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- Tasks: Lead system design and mentor engineers to create impactful software solutions.
- Company: Join Arbor, a mission-driven tech company transforming education for happier school environments.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, 32 days holiday, wellbeing initiatives, and remote work flexibility.
- Why this job: Make a real difference in education while working with passionate professionals.
- Qualifications: 5+ years in software engineering, strong PHP skills, and leadership experience.
- Other info: Dynamic team culture focused on quality, collaboration, and personal growth.
The predicted salary is between 80000 - 90000 £ per year.
Base pay range: £80,000 - £90,000
About us
At Arbor, we are on a mission to transform the way schools work for the better. We believe in a future of work in schools where being challenged doesn’t mean being burnt out and overworked. Where data guides progress without overwhelming staff. And where everyone working in a school is reminded why they got into education every day.
Our MIS and school management tools are already making a difference in over 7,000 schools and trusts. Giving time and power back to staff, turning data into clear, actionable insights, and supporting happier working days.
At the heart of our brand is a recognition that the challenges schools face today aren’t just about efficiency, outputs and productivity - but about creating happier working lives for the people who drive education every day: the staff. We want to make schools more joyful places to work, as well as learn.
About the role
We are looking for an experienced and collaborative Technical Lead to join our Engineering team and take ownership of system and solution design to ensure our products are robust, scalable, and secure. The remit and focus of the role is to mentor and coach engineers, embed a culture of quality, and help the team make sound technical decisions that deliver real value to customers.
Core responsibilities
- Define and guide system architecture, balancing trade-offs between speed, scalability, maintainability, and security.
- Work actively with the architecture community (ATLAS) to define processes, drive technology adoption, and share best practices across teams.
- Ensure non-functional requirements, performance, reliability, scalability, and security are addressed in all solution designs.
- Champion accountability from design through production by ensuring systems are observable and meet agreed Service Level Objectives (SLOs). Lead Root Cause Analysis when issues occur.
- Lead estimation and feasibility assessments, making sure plans are realistic and aligned with team skills and capacity.
- Contribute to structured release planning and communication, ensuring phased rollouts deliver value early (MVP-first). Support post-release reviews and retrospectives.
- Uphold coding standards and promote automated testing while embedding a quality-first culture in the development process.
- Identify and prioritise maintenance and technical debt, making its impact visible by translating it into customer and business outcomes.
- Mentor and coach engineers through feedback, knowledge sharing, and motivation. Foster alignment and help the team galvanise around technical solutions and goals.
- Work closely with Product Managers, Engineering Managers, QA, Designers, and other Engineers and Tech Leads to align technical direction with product strategy. Communicate technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Requirements
- 5+ years of professional software engineering experience on complex, scalable systems.
- Strong grounding in engineering principles and design patterns (e.g. SOLID, DRY).
- Extensive experience with PHP.
- Proficiency with relational databases and data modelling, including schema design, query tuning and data management.
- Proven ability to design and deliver solutions using service-oriented or microservice architectures, including well-structured APIs.
- Hands-on experience with automated testing, CI/CD pipelines and containerisation (Docker, Kubernetes).
- Working knowledge of a major cloud platform (AWS, Azure or GCP).
- Familiarity with observability practices - monitoring, metrics and alerting - plus incident/problem management and Root Cause Analysis.
- Understanding of secure coding and compliance requirements.
- Experience guiding teams through technical estimation and providing input into release planning.
- Demonstrated leadership in mentoring and supporting engineers' growth.
- Excellent written and spoken English, and the ability to communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Bonus skills
- Experience with enterprise-scale or high-availability systems.
- Agile facilitation (Scrum/Kanban) and continuous improvement.
- Exposure to DevOps/SRE practices (infrastructure as code, performance tuning, capacity planning).
Benefits
The chance to work alongside a team of hard-working, passionate people in a role where you’ll see the impact of your work every day. We also offer:
- A dedicated wellbeing team who champion initiatives such as mindfulness, lunch n learns, manager training, mental health first aid training and much more!
- 32 days holiday.
Technical Lead in London employer: Arbor Education
Contact Detail:
Arbor Education Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Technical Lead in London
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections in the industry, attend meetups, and engage in online forums. We all know that sometimes it’s not just what you know, but who you know that can land you that dream job.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for those interviews! Research the company, understand their products, and be ready to discuss how your skills align with their mission. We want you to shine and show them why you’re the perfect fit for their team.
✨Tip Number 3
Showcase your projects! Whether it’s through a portfolio or GitHub, let your work speak for itself. We believe that demonstrating your technical prowess can set you apart from the competition.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. We’re excited to see what you bring to the table!
We think you need these skills to ace Technical Lead in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter for the Technical Lead role. Highlight your experience with scalable systems and mentoring, as these are key aspects of what we’re looking for at Arbor.
Showcase Your Technical Skills: Don’t hold back on detailing your technical expertise! We want to see your proficiency in PHP, cloud platforms, and automated testing. Use specific examples to demonstrate how you’ve applied these skills in past projects.
Communicate Clearly: Since this role involves working with both technical and non-technical stakeholders, make sure your application reflects your ability to communicate complex ideas simply. This will show us you can bridge the gap between teams effectively.
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you’re considered for the role. Plus, it shows you’re keen on joining our mission!
How to prepare for a job interview at Arbor Education
✨Know Your Tech Inside Out
Make sure you brush up on your technical skills, especially in PHP and system architecture. Be ready to discuss your experience with scalable systems and how you've implemented design patterns like SOLID and DRY in past projects.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
As a Technical Lead, you'll need to demonstrate your ability to mentor and coach engineers. Prepare examples of how you've guided teams through technical challenges and fostered a culture of quality in your previous roles.
✨Communicate Clearly
Practice explaining complex technical concepts in simple terms. You'll be working with both technical and non-technical stakeholders, so being able to bridge that gap is crucial. Think of examples where you've successfully communicated ideas to diverse audiences.
✨Prepare for Scenario Questions
Expect questions about real-world scenarios, such as how you'd handle system failures or prioritise technical debt. Think through your approach to problem-solving and be ready to discuss specific situations where you've made impactful decisions.
