Lead Backend Engineer

Lead Backend Engineer

Full-Time 60750 - 74250 £ / year (est.) Home office (partial)
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At a Glance

  • Tasks: Lead a backend engineering team while actively contributing to coding and architecture.
  • Company: Join a dynamic tech company focused on innovation and collaboration.
  • Benefits: Enjoy gym reimbursement, free lunch, flexible hours, and more perks.
  • Other info: Fast-paced environment with opportunities for growth and AI integration.
  • Why this job: Shape the future of backend systems and make a real impact.
  • Qualifications: 12+ years in Java/Spring Boot, strong leadership, and mentoring skills.

The predicted salary is between 60750 - 74250 £ per year.

  • The Lead Backend Engineer owns the growth and output of a backend engineering pod — hiring, developing, and managing a small team — while remaining a strong hands-on contributor and a voice in technical direction.

This is a player-coach role: you’ll write code and review architecture alongside your team, not just direct it from a distance, while also partnering with Talent to build out the team and with Engineering leadership to shape where the backend goes next

  • Build and lead a team – hire, mentor, and grow a high‑performing group of backend engineers as we scale
  • Shape technical direction – influence architecture, tooling, and roadmap decisions across backend systems
  • Stay hands‑on – architect optimal solutions to our business problems and ship features alongside your team
  • Scale our systems – help us grow to tens of millions of customers and connected devices
  • Raise the bar – build quality tools and frameworks to ensure a high‑quality product
  • Protect reliability – build systems to ensure continuous uptime
  • Influence technical direction and architectural decisions across backend systems – balancing pragmatism with long‑term scalability
  • Champion a bias toward action – prototype to resolve disagreements, ship incrementally, and avoid analysis paralysis on reversible decisions
  • Model high autonomy for your team – make sound judgment calls without unnecessary approval layers, while remaining accountable for outcomes
  • Continuously improve systems beyond your immediate scope – identify and fix inefficiencies, technical debt, or brittle abstractions wherever you find them, regardless of team ownership
  • Develop and maintain RESTful APIs using Java (Spring Boot or related web frameworks) or Python (Flask, Django)
  • Design and implement asynchronous service communication using Rabbit MQ or AWS SQS/SNS
  • Work with No SQL databases like Mongo DB for data modeling and storage
  • Collaborate with Product, QA, and Dev Ops teams to deliver reliable, scalable features, representing backend engineering in cross‑functional planning
  • Write clean, testable, well‑documented code with unit and integration tests – staying hands‑on as an active contributor, not just a reviewer
  • Participate in system architecture design, code reviews, and performance tuning
  • Set and uphold engineering standards and best practices across your team
  • Manage, mentor, and grow a team of backend engineers – owning hiring decisions, performance management, career development, and day‑to‑day team health
  • Partner closely with Talent/Recruiting to define hiring needs, shape interview processes, and build out the backend engineering team as we scale

Benefits

  • Gym reimbursement
  • Free cellular service on the best network in the US
  • Free lunch in NYC office & fully stocked kitchen
  • Metrocard reimbursement
  • Flexible working hours
  • Demonstrated ability to incorporate AI tools into the software development lifecycle, using Claude or Opencode for tasks like automated code reviews, documentation generation, and improving system design efficiency
  • Experience partnering with Talent/Recruiting to build and scale engineering teams – defining roles, running hiring processes, and closing candidates
  • Hands‑on experience with message brokers such as Rabbit MQ or AWS SQS/SNS
  • Solid understanding of Git, CI/CD workflows, and agile development practices
  • Proven ability to influence technical direction and drive architectural decisions at a team or organizational level
  • Strong stakeholder management skills – able to represent backend engineering’s perspective persuasively in front of executives, PMs, and cross‑functional partners
  • 12+ years of experience with Java and Spring Boot, including experience in a technical leadership or people management role
  • Strong experience with building and consuming REST APIs
  • Demonstrated experience managing, mentoring, and growing backend engineers, including hiring and performance management
  • Excellent debugging, problem‑solving, and communication skills
  • Experience integrating and leveraging AI‑assisted development tools such as Claude and Opencode to accelerate backend development, including code generation, debugging, and optimization of APIs and services
  • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field
  • Familiarity with Mongo DB or other No SQL database technologies
  • Comfort operating in a fast‑paced environment – wearing multiple hats across engineering, hiring, and cross‑functional work
  • #J-18808-Ljbffr

Lead Backend Engineer employer: US-Mobile

As a Lead Backend Engineer at our innovative company, you'll thrive in a dynamic work culture that prioritises collaboration and continuous improvement. With benefits like gym reimbursement, flexible working hours, and free lunches in our vibrant NYC office, we foster an environment where you can grow your skills while leading a high-performing team. Join us to shape the future of backend engineering and make a meaningful impact as we scale to serve millions of customers.

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Contact Details:

US-Mobile Recruitment Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫

We think this is how you could land Lead Backend Engineer

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 US-Mobile 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 US-Mobile.

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 US-Mobile.

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 US-Mobile 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

Team Leadership
Backend Development
Java
Spring Boot
Python
Flask
Django

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 US-Mobile.

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

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 US-Mobile 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.