Lead Engineer

Lead Engineer | Up to £120,000 Base | Guildford or Manchester | Hybrid (2-3 Days Onsite)

I'm working with an established, profitable UK business operating in a specialist, highly regulated financial services market.

They're investing in their technology capability and looking for a hands-on Lead Engineer to take genuine ownership of their engineering architecture, technical standards and long-term platform evolution.

This isn't a role where you'll simply inherit a team and keep the lights on.

It's an opportunity to help shape how engineering operates, modernise business-critical systems and influence technology investment alongside the CTO.

The opportunity:

Own and evolve the architecture of a business-critical technology stack.

Shape a more modular technology landscape, integrating existing platforms, third-party systems, data and automation.

Establish engineering standards across development, testing, deployment, security and reliability.

Lead and develop engineers, distributing technical ownership and decision-making across the team.

Work closely with the CTO and senior Data and Technology Operations leaders.

Remain technically hands-on, contributing to architecture, design and implementation.

What we're looking for:

Someone currently operating as a Lead, Principal or Staff Engineer who has experience taking ownership of complex technology environments.

You'll understand modern software architecture, APIs, integrations and the challenges of evolving legacy systems without disrupting business operations.

Experience in regulated environments would be particularly interesting.

Technology exposure of interest:

Microsoft Azure

Python (backend)

JavaScript (frontend)

Event-driven architecture / event sourcing

AI-assisted software development

These are desirable rather than mandatory technologies.

Why consider it?

✅ Up to £120,000 basic salary

✅ Genuine technical ownership from day one

✅ Direct access to the CTO and business leadership

✅ Opportunity to shape a developing engineering function

✅ Influence over architecture, investment and technical direction

✅ Stable, profitable organisation with long-term ambitions

📍 Location: Guildford or Manchester

🏢 Hybrid: 2-3 days per week onsite

💰 Salary: Up to £120,000 base + benefits

💼 Permanent position

If you're a senior engineer who enjoys solving complex problems, developing people and building engineering capability rather than simply managing delivery, I'd be interested in a conversation.

Drop me a message or get in touch for a confidential discussion.

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