Software Engineering Lead in London

AUAR is automating homebuilding. We deploy robotic MicroFactories that produce a home's full timber structure directly on site, on demand, in sync with the build.

About Us

AUAR is a physical AI and robotics company, with construction as its vertical. We automate construction, starting with homes. While software has transformed almost every other sector, homes are still built largely by hand, in slow, expensive and fragmented processes. We’re changing that by building the technology layer for a new way of making homes: faster, more affordable, and with less waste.

AUAR combines software, robotics and physical AI to turn building designs into physical homes. Our software platform, MasterBuilder, takes a design and translates it into the instructions needed to manufacture the timber structure of a home. Our robotic MicroFactory then deploys directly on a construction site and produces building components on demand: walls, floors and roofs, ready for assembly. We’re shipping our first commercial MicroFactories this year. The systems we build now will decide how homes are manufactured at scale.

We’re a rapidly growing team of around 30 engineers, roboticists, operators and designers, working from an 11,000 sq ft R&D and demonstration facility in London. We’re looking for people who want to work on real-world AI and robotics, move fast, take ownership, and see their work become part of real homes, for real people.

The role

We're looking for a Software Engineering Lead: a strong engineer who is able to lead a team and take ownership. You have experience with software in the physical world - robots, manufacturing or physical AI. You will help us bring MasterBuilder from its current state to the platform that manages thousands of robots building homes all over the world.

You’ll run our software team, reporting directly to the CTPO. You own how MasterBuilder gets built and delivered: you own the development plan, milestones, and lead a small but mighty team to deliver the best outcomes. You help the team make strong technical decisions, keep their work adding up to one product, and drive cross-cutting calls to a clear outcome.

This is a hands‑on role. You write code, take substantial pieces end‑to‑end, and run reviews that catch the thing that would have broken a production run. Your standing with the team is earned in the work itself. The product is in its infancy: whole areas are yours to shape, the foundational decisions you make now will last, and your scope grows as the team does.

Problems you'll work on

Our software has physical consequences. It does not just render models or process data; it moves robot arms, cuts timber and coordinates real‑world production. A bug does not simply throw a stack trace at a user. It can stop a production run, damage material, or block a home from being built hundreds of miles away.

Two builds are due in two months with three engineers: an intelligent generative design companion and a physical AI module that learns to make panels. What ships and what waits? You scope, sequence and cut to a plan that holds, and pick up work yourself to keep it moving.

A production run is failing 200 miles away and the one engineer who knows that code is heads‑down. You get into the code and find the fault.

A system built for one MicroFactory now has to run fifty MicroFactories, and there is a mix of different versions. You see it coming and sequence the work before the harsh feedback from deployments in the field forces the issue.

What you'll be responsible for

• Owning the development plan and its execution: planning, stand‑ups, retros, honest estimates, risk surfaced early
• Leading and growing a team of lead engineers, aligning their technical plans into one coherent product
• Contributing directly as a senior engineer: substantial work delivered end‑to‑end, substantive code reviews
• Giving leadership a reliable read on what the team can deliver and when
• Planning capacity and hiring, and protecting the team's bandwidth

What we're looking for

• You've led delivery for a small group of engineers before, as a staff engineer, senior engineer or tech lead. The title need not have been manager; what matters is you owned the plan and the outcome.
• A senior engineering background you've kept current: you still ship code and run substantive reviews
• You've owned engineering delivery in production: tracked milestones, honest estimates, risks caught early
• You have been there before: startup or fast‑growth experience, including taking a small team through scaling
• Depth in a modern full‑stack environment (ours is Node, TypeScript, React, Three.js) and enough range to hold your own across the robotics side (Python, C++, RAPID, PLC)
• Preferred: experience with software that plans or controls physical hardware, and a genuine interest in physical AI

What we offer

• Competitive salary based on experience
• Share options so we all grow together
• 28 bookable days + bank holidays + seasonal office closure
• Health and dental insurance via Bupa
• An 11,000 sq ft R&D and demonstration facility in E17, where you work alongside the hardware your software drives
• High autonomy, high accountability, and a team that takes the mission seriously

Our values

• #ownyourmission: we take responsibility and execute with focus and urgency
• #forpeopleandplanet: we strive to do the best for people and planet
• #buildtogether: we succeed through deep collaboration with our team, partners, and customers
• #gooddesign: we centre good design in everything we do, holistically
• #beboldberadical: we think creatively; we are ambitious, bold, and radical

Application process

• Initial Application
• Hiring Manager Call (45 min, remote) - Danae Parissi (Software Product Lead), and/or Gilles Retsin (CTPO)
• Working Session & Values Interview (60-90 minutes, in‑person)
• Final Founder Interview (30 min, in‑person)

This is a London role, 4+ days a week in our E17 office. You'll need the right to work in the UK. We can sponsor visas if you're a standout candidate. If this is a fit, tell us, we'd rather hear from you than not.

We're proud that 50% of our technical team and 50% of our leadership are women. We believe great work comes from diverse perspectives, and we hire on potential as much as experience. If part of this role speaks to you, apply. Let's make housing better, together.

We are committed to creating an equitable, inclusive and diverse workplace. If you feel there is any area we could improve, please let us know.