Tech Lead Manager - Lakebase in London

Tech Lead Manager - Lakebase in London

London Full-Time 80000 - 100000 £ / year (est.) No working from home possible
Databricks

At a Glance

  • Tasks: Lead a team of engineers while staying hands-on with architecture and coding.
  • Company: Join Databricks, a leader in data and AI infrastructure.
  • Benefits: Competitive salary, career growth, and a dynamic work environment.
  • Other info: Opportunity to shape the future of Lakebase and grow your leadership skills.
  • Why this job: Make a real impact by solving tough problems with cutting-edge technology.
  • Qualifications: 5+ years in engineering, tech lead experience, and strong coding skills.

The predicted salary is between 80000 - 100000 £ per year.

At Databricks, we are passionate about enabling data teams to solve the world's toughest problems — from making the next mode of transportation a reality to accelerating the development of medical breakthroughs.

We do this by building and running the world's best data and AI infrastructure platform so our customers can use deep data insights to improve their business.

Founded by engineers — and customer-obsessed — we leap at every opportunity to solve technical challenges, from designing next-gen UI/UX for interfacing with data to scaling our services and infrastructure across millions of virtual machines.

And we're only getting started.

Lakebase enables teams to deliver applications faster with an optimised database developer experience, integration with the lakehouse, and simplified operations.

It provides a managed Postgres transactional layer for application state and workloads that combine operational data, analytics, and AI.

You'll join as one of the founding leaders building out both the Lakebase product and our London presence.

This is a Tech Lead Manager role: a hands-on technical leader who guides a small team of around five engineers while staying deep in the engineering work.

You'll spend the majority of your time hands-on — driving architecture and design, solving the hardest problems in your team's projects, aligning with partner teams on dependencies, and writing code — and the rest leading and growing the engineers around you, who will report directly to you.

It's role for a strong senior engineer who wants to lead a team and take on people management without stepping away from the technical work.

The team you will lead (one of)

Lakebase Platform Reliability (LPR)

— Constantly evolve Lakebase reliability: cross-functional infrastructure, observability, SLI/SLO definition and measurement, and higher operational efficiency without humans-in-the-loop, for both internal and customer-facing systems, by building AI-powered automation and services.

Lakebase Proxy

— Build the heart of the Lakebase data path, the network edge that every customer touches.

The proxy handles all client connections and transfers every byte of query traffic, serving every data protocol: Postgres, HTTP, Web Sockets, and the Data API.

We route and manage large volumes of concurrent connections, solving load balancing, authentication, and data access at high throughput, with a focus on performance, observability, and reliability.

Lakebase Storage

— Drive continuous delivery within a team of experts in storage technology, distributed systems, and Rust.

We manage the development and rollout of storage services that host millions of customer databases across dozens of regions, partnering with peer engineering teams across Databricks to co-evolve Lakebase services with our global infrastructure, and leading operational excellence in the 24/7 operation of our system.

The impact you will have

  • Lead a small team of 5-6 engineers, owning execution and on-time, high-quality delivery.
  • Stay hands-on: drive architecture and design, and write code on the hardest parts of your team's projects.
  • Set and uphold high technical standards through architecture reviews, testing, and a culture of engineering excellence.
  • Grow the engineers on your team with clear feedback and career development.
  • Align with partner teams on dependencies and unblock cross-cutting projects across the Lakebase stack.
  • Partner with engineering and product leadership to shape and deliver a long-term roadmap.

What we look for

  • 5+ years of engineering experience, including time as a tech lead or senior engineer, driving projects end-to-end.
  • Strong hands-on technical depth: you still design systems and write code, and can go deep on architecture for large-scale distributed services.
  • Experience with large-scale distributed services and the processes around testing, monitoring, and SLAs.
  • People management, or at least tech lead experience, is a must — you're ready to take on direct reports and lead them.
  • Ability to align multiple stakeholders on competing priorities.
  • Able to balance short-term delivery against long-term stability.
  • BS (or higher) in Computer Science, or a related field.

Tech Lead Manager - Lakebase in London employer: Databricks

Databricks is an exceptional employer that fosters a dynamic and innovative work culture in the heart of London. With a strong emphasis on employee growth, you will have access to continuous learning opportunities and the chance to mentor others, all while working with cutting-edge data analytics solutions. The collaborative environment encourages creativity and teamwork, making it a rewarding place for those passionate about technology and client engagement.

Databricks

Contact Details:

Databricks Recruitment Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫

We think this is how you could land Tech Lead Manager - Lakebase in London

Join Local Tech Meetups

Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at Databricks or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!

Contribute to Open Source Projects

Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to Databricks.

Tap into Online Developer Communities

Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like Databricks.

Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles

Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like Databricks that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!

We think you need these skills to ace Tech Lead Manager - Lakebase in London

Technical Leadership
Hands-on Coding
Architecture Design
Distributed Systems
Postgres
Load Balancing
Performance Optimisation

Some tips for your application 🫡

Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.

Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at Databricks.

Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Databricks and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!

Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!

How to prepare for a job interview at Databricks

Brush Up on Your Coding Skills

For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.

Know Your Tools and Frameworks

Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If Databricks uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.

Showcase Your Projects

Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.

Prepare for Behavioural Questions

While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.