Lead Development Engineer in Stone

Location: Stone, Staffordshire – Hybrid working, 2 days a week in our Stone Office

Status: Permanent

Package: Competitive Salary, Flexible Working, Development & Opportunity (Personal & Technical), Private Medical (Optical & Dental options), Matching Contributory Pension, 25 Days Leave + Public Holidays + Buy and Sell Scheme, Life Insurance, Referral Scheme, Employee Assistance Program, Benefits Hub

Role Overview: At Instem, you’ll empower pharmaceutical companies, CROs, government agencies, academic institutions, by providing cutting‑edge SaaS solutions and consultancy services designed to help researchers make discoveries, and to accelerate and advance their research programmes. You’ll work with technology that supports over 50% of global drug discovery and is trusted by leading pharmaceutical, biotech and CRO organisations worldwide. As a Lead Development Engineer, you’ll be part of that mission, using your skills to support innovation across the global life sciences industry.

Culture & Work Environment: You’ll be part of a friendly, solutions‑focused environment within a global business of over 400 people. Here, you’ll experience a high‑performance culture balanced with genuine flexibility – we trust you to take ownership, deliver meaningful results, and work in a way that suits you. You’ll be encouraged to grow, share your ideas, and make a real impact. We’re passionate about creating a place where you can develop your skills, contribute confidently, and succeed in your career.

Why Join us as a Lead Development Engineer? You’ll work as part of a dynamic, diverse team with colleagues across Asia, Europe and North America. In this role, you will take full ownership of maintenance, stability, and ongoing enhancement. You will also play a key role in shaping engineering culture, enabling others to lead, and building a healthy, reflective, and high‑performing team.

What You’ll Be Doing:

• Lead technical decision making of design of robust, scalable, and maintainable software solutions within your product team
• Guide the delivery of complex product‑scale requirements into robust, scalable solutions
• Champion and help define technical standards, architectural patterns, and design practices
• Provide effective mentorship and coaching to engineers at all levels, supporting their technical and professional growth
• Support architectural alignment within your function and contribute to cross‑team technical discussions
• Facilitate effective agile ceremonies and collaborative working practices within your team by modelling pro‑social, professional and collaborative behaviour
• Represent your team in wider engineering and product forums
• Contribute to and take accountability for the maintenance of high‑quality technical documentation of your team’s work
• Proactively address and elevate technical risks, blockers and opportunities for improvement
• Build effective relationships with stakeholders across Product, Design and Engineering
• Stay current with industry trends and drive adoption of relevant technologies
• Adhere to the company’s Quality and Information Security Management systems to ensure that all work is handled securely, professionally and diligently

What We’re Looking For: You’ll bring curiosity, initiative and a forward‑thinking mindset. This role does require an individual with strong Java desktop engineering capability.

• Strong design and architectural skills, with experience shaping systems and guiding delivery
• Significant experience in software development with a proved track record of technical leadership
• Expertise with current development tools, best practices and version control systems (e.g., Git)
• Extensive experience working within agile development, iterative delivery and cross‑functional teams
• Demonstrated ability to effectively mentor others and support the growth of a development team
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to collaborate effectively with stakeholders and positively influence technical direction

Desirable:

• Domain knowledge of scientific data and common data types/standards used in scientific workflows
• Ability to translate scientific feature requests into robust, scalable software solutions, working closely with scientific stakeholders
• Experience or familiarity with cheminformatics and/or toxicology data, including scientific terminology and "scientist‑to‑engineer" translation skills

What We Offer:

• Comprehensive Healthcare (Medical, dental, vision, life and more)
• Comprehensive wellbeing and support initiatives
• Clear career pathways to support your progression to the next level
• Pro‑rated and immediate vacation days
• Continuous training and development
• Generous retirement plans

Ready to Make a Difference? Join a team that values your perspective and supports your growth while helping shape the future of life sciences. Apply now – we’d love to hear from you and our Talent team will be in touch.

An Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.