Lead Software Developer (REMOTE) in Leatherhead, Surrey

Position Title: Lead Software Developer Team: Engineering Department: Technology BYTES: Established in 1982, Bytes has grown rapidly and now employs over 800+ people across 6 locations in the UK and Ireland. Our turnover in Financial Year 2024 was in excess of £2bn. We work with SME's, corporates and public sector organisations to modernise and digitally transform their IT infrastructures. We invest in our employees through on-going support, training and advice to help them achieve their career aspirations, rewarding success both financially and personally. There is opportunity to grow and move internally which can be seen through our long-standing employees who have developed existing and new skills to move into senior positions in the organisation leaving space for new team members to begin their journey. Over 800 staff (plans to double in size over the next 5 years) Operating from modern, hybrid working environments with offices in Leatherhead, Reading, London, Manchester, Port Solent and Dublin. Winners of an array of industry awards Sunday Times Top 100 Best Places to Work Excellent training and career prospects offered Fantastic office with gym, canteen, open plan, smart casual dress code, regular incentives and company events Supporters of 85+ charities with strong commitment to diversity and sustainability PURPOSE OF JOB: We are looking for a proactive, product-minded C# Developer to join our small, agile engineering team. The role will design, build and support secure, scalable applications across the full technology stack, with a strong focus on clean architecture, test-driven development and reliable delivery. Build and maintain backend services in C# using .NET Core/.NET 9, with a focus on clean architecture, scalability and maintainability. Full-Stack Delivery: Implement responsive, performant front-end components in React and Next.js, integrating seamlessly with C# APIs. DevOps & Deployment: Containerise applications with Docker, orchestrate with Kubernetes and manage GitOps deployments using ArgoCD. Cloud Infrastructure: Use Microsoft Azure services, including App Services, Functions, AKS and SQL Database, to host, scale and secure applications. Database Management: Design and optimise PostgreSQL and Microsoft SQL Server schemas, queries and migrations, and manage database connections securely. Collaboration & Mentorship: Work closely with product managers, designers and engineers, contributing to code reviews, pair programming, mentoring and knowledge sharing. Quality & Testing: Champion Test-Driven Development and create effective unit, integration and end-to-end tests to maintain confidence in releases. WIDER TEAM NETWORK Internal Product Managers, Designers, Engineering colleagues, DevOps/Cloud teams, Information Security and wider business stakeholders. QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE, & SKILLS: Educational Qualifications: Relevant degree, apprenticeship or equivalent practical experience in software engineering or a related discipline. Professional Qualifications Relevant Microsoft Azure, Kubernetes, security or software development certification. Years of Experience 4+ years of professional experience building backend services with C#/.NET. ESSENTIAL Other Requirements C#/.NET: Strong professional experience with C#, .NET Core and modern backend service design. Frontend: Solid understanding of React.js and Next.js, with the ability to build responsive and performant user interfaces. DevOps: Azure: Proven experience deploying, managing and securing applications on Microsoft Azure. Databases: Confident modelling, querying and tuning PostgreSQL and Microsoft SQL Server databases. CI/CD: Skilled in creating automated build, test and deployment pipelines. Agile & Quality: Adaptable Learner: Comfortable learning new languages, tools and observability technologies as required. Experience with AWS or GCP; or mobile and web performance optimisation. MEASURES & GOALS (HOW WILL THE SUCCESS OF THE PERSON IN THIS POSITION BE MEASURED – WHAT ARE THE EXPECTED OUTPUTS) OBJECTIVE MEASURE FREQUENCY Deliver high-quality product features Features meet agreed acceptance criteria, coding standards and automated test requirements Per sprint / release Maintain reliable applications Service health, incident trends and observability coverage meet agreed team targets Monthly Strengthen engineering quality Consistent TDD, effective peer review and low levels of escaped defects Per sprint Improve delivery automation Secure, repeatable CI/CD and GitOps deployments with appropriate scanning and controls Quarterly Contribute to team capability Active participation in reviews, pairing, mentoring and knowledge sharing Ongoing