At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead a small team of engineers and shape technical direction.
- Company: Join a growing tech company with a collaborative remote culture.
- Benefits: Enjoy a competitive salary, bonus, health care, and remote work perks.
- Other info: Opportunity for career growth and hands-on technical leadership.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in a high-growth environment while developing your leadership skills.
- Qualifications: Strong software engineering experience, ideally in Python and React.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 60000 β¬ per year.
Location - Fully Remote (Must be UK resident with RTW)
Salary - Up to Β£60,000 + bonus + benefits
Role purpose
We are looking for a Lead Software Engineer to help shape the technical direction of our growing engineering team. This is an ideal role for a strong mid-level or senior engineer who is ready to take their first formal step into technical leadership. You may already be the person others go to for technical guidance, design decisions or support, but you are now looking for a role where you can grow into line management, coaching, architectural ownership and broader technical decision-making. You will manage a small team of software engineers, with up to five direct reports. You will report directly to the Head of Technology, who has a software engineering background with over 20 years of experience. This gives the role strong support, direct visibility and real influence over how the technology function develops. The business is growing, and this is a high-impact role. You will help shape our systems, tooling, architecture and engineering practices as we scale.
Key responsibilities
- Technical leadership
- Lead technical delivery across a small team of software engineers.
- Help engineers break down problems, make good technical choices and deliver high-quality work.
- Set clear technical direction while still staying close enough to the code to guide and support the team.
- Contribute directly where needed, especially on complex or high-impact work.
- Architecture and system design
- Own architectural thinking across our application systems.
- Make or guide decisions around system design, technical patterns, tooling and platform direction.
- Ensure our systems are scalable, maintainable, secure and reliable.
- Work closely with the Platform Engineer on infrastructure direction, cloud architecture and CI/CD approach.
- Line management and coaching
- Line manage up to five software engineers.
- Support engineers with regular feedback, coaching and development.
- Create a team environment where people learn, share knowledge and improve together.
- Help engineers grow their technical judgement and confidence.
- Engineering standards
- Own and improve engineering standards across the team.
- Promote good practices around testing, code quality, documentation, observability and release safety.
- Support a healthy code review culture where anyone can review anyone's work.
- Encourage pragmatic, thoughtful engineering rather than process for its own sake.
- Cloud, infrastructure and delivery
- Provide technical direction on cloud architecture and infrastructure design.
- Work with the Platform Engineer on CI/CD, infrastructure as code and cloud best practices.
- Help shape how we use Azure, Pulumi and related tooling.
- Ensure infrastructure decisions support reliability, security, scalability and developer productivity.
- AI-assisted engineering
- Help the team use AI tools effectively and responsibly as part of modern software development.
- Use and guide others on tools such as OpenCode, Claude Code and OpenAI Codex.
- Bring experience of other AI coding tools and workflows where useful.
Skills and experience
Essential
- Strong software engineering experience, ideally across Python and React.
- Good system design and architectural thinking.
- Experience contributing to technical decisions beyond individual tickets.
- Good understanding of Git, feature branching, pull requests and code reviews.
- Comfortable coaching, mentoring or supporting other engineers.
- Strong communication skills and the ability to explain technical trade-offs clearly.
- Comfortable working with AI tools as part of engineering delivery.
- Able to balance hands-on delivery with leadership responsibilities.
Desirable
- Previous experience as a senior engineer, technical lead or informal team lead.
- Exposure to line management or mentoring.
- Experience with CI/CD pipelines.
- Experience with infrastructure as code.
- Experience with Pulumi.
- Good understanding of cloud architecture and cloud best practices.
- Experience with Azure.
- Experience with Shopify.
- Experience working closely with platform, DevOps or infrastructure engineers.
- Awareness of security, observability and reliability best practices.
What we are looking for
This role is not necessarily for someone who has already been a long-standing engineering manager. It is for someone with strong technical capability who wants to step into leadership properly. You should enjoy helping other engineers improve, thinking about architecture, making technical decisions and creating the conditions for a team to do good work. You will need to be pragmatic, hands-on and comfortable with ownership. The team is small, so this is not a detached management role. It is a technical leadership role with real influence, real responsibility and direct access to the Head of Technology.
Benefits
- Bonus scheme.
- Fully remote working.
- Home office setup allowance.
- Training and development budget.
- BUPA health care plan.
- Birthday off.
- Volunteer days.
- High-impact role in a growing business.
Lead Software Engineer employer: Fulfilled Talent
Join a dynamic and innovative team as a Lead Software Engineer, where you will have the opportunity to shape the technical direction of our growing engineering function while enjoying the flexibility of fully remote work. We prioritise employee growth through a robust training and development budget, alongside a supportive work culture that encourages collaboration, knowledge sharing, and personal development. With competitive benefits including a bonus scheme, health care plan, and unique perks like birthday off and volunteer days, we are committed to creating a meaningful and rewarding workplace for our employees.
StudySmarter Expert Adviceπ€«
We think this is how you could land Lead Software Engineer
β¨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections in the tech world, especially those who might know about opportunities at companies you're interested in. A personal recommendation can make all the difference.
β¨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! Create a portfolio or GitHub repository showcasing your projects and contributions. This gives potential employers a taste of what you can do and how you approach problem-solving.
β¨Tip Number 3
Prepare for interviews by practising common technical questions and scenarios. We recommend doing mock interviews with friends or using online platforms to get comfortable with the format and types of questions you might face.
β¨Tip Number 4
Apply through our website! Itβs the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, it shows youβre genuinely interested in joining our team and contributing to our growth.
We think you need these skills to ace Lead Software Engineer
Some tips for your application π«‘
Tailor Your CV:Make sure your CV reflects the skills and experiences that align with the Lead Software Engineer role. Highlight your technical leadership experience, system design skills, and any coaching or mentoring you've done. We want to see how you can contribute to our growing team!
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter:Your cover letter is your chance to show us your personality and passion for the role. Share why you're excited about leading a team and how your background makes you a great fit. Don't forget to mention your experience with Python, React, and any relevant AI tools!
Showcase Your Technical Projects:If you've worked on interesting projects, especially those involving cloud architecture or CI/CD, make sure to include them in your application. We love seeing practical examples of your work and how you've tackled complex problems in the past.
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to apply directly through our website. Itβs the best way for us to receive your application and ensures youβre considered for the role. Plus, it gives you a chance to explore more about StudySmarter and what we stand for!
How to prepare for a job interview at Fulfilled Talent
β¨Know Your Tech Inside Out
As a Lead Software Engineer, you'll need to demonstrate your strong software engineering experience, especially in Python and React. Brush up on your technical skills and be ready to discuss architectural thinking and system design. Prepare examples of past projects where you made significant technical decisions.
β¨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
This role involves managing a small team, so it's crucial to highlight any previous experience in coaching or mentoring. Think of specific instances where you've supported other engineers or contributed to their growth. Be prepared to discuss how you would create a collaborative team environment.
β¨Communicate Clearly
Strong communication skills are essential for this position. Practice explaining complex technical concepts in simple terms. You might be asked to discuss trade-offs in technical decisions, so ensure you can articulate your thought process clearly and confidently.
β¨Familiarise Yourself with AI Tools
Since the role involves using AI tools like OpenAI Codex, make sure you're comfortable discussing how these tools can enhance software development. Share any experiences you've had with AI-assisted engineering and how you envision integrating these tools into your team's workflow.