn’t scared of legacy systems or technical debt.

Given the EdTech space is part of a highly regulated environment, I’m looking for candidates from similar: HealthTech, MarTech, EdTech or FinTech as they will best know how to deliver within some of the more pernickety intricacies of regulations and guidance.

About the Tech:

The platform is built using modern JavaScript tools and cloud infrastructure. The current stack includes:

• TypeScript, Node.js, React, and GraphQL
• MongoDB Atlas
• AWS-based infrastructure using ECS, Lambda, and CloudWatch
• CI/CD pipelines with GitHub Actions, Terraform, and IaC
• Testing via Cypress (E2E), Jest/Vitest (unit)
• Observability with tools like Sentry, Datadog, or New Relic

You won’t be starting from scratch, the platform is already live and scaling, but there is real scope to improve code quality, DevOps maturity, and feature velocity as the business continues to grow and scale. This is a senior-level engineering position with a clear mandate: build a stronger engineering team and ship faster, more reliable code.

You’ll be responsible for:

• Team leadership: line managing 3-4 engineers, mentoring junior and mid-level devs, reviewing code, and guiding technical decisions.
• Hands-on development: contributing actively to the codebase (roughly 50% hands-on).
• Engineering quality: raising the bar on code standards, testing, and deployment reliability.
• Cross-functional work: partnering with the Product Owner and wider business to translate priorities into outcomes.
• Visibility and communication: presenting updates at weekly company-wide meetings and feeding progress into senior leadership.

There is a clear desire to improve engineering output, move past legacy practices, and support a DevOps-first, test-driven approach to feature delivery. You’ll be central to making that happen.

What You’ll Bring

Must-haves:

• 5+ years of experience with TypeScript/JavaScript across front and back end.
• Strong experience with React, Node.js, and GraphQL.
• Proven ability to lead or mentor other developers - formally/informally.
• Clear understanding of modern testing, CI/CD, and DevOps principles.
• Confident communicating with non-technical stakeholders.

Nice-to-haves:

• Exposure to QA automation, legacy platform upgrades, or infrastructure-as-code.
• Comfortable working in smaller product teams with a high degree of autonomy.

You’ll need to be comfortable presenting your work to the wider business, including weekly all-hands. That doesn’t mean being the loudest in the room, but you can’t hide away. You’ll need to articulate what’s happening, what’s blocked, and what’s next.

Package & Benefits

£70,000–£90,000 base salary, depending on experience. Fully remote (UK only), with options for coworking or in-person collaboration. 25 days holiday + bank holidays. Opportunity to shape the culture and tech strategy in a growing product company. Unfortunately, this role cannot offer visa sponsorship.