At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the Routing Squad to optimise parcel distribution and routing systems.
- Company: Join HIVED, a dynamic tech company focused on innovative logistics solutions.
- Benefits: Enjoy hybrid working, competitive salary, and generous holiday allowance.
- Other info: Experience a vibrant culture with opportunities for growth and community engagement.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on urban logistics while leading a talented team.
- Qualifications: 5+ years in software engineering with strong leadership and system design skills.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 £ per year.
Role Overview
We are looking for a Lead Engineer to take ownership of one of HIVED’s highest‑impact technical domains: the planning pipeline that powers supply‑demand matching, parcel distribution, and routing optimisation.
As part of HIVED’s Routing Squad, you’ll lead the team tackling some of the most complex and intellectually demanding problems in computer science – building systems that decide how parcels move through the city efficiently, reliably, and at scale.
This is a rare opportunity to combine deep engineering expertise, optimisation thinking, and real‑world domain understanding to shape a core strategic advantage for HIVED.
You’ll own the technical direction of the squad, set a high bar for engineering quality, and lead a team of engineers working closely with data scientists, analysts, product, and operations.
Your work will have a direct and visible impact: better routing, stronger planning capabilities, more efficient operations, and a delivery network you can see improving in the city around you.
- What You’ll Be Doing
- Lead the Routing Squad across technical strategy, delivery, team leadership, and execution of squad goals.
- Own the technical direction for systems supporting routing optimisation, supply‑demand matching, parcel distribution, forecasting, and planning.
- Translate business priorities and operational needs into clear technical strategy, measurable outcomes, and pragmatic execution plans.
- Guide architecture and system design for scalable, reliable, production‑grade optimisation and planning systems.
- Work closely with optimisation engineers, backend engineers, data scientists, analysts, product, and operational stakeholders to turn complex problems into shipped solutions.
- Lead the exploration and evaluation of new approaches across routing, scheduling, optimisation, forecasting, and distributed systems.
- Set and uphold a high engineering bar through technical reviews, architectural guidance, mentoring, and accountability for maintainable software.
- Manage, coach, and develop engineers in the squad, including hiring, performance management, development planning, and resourcing.
- Foster a culture of curiosity, ownership, high performance, and continuous learning within the team.
- What We’re Looking For
- 5+ years of software engineering experience, including backend or distributed systems development.
- Experience leading engineers, either as a people manager or as a senior technical leader with meaningful ownership over team delivery.
- Proven ability to translate complex, ambiguous business or operational problems into robust technical solutions.
- Strong system design and architectural skills in distributed, production‑grade environments.
- An appetite for hard optimisation problems – especially routing, scheduling, forecasting, supply‑demand matching, or other constraint‑heavy domains.
- Strong analytical thinking and the ability to combine technical depth with practical judgement.
- A track record of setting high engineering standards and helping teams consistently meet them.
- Experience working cross‑functionally with product, operations, data scientists, analysts, and senior leadership.
- Strong ownership mindset: you care about the strategy, the system, the team, and the real‑world outcome.
- Nice to Have
- Experience with routing, scheduling, optimisation, forecasting, logistics, mobility, or marketplace systems.
- Experience productionising algorithms, solvers, models, or data‑heavy decision systems.
- Familiarity with optimisation techniques such as linear/integer programming, constraint programming, heuristics, or solver‑based approaches.
- Experience working in a fast‑scaling operational environment where software has a direct physical‑world impact.
- Technologies We Use
- Backend languages: Python, Go
- Tech infrastructure: AWS, CDK Type Script, Lambda, SQS, Event Bridge, RDS, Dynamo DB
- Data tooling: GCP, Big Query, Looker, Looker Studio
- Observability: Loki, Tempo, Grafana, Prometheus
- Event‑driven architecture and domain‑driven design
Benefits
- Dynamic hybrid working environment with a diverse and driven team
- Huge opportunity for learning in a high growth environment, with progression opportunities based on success in the role
- 25 days of holiday allowance plus public holidays
- 1 Birthday Day Off + 2 Tenure‑Based Additional Days Off
- Subsidised Private Medical Insurance including dental, vision & mental health therapy
- Bi‑annual performance reviews and tailored development plans
- Competitive salary + EMI options scheme
- Annual compensation review
- Team lunch provided once a week
- Quarterly team socials and annual sports day
- Enhanced maternity/paternity/adoption policy as day 1 right
- Community volunteer days Cycle to work scheme
- Dog friendly office and depots
- Mac Book Air or Windows Laptop (depending on your preference)
- #J-18808-Ljbffr
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Lead Backend Engineer (Routing Squad) 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 HIVED 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 HIVED.
✨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 HIVED.
✨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 HIVED 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 Lead Backend Engineer (Routing Squad) in London
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 HIVED.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at HIVED 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 HIVED
✨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 HIVED 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.
