Lead Software Engineer in Manchester

dcoded is partnering with one of the UK's most ambitious fintech platforms. We are looking to hire a Senior / Lead Software Engineer who wants to stay close to the code while shaping how a squad delivers.

This is a role for engineers who enjoy technical depth, modern cloud systems, and pragmatic leadership... not hierarchy. Diversity is foundational to this business – and we are particularly keen to hear from people who bring curiosity, commercial thinking, and a desire to build meaningful software.

The Opportunity

You’ll join a product-led engineering team building large-scale, cloud-native platforms used by financial institutions across the UK. These systems sit at the core of critical financial journeys, meaning your work has real-world impact at serious scale.

Although this role operates at a lead level, it is deliberately designed to remain 90%-100% hands-on. You’ll lead by example: writing production code, influencing architecture, and supporting a small squad through collaboration rather than command-and-control.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Designing and building highly scalable backend services that power complex financial workflows
• Working across TypeScript, Go, and C#, with modern frontend interaction via React
• Taking a cloud-first, API-led approach, primarily within AWS
• Contributing to architectural decisions while remaining grounded in delivery
• Helping your squad plan effectively using a now / next / later mindset
• Championing reliability, observability, and supportability. You build it, you help run it
• Improving automation, CI/CD pipelines, and engineering standards incrementally
• Supporting and mentoring others through pairing, reviews, and shared problem-solving

This is not a people-management-heavy role. Leadership here is about clarity, empathy, and technical credibility.

What We’re Looking For

You don’t need to come from fintech, and you don’t need to have done everything listed below. We’re far more interested in how you think and how you collaborate. That said, you’ll likely bring:

• Exposure to a high-performance language such as Go (or the appetite to deepen it)
• Experience building and running services in a major cloud environment (AWS or GCP preferred)
• Comfort with containerisation and modern deployment practices
• A practical, delivery-focused approach to engineering, balancing quality with momentum
• Experience working in cross-functional teams alongside product and delivery peers
• Familiarity with CI/CD, automation, and modern developer tooling

How This Team Works

• Engineering decisions are collaborative and transparent
• Iteration is valued over perfection
• Psychological safety matters! Questions are encouraged
• Flexible working is supported, with occasional out-of-hours support shared fairly
• Continuous learning and knowledge-sharing are part of everyday work

Why This Role Is Different

• Senior without stepping away from engineering
• Leadership without line management overhead
• Scale and complexity without bureaucracy
• A fintech solving real problems, not chasing hype

Inclusion Statement

If this role excites you but you’re unsure whether you meet every requirement, please apply anyway. Potential, mindset, and perspective matter here. dcoded and our client are committed to building diverse, inclusive engineering teams where everyone can do the best work of their career.