At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead a dynamic team to create innovative software solutions and tackle complex engineering challenges.
- Company: Join Xero, a forward-thinking tech company with a collaborative culture.
- Benefits: Enjoy remote work flexibility, competitive salary, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Embrace a culture of ownership, experimentation, and continuous learning.
- Why this job: Shape the future of software while making a real impact on customer experiences.
- Qualifications: Experience in designing scalable systems and mentoring engineers is essential.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 £ per year.
The role involves collaborating with peers across Xero to create and deliver software to customers. By modelling engineering excellence, you will support your team to grow their technical capability, improve development practices, and tackle open-ended architectural challenges. Your work will directly shape the technical direction of the product group, breaking down silos and driving multi-year product or platform goals. Through data-driven decisions and smart simplification of complex systems, you will help solve customer problems effectively and release value early.
The team is a cross-functional engineering group focused on building and managing software that solves complex problems at scale. Working in a collaborative and safe environment, team members coordinate closely to align technical designs with broader architectural standards. Together, they foster a culture of ownership, experimentation, and feedback to deliver high-quality outcomes.
The Syft UK pod is currently working on high-impact reporting and insights engineering across Xero. Current work includes Budgets API and Reporting integration, the Benchmarking rebuild, and resilience improvements to the Syft-X API as demand grows from both customer-facing experiences and internal consumers.
As a Lead Engineer, you’ll be a hands-on technical leader: setting direction, supporting engineers to deliver well, and improving how the team works across design, delivery, deployment, and support. You’ll help build smaller, safer changes, strengthen operational visibility, and reduce dependency on a small number of people for critical knowledge and production work.
This role offers a remote working environment designed to support collaboration and balance. If preferred, you can work hybrid from one of our modern office spaces, with designated in-office boost days to connect with other teams in person.
Here are some of the things we are looking for:
- You bring expertise in designing secure, scalable distributed systems and managing software at scale with proficiency in our core tech stack, Node.js, AWS.
- A background in coaching and mentoring engineers, helping them grow their technical capabilities, is essential.
- You possess strong communication skills, with the ability to navigate complex technical ideas and build alignment.
- Your growth mindset drives a passion for continuous learning, experimentation, and sharing technical knowledge.
- An ability to lead incident responses, resolve failure patterns, and guide quality testing strategies will be highly valued.
- You offer a collaborative approach to problem-solving, welcoming diverse perspectives and encouraging a healthy team culture.
Apply even if your experience isn't a perfect match! At Xero, we hire based on your skills, passion, and the unique perspective you can bring to enhance our culture and team.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Lead Engineer- Syft 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 Xero 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 Xero.
✨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 Xero.
✨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 Xero 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 Engineer- Syft in London
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 Xero.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Xero 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 Xero
✨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 Xero 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.
