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For Companies At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead a team to design robust, scalable software solutions that make schools better.
- Company: Join Arbor, a mission-driven tech company transforming education for over 7,000 schools.
- Benefits: Enjoy 32 days holiday, wellness support, and flexible working options.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in education while mentoring and growing with a passionate team.
- Qualifications: 5+ years in software engineering with strong leadership and technical skills.
- Other info: Dynamic remote work environment with excellent career growth opportunities.
The predicted salary is between 80000 - 90000 £ per year.
Location: Remote
Salary: £80,000 - £90,000
About us
At Arbor, we’re 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. 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.
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.
About you
- 5+ years of professional software engineering experience on complex, scalable systems.
- Strong grounding in engineering principles and design patterns (e.g. SOLID, DRY).
- 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).
What we 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 (plus Bank Holidays).
- Life Assurance paid out at 3x annual salary.
- Comprehensive wellness benefit provided by AIG Smart Health, which provides a 24/7 virtual GP service, Mental health support, Counselling, and personalised Health Checks.
- Private Dental Insurance with Bupa.
- Salary sacrifice Pension provided by Scottish Widows.
- Enhanced maternity and adoption leave (20 weeks full pay) and paternity (6 weeks full pay) pay.
- Access to services such as Calm and Bippit (financial wellbeing coaching).
- All of our roles champion flexible working.
- Social committees that plan team, office and company wide events to bring people together and celebrate success.
- Dedicated professional development training budget (CPD courses, upskilling resources, professional memberships etc).
- Volunteer with a charity of your choice for a day each year.
- Dog friendly offices!
Interview process
- Phone screen
- 1st stage
- 2nd stage
We are committed to a fair and comfortable recruitment process, so if you require any reasonable adjustments during your application or interview process, please reach out to a member of the team at careers@arbor-education.com.
Arbor Education is an equal opportunities organisation. Our goal is for Arbor to be a workplace which represents, celebrates and supports people from all backgrounds, and which gives them the tools they need to thrive.
Refer a friend: Know someone else who would be good for this role? You can refer a friend, family member or colleague, if they are offered a role with Arbor, we will say thank you with a voucher valued up to £200! Simply email: careers@arbor-education.com.
Please note: We are unable to provide visa sponsorship at this time.
Technical Lead employer: Arbor Education
Contact Detail:
Arbor Education Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Technical Lead
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections in the industry, attend meetups, and engage in online forums. The more people you know, the better your chances of landing that Technical Lead role.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! Create a portfolio or GitHub repository showcasing your projects and contributions. This gives potential employers a taste of what you can bring to the table.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for those interviews! Research common technical questions and practice your answers. Don’t forget to brush up on your soft skills too, as communication is key in a collaborative environment.
✨Tip Number 4
Apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, it shows you’re genuinely interested in being part of our mission to transform education.
We think you need these skills to ace Technical Lead
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.
Showcase Your Technical Skills: Don’t hold back on detailing your technical expertise! Mention your proficiency with cloud platforms, automated testing, and any relevant design patterns. We want to see how you can contribute to our mission.
Communicate Clearly: Remember, we value clear communication! When writing your application, ensure that you explain your technical concepts in a way that’s easy to understand for both technical and non-technical folks.
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 this exciting opportunity!
How to prepare for a job interview at Arbor Education
✨Know Your Tech Inside Out
Make sure you brush up on your technical skills and knowledge relevant to the role. Be prepared to discuss system architecture, design patterns, and your experience with microservices. This is your chance to showcase your expertise, so don’t hold back!
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
As a Technical Lead, you'll need to demonstrate your ability to mentor and coach others. Think of examples where you've guided teams through challenges or helped engineers grow. Highlighting these experiences will show that you're not just a tech whiz but also a great team player.
✨Communicate Clearly
You’ll be working with both technical and non-technical stakeholders, so practice explaining complex concepts in simple terms. Prepare to discuss how you've successfully communicated technical ideas in the past, as this will be key to your success in the role.
✨Prepare for Scenario Questions
Expect questions that ask how you would handle specific situations, like leading a Root Cause Analysis or making trade-offs between speed and security. Think through your past experiences and be ready to share how you approached similar challenges.
