At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead engineering teams to solve complex hospitality challenges with innovative technology.
- Company: Join Nando's, a vibrant tech team focused on growth and collaboration.
- Benefits: Enjoy competitive salary, health benefits, and opportunities for professional development.
- Other info: Embrace a diverse and inclusive culture where everyone can thrive.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in the hospitality industry while working with cutting-edge technology.
- Qualifications: Experience in software engineering and leading agile teams is essential.
The predicted salary is between 70000 - 90000 £ per year.
Overall Ambition
Solve some of today's most complex hospitality challenges by creating innovative, scalable technology using a modern, open technology stack. Lead engineering teams that deliver reliable, high-performing solutions which improve the experience of our customers and Nandocas while enabling Nando's continued growth across the USA.
What We're Looking For
We're looking for an experienced Technical Lead to join our passionate, lean, agile, fast-growing and evolving technology team on a permanent basis. You'll be a hands-on technical leader who enjoys solving complex engineering challenges, building highly scalable distributed systems and helping engineers grow. You'll combine technical excellence with strong leadership, enabling teams to deliver high-quality software whilst continuously improving engineering practices.
Working closely with Product Managers, Engineers, Architects and business stakeholders, you'll shape technical direction, support delivery and ensure we're building solutions that create meaningful value for both our customers and Nandocas.
Living the Nando's Values
- Pride - Take ownership of complex technical challenges, maintain high engineering standards and consistently deliver quality outcomes.
- Passion - Bring curiosity, enthusiasm and energy to solving customer problems while helping others succeed.
- Courage - Challenge existing approaches, embrace change and make informed technical decisions, even in uncertain environments.
- Integrity - Build trust through honesty, transparency and accountability in everything you do.
- Family - Foster an inclusive, collaborative environment where individuals feel supported, respected and empowered to do their best work.
These values shape how we work together, make decisions and build technology that moves Nando's forward.
The Role
As a Technical Lead, you'll provide technical leadership across one of our USA digital product domains, helping deliver scalable, resilient and maintainable software that supports Nando's expansion into the US market. You'll remain hands-on while providing architectural guidance, mentoring engineers, driving technical excellence and ensuring your team delivers high-quality software at pace. You'll work closely with Product Managers to shape technical roadmaps, translate business requirements into scalable solutions and balance long-term technical strategy with day-to-day delivery.
You'll champion engineering best practices including automation, testing, observability, security, operational excellence and AI-assisted software development, creating an environment where engineers can do their best work.
About the USA Tech Team
Our mission is to bring the same exceptional digital experience enjoyed by customers across the UK and Ireland to customers throughout the USA. Our engineering teams work across the entire customer digital ecosystem, including:
- Locate - Helping customers and third-party platforms discover restaurant capabilities.
- Menu - Delivering rich digital menu experiences across every ordering channel.
- Payments - Powering secure, reliable payment experiences throughout our ecommerce journeys.
- Orders - Processing and tracking customer orders from checkout through to restaurant fulfilment.
- Loyalty - Rewarding customers through engaging loyalty experiences and integrations.
- Identity - Providing secure authentication and customer identity services.
- Frontend Applications - Delivering seamless experiences across web and mobile platforms.
Working across these domains, you'll help build scalable APIs, backend services and frontend integrations that support millions of customer interactions while enabling rapid business growth. You'll collaborate closely with other Customer Digital teams to design elegant technical solutions, integrate multiple systems and deliver highly resilient, high-throughput platforms.
Responsibilities
- Lead, mentor and develop a cross-functional engineering team, fostering a culture of ownership, collaboration and continuous improvement.
- Define technical direction and solution architecture for complex distributed systems.
- Partner with Product Managers and stakeholders to prioritise work and align technical delivery with business goals.
- Remain hands-on, contributing to software design, architecture, code reviews and complex engineering initiatives.
- Champion engineering excellence through modern development practices, testing, automation and continuous delivery.
- Drive improvements in platform reliability, scalability, security and operational performance.
- Promote observability, monitoring and operational ownership across the engineering lifecycle.
- Support engineers through mentoring, coaching and technical leadership.
- Collaborate with architecture, platform and security teams to ensure alignment across the wider technology organisation.
- Build strong relationships with third-party technology partners and internal stakeholders.
- Encourage adoption of AI-assisted engineering practices where they improve developer productivity and software quality.
Skills & Experience
Essential
- Proven experience leading software engineering teams within Agile environments.
- Strong hands-on software engineering background designing and building distributed systems.
- Experience architecting cloud-native applications using modern engineering practices.
- Strong understanding of microservices, APIs and event-driven architectures.
- Experience balancing technical strategy with product delivery.
- Excellent communication, mentoring and stakeholder management skills.
- Experience integrating internal platforms with third-party services.
- Strong understanding of software architecture, scalability, resilience and security.
- Passion for coaching engineers and building high-performing teams.
- Experience embracing AI-assisted software development as part of modern engineering practices.
Desirable
- Experience with Rust, Golang and/or TypeScript.
- Experience building Backend for Frontend (BFF) services.
- Experience with React, React Native and Next.js.
- Experience working with Google Cloud Platform.
- Experience with Kubernetes, Cloud Run, GitOps and modern deployment practices.
- Experience using Vercel or similar frontend deployment platforms.
- Experience supporting international or multi-region products.
- Previous experience working within ecommerce or high-traffic customer-facing platforms.
Technology Stack
- Languages: Rust, Golang, TypeScript
- Architecture: Microservices, Backend for Frontend (BFF)
- Frontend: React, React Native, Next.js
- Cloud & Platform: Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Kubernetes, Cloud Run, GitOps, Vercel
- Engineering Practices: CI/CD, Automated Testing, Observability, Distributed Systems, AI-Assisted Development
Everyone is Welcome
At Nando's, everyone is welcome. Inspired by our Southern African heritage, we know and value the richness that diversity brings to Nando's. We're committed to creating an inclusive and respectful culture for all, including our existing and future Nandocas, partners and suppliers, customers and the communities we are part of. We deliberately work hard to create an environment where every individual is valued, respected and can flourish regardless of who they are, their background or outlook on life. We welcome applications from a diverse range of individuals and will consider any reasonable adjustments to enable candidates to perform at their best throughout the recruitment process.
Technical Lead employer: nando's
At Nando's, we pride ourselves on creating a vibrant and supportive work environment where our team members, or Nandocas, feel like family. As an Assistant Manager in Salisbury, you'll enjoy unique benefits such as a 4-week paid sabbatical after five years, free meals during shifts, and extensive training opportunities that foster personal and professional growth. With a strong emphasis on internal progression and a culture that values fun and camaraderie, Nando's is the perfect place for those looking to thrive in a dynamic and rewarding role.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Technical Lead
✨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 nando's 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 nando's.
✨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 nando's.
✨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 nando's 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 Technical Lead
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 nando's.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at nando's 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 nando's
✨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 nando's 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.
