At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the charge in enhancing developer experience with AI-driven tools and innovative practices.
- Company: Join Arbor, a mission-driven tech company transforming education for over 12,000 schools.
- Benefits: Enjoy 32 days holiday, wellness support, and a dedicated professional development budget.
- Other info: Flexible working, dog-friendly offices, and a commitment to diversity and inclusion.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on developer productivity while shaping the future of education technology.
- Qualifications: Proven experience in developer relations and integrating AI tools into workflows.
The predicted salary is between 90000 - 100000 £ per year.
Location: Remote
Salary: £90,000 - £100,000
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 12,000 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 proactive Technical Lead - Developer Experience to join our DevEx team and help us drive our new AI-first engineering shift by taking ownership of the internal developer journey, tooling, and documentation to ensure maximum engineering productivity and satisfaction. The remit and focus of the role is to blend deep technical expertise with leadership, requiring you to champion the integration of AI and Generative AI tools into our workflows, mentor and coach engineers, embed a culture of developer‑centric quality, and guide the team in making sound technical decisions related to the development lifecycle.
Core responsibilities
- Developer Tooling Architecture & Agentic AI Integration: Define and guide the architecture of internal developer tools and services, specifically assessing, integrating, and maintaining AI‑powered tools, balancing trade‑offs between speed of development, reliability, and maintainability to meet engineering efficiency goals.
- Agentic-First Engineering Standards: Own and evolve the organisation's agentic AI working practices across R&D — defining standard skills, instructions, agent configurations, and interaction patterns that enable every engineer to work effectively with AI tooling.
- Developer Productivity and Flow: Champion developer productivity by identifying and addressing pain points in the development lifecycle. Measure key internal metrics and drive continuous improvement in developer workflows and tooling.
- Automation and Onboarding: Drive automation initiatives, leveraging agentic AI and machine learning techniques, across the team to streamline developer onboarding, reduce cognitive load, and eliminate development environment toil.
- Technical Standards & Documentation: Define and uphold developer experience standards, promote clear documentation, and work with teams to ensure seamless adoption of new technologies and best practices.
- Planning and Delivery: Lead technical estimation and feasibility assessments for DX initiatives, ensuring plans are realistic and aligned with team capacity.
- Mentorship and Coaching: Mentor and coach engineers through constructive feedback, knowledge sharing, and motivation.
- Collaboration and Feedback: Work closely with Product Managers, Engineering Managers, and other engineers to gather feedback, understand developer pain points, and align technical direction with product strategy.
About you
Experience: Considerable experience in Developer Relations, Developer Productivity, or building internal tooling on complex systems. Proven experience integrating and leveraging AI, machine learning, or generative AI tools to significantly improve developer workflows, accelerate feature delivery, and increase overall engineering efficiency. Extensive expertise with AWS and distributed cloud architectures for building developer‑facing services.
What we offer
- 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.
- 32 days holiday (plus Bank Holidays).
- Life Assurance paid out at 3x annual salary.
- Comprehensive wellness benefit provided by AIG Smart Health.
- Private dental insurance with Bupa.
- 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.
- Dedicated professional development training budget.
- 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.
Technical Lead - Developer Experience (DevEx) employer: Arbor Education
Contact Detail:
Arbor Education Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Technical Lead - Developer Experience (DevEx)
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections in the tech world, especially those who work in developer experience or AI. A friendly chat can lead to insider info about job openings and even referrals.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! Create a portfolio or GitHub repository showcasing your projects, especially those involving AI integration or developer tooling. This gives potential employers a taste of what you can do.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for interviews by brushing up on common technical questions related to developer productivity and AI tools. Practice explaining complex concepts in simple terms, as you'll need to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical folks.
✨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. Plus, it shows you’re genuinely interested in joining our mission to make schools better places to work.
We think you need these skills to ace Technical Lead - Developer Experience (DevEx)
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Your Passion: When writing your application, let your enthusiasm for the role shine through! We want to see how excited you are about transforming developer experiences and integrating AI into workflows. Share your journey and what drives you in this field.
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV is tailored to highlight your relevant experience and skills that match the job description. Focus on your achievements in Developer Relations and any AI integration you've done. We love seeing how your background aligns with our mission!
Be Clear and Concise: Keep your application clear and to the point. Use straightforward language to explain your technical expertise and leadership experience. We appreciate clarity, especially when it comes to complex concepts – make it easy for us to understand your impact!
Apply Through Our Website: Don’t forget to apply 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 team at Arbor!
How to prepare for a job interview at Arbor Education
✨Know Your Tech Inside Out
Make sure you’re well-versed in the technologies mentioned in the job description, especially around AI integration and developer tooling. Brush up on your knowledge of AWS, Terraform, and any relevant programming languages like Python or PHP. Being able to discuss these confidently will show that you're not just a candidate, but a potential leader in the field.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
Since this role involves mentoring and coaching engineers, be prepared to share examples of how you've successfully led teams or projects in the past. Think about specific challenges you faced and how you helped your team overcome them. This will demonstrate your ability to foster a collaborative environment.
✨Prepare for Scenario-Based Questions
Expect questions that ask how you would handle specific situations related to developer productivity and workflow optimisation. Think through scenarios where you had to identify pain points in a development lifecycle and how you implemented solutions. This will highlight your problem-solving skills and practical experience.
✨Align with Their Mission
Arbor is all about transforming the educational landscape for the better. Familiarise yourself with their mission and values, and be ready to discuss how your personal goals align with theirs. Showing genuine interest in making schools happier places to work will resonate well with the interviewers.