Member of Technical Staff - Engineering Lead, Compute Platform in London

Member of Technical Staff - Engineering Lead, Compute Platform in London

London Full-Time 72000 - 88000 £ / year (est.) No working from home possible
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At a Glance

  • Tasks: Lead a team to build and maintain a cutting-edge compute platform using Kubernetes.
  • Company: Join Reflection, a pioneering research lab making AI accessible for everyone.
  • Benefits: Enjoy top-tier compensation, stock options, and comprehensive health benefits.
  • Other info: Unlimited vacation days, team-building events, and support for long-term immigration.
  • Why this job: Make a real impact in the future of AI while growing your career.
  • Qualifications: Experience in systems engineering and team leadership; coding skills are essential.

The predicted salary is between 72000 - 88000 £ per year.

Mission

Reflection is a research lab making intelligence open and accessible for everyone to use, customize, and build on.

We build open models that let anyone control their intelligence and help shape the future of AI.

Our mission: make intelligence open and accessible to all.

About the Role

Reflection's Compute Platform team keeps our compute layer healthy and highly available.

We run a Kubernetes-based platform distributed across multiple neo-clouds, where multi-cloud scheduling, node health, and performance debugging at scale present genuinely hard systems problems.

As Compute Platform Lead, you'll provide front‑line leadership of the team that builds and operates this layer.

You'll build, mentor, and grow a team of strong systems engineers, guide the technical and architectural decisions across multi‑cloud scheduling, cluster management, and next‑generation GPU deployments, and work closely with our training teams to co‑design fault tolerance, node health checks, and remediation.

You'll stay close enough to the systems to make targeted contributions as an individual contributor and to maintain a deep understanding of the compute fleet our largest training runs depend on.

Managing vendors — and the important deals that come with them — is a core part of the job.

  • What You’ll Do
  • Build, mentor, and grow a high‑performing team of systems engineers. Coach and support your reports in understanding, and pursuing, their professional growth.
  • Provide front‑line leadership of engineering efforts to keep the compute fleet reliable and highly available — multi‑cloud scheduling, cluster management, and the path to next‑generation GPUs and increasingly larger cluster sizes.
  • Stay hands‑on: become familiar with the team's technical stack enough to make targeted contributions as an individual contributor.
  • Manage day‑to‑day execution: prioritize the team's work and manage projects in a highly dynamic, fast‑paced environment.
  • Guide technical and architectural decisions, emphasizing scalability, robustness, and reliability — automatic remediation, topology‑aware scheduling, capacity planning, rapid hardware debugging, and cluster‑wide monitoring and performance benchmarking.
  • Work closely with our training teams to co‑design fault tolerance, node health checks, and remediation, and manage the vendor relationships and important deals the compute fleet depends on.
  • Prepare the fleet for what's next: next‑generation GPUs and larger clusters, and — longer term — multi‑cloud storage, petabyte‑scale data replication, and GPU‑to‑GPU network performance.
  • Raise the bar for technical judgment, prioritization, communication, and execution in a fast‑moving environment.
  • What We’re Looking For
  • Experience building, mentoring, and growing systems or infrastructure teams while staying technically hands‑on. (Comfortable growing into leading a team of ~10 quickly if you haven't managed at that scale before.)
  • Deep systems‑level engineering experience with a focus on cluster‑wide behavior and maintenance.
  • Strong coding ability and the credibility to earn the technical trust of a strong team.
  • Depth in at least one of orchestration, storage, or GPU hardware — with the ability to learn the rest.

Deep GPU knowledge beyond standard Kubernetes (e. g., NCCL) is a plus, not a prerequisite.

  • Alignment with a Kubernetes‑first architecture.
  • Cloud storage expertise — managing high‑performance data products (like VAST) across multiple data centers and handling datasets and checkpointing at scale — is a plus.
  • Experience managing vendors, including negotiating and operating important deals.
  • Ability to guide strategy and drive execution across a multi‑cloud, large‑fleet environment, and to partner effectively with research and training teams.

What We Offer

We believe that to make intelligence open and accessible to all, you need to start at the foundation.

Joining Reflection means building from the ground up as part of a talent‑dense team.

You will help define our future as a company, and help define the future of open foundational models.

We want you to do the most impactful work of your career with the confidence that you and the people you care about most are supported.

  • Top‑tier compensation: Salary and equity structured to recognize and retain our talent globally.
  • Stock options: Everyone who joins and contributes to Reflection's success gets to share in the upside through stock options.
  • Health & wellness: Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, and life, with an annual wellness allowance.
  • Meals: Lunch and dinner are provided in the office daily.
  • Life & family: 22 weeks paid parental leave for all new birthing and non‑birthing parents, including adoptive and surrogate journeys.
  • Vacation days: Unlimited paid time off in the U. S. and 30 days in the U. K.
  • Sponsorship support: We sponsor visas to help exceptional talent join our team and support long‑term immigration pathways where applicable.
  • Team building: We have regular off‑sites, happy hours, and team celebrations.

Export Control Notice

This position may require access to technology or source code subject to the U.

Export Administration Regulations.

Any offer of employment for this role may be conditioned on the Company's ability to provide the candidate with access to such technology or source code in compliance with applicable U.

S. export control laws, which may require the Company to seek government authorization.

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Member of Technical Staff - Engineering Lead, Compute Platform in London employer: Reflection

At Reflection, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer that champions innovation and collaboration in the rapidly evolving field of AI. Our inclusive work culture fosters personal and professional growth, offering top-tier compensation, comprehensive health benefits, and unlimited paid time off to ensure a healthy work-life balance. Join us in shaping the future of open foundational models while enjoying unique perks like daily meals and generous parental leave policies, all within a dynamic and supportive environment.

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Contact Details:

Reflection Recruitment Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫

We think this is how you could land Member of Technical Staff - Engineering Lead, Compute Platform 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 Reflection 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 Reflection.

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 Reflection.

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 Reflection 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 Member of Technical Staff - Engineering Lead, Compute Platform in London

Team Leadership
Systems Engineering
Kubernetes
Multi-Cloud Scheduling
Cluster Management
GPU Deployments
Technical Mentorship

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 Reflection.

Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Reflection 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 Reflection

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 Reflection 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.