At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead a team to enhance web experiences and improve user conversion.
- Company: Join Alpaca, a cutting-edge fintech company transforming financial services globally.
- Benefits: Enjoy competitive salary, stock options, health benefits, and a home-office setup stipend.
- Other info: Collaborate with diverse teams and enjoy excellent career growth opportunities.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in a dynamic environment while shaping the future of finance.
- Qualifications: 5+ years in frontend development with TypeScript and React; team management experience required.
The predicted salary is between 80000 - 100000 £ per year.
Who We Are
Alpaca is a US‑headquartered, self‑clearing broker‑dealer and brokerage infrastructure for stocks, ETFs, options, crypto, fixed income, and 24/5 trading. Our recent Series D funding round brought our total investment to over $320 million, fueling our ambitious vision. Amongst our subsidiaries, Alpaca is a licensed financial services company, serving hundreds of financial institutions across 40 countries with our institutional‑grade APIs. This includes broker‑dealers, investment advisors, wealth managers, hedge funds, and crypto exchanges, totalling over 9 million brokerage accounts. Our global team is a diverse group of experienced engineers, traders, and brokerage professionals who are working to achieve our mission of opening financial services to everyone on the planet. We’re deeply committed to open‑source contributions and fostering a vibrant community, continuously enhancing our award‑winning, developer‑friendly API and its robust infrastructure.
Your Role
This is a Team Lead role for a technically strong engineer who balances hands‑on engineering with team management responsibilities. The successful candidate will lead the systems, tooling, and frontend architecture that power marketing funnels, landing pages, and regional web experiences. You will own the engineering side of acquisition, manage and grow the engineers on the team, and drive the architecture and technical execution across Alpaca’s global web platform. We are looking for someone who can improve how content gets designed, produced, reviewed, localized, and shipped across regions. You’ll work across Engineering, Design, Marketing, Compliance, and Legal to make the web platform faster to operate, easier to scale, and better at converting users. You will lead the acquisition engineering function, support and mentor engineers in the area, and drive improvements in conversion, content operations, and regional delivery as Alpaca expands globally.
Things you’ll do
- Directly manage and support engineers working in the acquisition area, including performance, coaching, and prioritization
- Act as the technical lead for acquisition engineering and help grow the team over time
- Own the engineering side of acquisition, website experience and our customer funnels with a strong focus on reducing friction and improving conversion
- Build and improve the analytics, instrumentation, and observability needed to understand funnel performance and conversion behavior
- Collaborate closely with Marketing, Compliance, Legal, Product, and Branding to deliver compliant and effective regional experiences
- Design and maintain a headless CMS architecture that supports both global and region‑specific content
- Build CMS‑driven frontend applications using React and TypeScript
- Define and evolve content models that account for region‑specific product offerings and regulatory requirements
- Implement publishing workflows that support review and approval by regional compliance teams
- Improve the tooling and workflows that connect Design, content creation, and implementation
- Partner closely with Design to implement and scale a shared design system across web surfaces
- Help shape how content is generated, managed, and reused across languages, regions, and compliance contexts
- Maintain high standards for performance, accessibility, SEO, and visual quality across all regions
- Use data to evaluate funnel performance and guide product and UX improvements
- Collaborate with backend engineers on API design when custom endpoints are required for web or CMS use cases
- Mentor other engineers and influence frontend and web platform best practices across the company
What we’re looking for
Must haves
- 5+ years of experience building frontend applications with TypeScript and React
- Experience directly managing engineers or leading teams with clear people management responsibilities
- Experience hiring, coaching, and developing engineers
- Proven experience owning web acquisition surfaces such as marketing sites, landing pages, customer funnels or onboarding journeys
- Experience working with analytics, funnel measurement and acquisition observability with a strong product and business sense, with the ability to guide product and engineering decisions
- Strong experience working with headless CMS platforms and content‑heavy applications
- Experience supporting multi‑region or localized web experiences
- Strong understanding of frontend architecture, performance, accessibility, and SEO best practices
- Experience working closely with Design teams and design systems
- Solid experience consuming and shaping REST APIs for frontend needs
- Excellent communication and cross‑functional collaboration skills
- Strong sense of ownership and accountability for systems that others depend on
- Experience leading complex cross‑functional initiatives involving Engineering, Design, Marketing, and business stakeholders
- Track record of improving team efficiency, delivery workflows, or internal tooling around content and web operations
- Ability to make pragmatic build‑vs‑buy decisions, especially around CMS and web tooling
- Demonstrated leadership qualities, including technical direction, mentoring, and team leadership
Nice to haves
- Experience working in regulated industries such as fintech or financial services
- Experience representing a company at hackathons, conferences, or developer community events
- Experience with Next.js or similar React frameworks
- Familiarity with geo‑gating or feature‑flag‑based content delivery
- Experience integrating third‑party tools such as analytics, event platforms, or PR feeds
- Experience working with globally distributed or remote‑first teams
- Experience supporting websites that must meet regional legal or privacy requirements
How We Take Care of You
Competitive Salary & Stock Options
Health Benefits
New Hire Home‑Office Setup: One‑time USD $500
Monthly Stipend: USD $150 per month via a Brex Card
Equal Opportunity
Alpaca is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace dedicated to pursuing and hiring a diverse workforce.
Acquisition Engineering Team Lead employer: Alpaca
At Alpaca, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer that fosters a collaborative and innovative work culture. Our commitment to employee growth is evident through mentorship opportunities and a focus on team development, all while working in a dynamic environment that values diversity and inclusion. With competitive salaries, stock options, and generous benefits, including a monthly stipend for home-office setups, we ensure our team members are well-supported as they contribute to our mission of transforming financial services globally.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Acquisition Engineering Team Lead
✨Tap into Campus Networks
If you're still in uni, don’t forget to engage with your campus's career services and attend finance-related events. Banks often do presentations and recruitment drives on campus, so put yourself out there and make use of these opportunities to show off your passion for the field.
✨Get Certified
Consider pursuing relevant certifications like the CFA or ACCA while you’re job hunting. They not only beef up your CV but also connect you with professional bodies which can lead to networking opportunities and even job openings in banking and financial services.
✨Connect on Professional Platforms
Join finance-focused groups on platforms like LinkedIn and engage in discussions. This can really help you stand out from the crowd, allowing potential employers to see your knowledge and interest in industry trends. Plus, you might stumble upon job postings shared exclusively within the group.
✨Apply Directly and Be Proactive
Don’t shy away from reaching out directly to firms like Alpaca. Use their websites and apply through them, but also consider following up with a polite email to express your enthusiasm. Being proactive can make a huge difference in getting noticed in the competitive financial services sector.
We think you need these skills to ace Acquisition Engineering Team Lead
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Off Your Numbers!:In the banking and financial services world, quantifiable achievements are key. Make sure your CV highlights your grades in relevant subjects, any financial certifications you hold, and specific projects where you've delivered measurable results. Employers love to see how your skills translate into real-world success.
Tailor Your Cover Letter to the Role:When applying for a full-time position, your cover letter should make a direct connection between your experience and the job description. Don't just state your enthusiasm for finance—dive into how your background in banking or financial analysis sets you apart. Let your passion shine through while being specific about what you can bring to Alpaca.
Include Relevant Financial Software Experience:If you've worked with financial modelling tools or software like Excel, SAP, or specific analytical tools during your studies or internships, bring that up! Highlighting your proficiency can really make your application pop and show you're ready to hit the ground running in a full-time role.
Research and Reflect:Before hitting that 'apply' button on Alpaca's website, do a little digging. Look up their recent projects, values, and culture. Reflecting their ethos in your application can make a huge difference and show you’re genuinely interested in being part of the team!
How to prepare for a job interview at Alpaca
✨Brush Up on Financial Analysis Skills
Make sure you're well-versed in financial concepts and analytical techniques relevant to banking and financial services. Get comfortable with tools like Excel for modelling or financial forecasting, as technical questions in this area are common during interviews with Alpaca.
✨Prepare for Case Studies
Expect to tackle case studies that demonstrate your problem-solving skills in real-world banking scenarios. Familiarise yourself with the types of problems you might face—think risk assessments or investment evaluations—and be ready to articulate your thought process clearly.
✨Show Your Passion for Finance
Since this is a full-time position, employers at Alpaca will be keen to see your genuine interest in finance. Be prepared to discuss recent industry trends or news articles that excite you, showcasing your enthusiasm and engagement with the field.
✨Network with Industry Professionals
Before your interview, reach out to current or former Alpaca employees on platforms like LinkedIn. They'll offer unique insights into the company's culture and the interview process, which can give us a delightful edge in showcasing a good fit for the team.
