iOS Mobile Lead Engineer in Manchester

Kitman Labs is a global human performance company, disrupting and transforming the way the sports industry uses data to increase the performance of the world’s top athletes. Driven by a passion to innovate in the areas of sports performance, analytics and user experience, we have assembled a team of the industry’s top data scientists, sports performance scientists, product specialists and engineers. The company received recognition by Fast Company in 2019 as one of the most innovative companies in the world. Kitman Labs’ advanced Outcome‑driven Analytics and Performance Intelligence Platform are used by over 700 teams in 50 leagues on 6 continents spanning soccer, rugby, American football, baseball and ice hockey.

We’re on the lookout for passionate iOS developers to join our Mobile Team within our growing Product Engineering group. This team is at the heart of creating cutting‑edge tools that empower athletes and coaches worldwide to make data‑driven decisions. Our mobile apps are crafted primarily with Swift and SwiftUI, with some Objective‑C for legacy support. We embrace a culture of continuous learning, collaboration, and innovation, making this the perfect opportunity for engineers looking to grow and make a real impact.

What you’ll be doing:

• Write scalable and well‑tested code – You’ll design and implement robust solutions that ensure system scalability and high availability.
• Own the mobile journey – Take end‑to‑end responsibility for our iOS applications, ensuring they remain robust, performant, and aligned with our high engineering standards.
• Expand our global footprint – Lead the charge in localised deployments, facilitating seamless app releases across new regions to bring our platform to a worldwide audience.
• Build from the ground up – Architect and deliver new end‑to‑end features, bridging the gap between complex backend logic and a refined user interface.
• Empower and mentor talent – Manage a team of high‑performing engineers, providing technical guidance and career coaching to foster a culture of excellence and continuous growth.
• Bridge the gap between vision and execution – Partner closely with Product and Engineering Managers to scope, estimate, and roadmap work, ensuring technical feasibility and timely delivery of our product goals.
• Modernise and refactor – Champion the health of our codebase by identifying legacy bottlenecks and migrating toward modern iOS patterns like SwiftUI, Combine, or Swift Concurrency.
• Define the mobile standard – Collaborate with Android and Web leads to ensure architectural consistency and shared best practices across our entire engineering organisation.
• Guard the app’s vitals – Oversee app performance, crash rates, and battery usage, ensuring that our high‑performance sports insights never come at the cost of device stability.
• Cultivate an 'App Store Ready' culture – Manage the intricacies of the App Store Connect ecosystem, from certificates and provisioning to navigating Apple’s evolving privacy and submission guidelines.

What we’re looking for:

• Leadership & Strategy

• Proven technical leadership – A track record of guiding iOS teams and mentoring engineers, balancing high‑level architectural decisions with hands‑on development and people growth.
• Strategic planning and execution – Experience partnering with Product and Engineering Managers to translate roadmaps into actionable milestones with reliable estimation and scoping.
• A product‑oriented mindset – Strong collaboration skills with Design and Product teams to ensure technical implementation always serves the user experience and business goals.

• Mastery of the iOS ecosystem – Deep expertise in Swift and SwiftUI, with a sophisticated understanding of mobile performance, state management, and modern concurrency.
• Architectural vision – Success in designing modular, scalable, and testable app architectures that remain maintainable as the team and codebase grow.
• Advanced automation and infrastructure – Experience designing and optimising CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Fastlane, CircleCI) to streamline deployment workflows and ensure release stability.

• Commitment to engineering excellence – A high bar for quality, with experience implementing comprehensive testing strategies and establishing coding standards that elevate the entire team.
• Navigating technical complexity – Extensive experience integrating real‑time data via REST or GraphQL and managing the nuances of multi‑region app deployments and localised content.
• Analytical and decisive problem‑solving – An ability to deconstruct complex technical challenges into elegant, robust solutions while considering long‑term system health.

• Cross‑platform exposure – Familiarity with Kotlin Multiplatform (KMP), helping to bridge the gap between our iOS and Android engineering strategies.
• App Store Ecosystem navigation – Deep knowledge of App Store Connect, including managing complex provisioning profiles, App Store localised metadata, and navigating Apple’s review guidelines.

Why join us?

• Work on high‑impact products used by athletes and coaches worldwide.
• Be part of an innovative, fast‑moving team with a focus on automation and continuous delivery.
• Remote work flexibility, with a collaborative and supportive team culture.
• Direct influence on technical decisions and product roadmap.