At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead and inspire engineering teams while driving technical excellence and AI innovation.
- Company: Join a forward-thinking tech company focused on collaboration and growth.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, health benefits, remote work options, and opportunities for professional development.
- Other info: Dynamic environment with significant career advancement potential.
- Why this job: Shape the future of technology while mentoring the next generation of engineers.
- Qualifications: Experience in software development with strong leadership and communication skills.
The predicted salary is between 70000 - 90000 € per year.
A senior engineering leader who is responsible for the technical health, delivery performance, and professional development of their team. The Tech Lead is the primary engineering owner for one or more teams — setting technical direction, building culture, and bridging the gap between engineering and the broader organisation. Tech Leads are expected to actively drive AI‑native culture within their team and model best practice for everyone they manage.
The step from Technical Project Lead to Tech Lead is the most significant transition in the engineering career path. The TPL role is delivery‑focused; the Tech Lead role adds sustained people leadership, team design, and function‑level accountability. You are no longer primarily measured by what you build or what your project delivers — you are measured by the health and capability of your team over time. This means investing in people who may not yet be performing, having difficult conversations, and sometimes slowing down delivery to get the team architecture right. It is a fundamentally different role, and the instincts that made you a great TPL will need to evolve. Hands‑on contribution remains significant. Approximately 60% of time is spent on direct technical work — coding, design, review, and architectural decision‑making — and 40% on line management, stakeholder communication, hiring, and engineering strategy. This reflects Ignite’s current scale and the importance of Tech Lead technical credibility.
Responsibilities
- Own the technical health of one or more delivery teams: architecture, standards, quality, and culture.
- Line manage up to 6 engineers directly or up to 10 indirectly, including regular 1:1s, objective setting, development support, and performance management.
- Make or delegate architectural decisions with confidence, maintaining long‑term codebase coherence.
- Balance hands‑on technical contribution with management and leadership responsibilities.
- Drive quality and delivery standards across the team, setting clear expectations and holding them consistently.
- Contribute to sprint planning and prioritisation alongside the Programme Manager and Analysts.
- Lead incident response for the team, ensuring post‑mortems produce systemic improvements and address root causes.
- Represent engineering in stakeholder conversations, communicating clearly on delivery status, technical risk, and capacity.
- Partner with the Head of Engineering on resourcing, team design, and delivery strategy.
- Contribute to hiring by defining role requirements, leading technical interviews, and making recommendations.
- Support the development of Senior Engineers towards greater leadership capability.
- Operate with commercial awareness, understanding the revenue and margin implications of technical decisions.
- Contribute to cross‑function engineering strategy and platform‑wide architectural decisions.
- Develop or contribute to the Ignite repeatability and AI‑native agenda.
- Contribute to hiring strategy and team design conversations with the Head of Engineering.
- Carry full line management responsibility for direct reports, including probation management and formal performance processes.
- Support pay review and promotion recommendations to the Head of Engineering.
- Manage indirect accountability for QA leads and their reports within the Ignite structure.
AI Leadership Responsibilities
- Actively use and champion coding harnesses, building team‑level harnesses that standardize AI usage for common tasks.
- Understand AI agents at an implementation level, including design, risks, and appropriate usage.
- Understand and work with skills as reusable AI capabilities.
- Have a strong working knowledge of MCP (Model Context Protocol), including tool access, context management, and security implications.
- Set expectations for AI tool use within the team, defining what is encouraged, what requires review, and where human verification is required.
- Stay current with the AI tooling landscape and share relevant developments with the Head of Engineering.
Qualifications
- Languages: TypeScript and C#/.NET (sufficient depth to review and guide work in both stacks).
- Frontend: Vue.js (Customer Portal stack — review and governance level).
- Databases: SQL Server, PostgreSQL (design, performance, governance).
- Cloud.
Software Developer Tech Lead employer: hackajob
At Ignite, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer that fosters a culture of innovation and collaboration. As a Software Developer Tech Lead, you will not only lead a talented team but also have the opportunity to shape the technical direction and drive an AI-native culture within your team. With a strong emphasis on professional development, we offer robust growth opportunities, a supportive work environment, and the chance to make a meaningful impact in a rapidly evolving industry.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Software Developer Tech Lead
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections in the industry, attend meetups, and engage in online communities. You never know who might have the inside scoop on a job opening or can refer you directly.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! Create a portfolio showcasing your projects, especially those that highlight your leadership and technical abilities. This is your chance to demonstrate how you can drive an AI-native culture and lead a team effectively.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for interviews by practising common questions related to team management and technical decision-making. Be ready to discuss how you've handled difficult conversations and invested in team development — these are key for a Tech Lead role!
✨Tip Number 4
Apply through our website! We make it easy for you to showcase your experience and skills directly to us. Plus, it shows you're genuinely interested in joining our team and contributing to our engineering culture.
We think you need these skills to ace Software Developer Tech Lead
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Your Leadership Skills:As a Tech Lead, we want to see how you can inspire and guide a team. Highlight your experience in managing engineers, driving technical direction, and fostering a positive culture. Share specific examples where you've made a difference!
Be Clear About Your Technical Expertise:We’re looking for someone who’s hands-on with coding and architecture. Make sure to detail your experience with TypeScript, C#/.NET, and any relevant frameworks like Vue.js. Don’t forget to mention your familiarity with AI tools and practices!
Communicate Your Vision:In your application, let us know how you envision bridging the gap between engineering and the broader organisation. We love candidates who can articulate their strategy for team design and delivery while keeping commercial awareness in mind.
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to submit your application through our website. It’s the best way for us to keep track of your application and ensure it gets the attention it deserves. Plus, it shows you’re keen on joining our team!
How to prepare for a job interview at hackajob
✨Know Your Tech Inside Out
As a Software Developer Tech Lead, you need to be well-versed in TypeScript, C#/.NET, and the relevant frameworks. Brush up on your coding skills and be prepared to discuss architectural decisions you've made in the past. This will show that you can balance hands-on work with leadership.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Style
Be ready to talk about your experience in managing teams and how you foster a positive culture. Share specific examples of how you've supported team members' development and handled difficult conversations. This is crucial for demonstrating your capability as a people leader.
✨Understand AI Integration
Since driving an AI-native culture is part of the role, make sure you can discuss how you've implemented AI tools in previous projects. Familiarise yourself with concepts like MCP and be prepared to explain how you've used AI to improve processes or outcomes.
✨Communicate Clearly with Stakeholders
You’ll need to represent engineering in stakeholder conversations, so practice articulating technical risks and delivery statuses clearly. Think of examples where you've successfully communicated complex ideas to non-technical audiences, as this will highlight your ability to bridge gaps within the organisation.
