Lead Backend Engineer (Architecture Team)

We’re looking for a Lead Backend Engineer to help build and grow our Architecture Team - a new function focused on shaping the long-term technical direction of our backend platform.

As our product and engineering organisation scale, we’re intentionally stepping back from short-term fixes to invest in a more consistent, strategic approach to architecture, reliability, and engineering standards across backend teams.

This role is ideal for a strong backend engineer who values ownership, leads by example, and enjoys developing others. You’ll work closely with backend teams, product managers, and business stakeholders, contribute to strategic initiatives, and help teams navigate complex technical challenges — influencing both systems and processes.

You will act as a leader and coordination point for a small but growing Architecture Team (currently starting from a senior-level core, with plans to expand over time).

What You’ll Do

• Define and evolve backend architecture standards (RFCs, ADRs, patterns, reference implementations)

• Lead cross-team technical design for complex initiatives, integrations, and platform-level changes

• Own system health: reliability, performance, observability, incident analysis, and risk reduction (MySQL, Redis, etc.)

• Drive technical debt reduction through clear prioritisation and measurable outcomes

• Design and improve internal and external APIs (contracts, versioning, backward compatibility)

• Improve engineering efficiency: CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, release safety, Git practices (TeamCity, GitHub Actions)

• Mentor and develop engineers through code reviews, pairing, and technical guidance

• Support security and compliance requirements with pragmatic, scalable technical solutions

• Help teams clearly communicate architectural decisions through documentation and discussion

What We’re Looking For

• 5+ years of backend development experience, including leading projects or small teams

• Strong Python expertise; solid experience with Django or similar frameworks

• Proven experience designing backend architectures and distributed systems

• Strong understanding of relational databases, caching, and scalable system design

• Ability to operate in ambiguity, take initiative, and drive technical decisions

• Excellent communication skills - especially written and spoken English with native or near-native stakeholders (B2+ required)

• A collaborative mindset and passion for mentoring and growing engineers

• Experience with modern development practices: Git, CI/CD, testing, clean code, monitoring

Nice to Have

• Experience in fintech, regulated industries, or internal platform/B2B systems

• Familiarity with AWS, Docker, and messaging systems such as RabbitMQ or Kafka

• Contributions to open-source projects or personal technical initiatives

• Prior experience helping teams adopt architectural standards or improve technical communication

How We Work

We’re a lean, collaborative team where developers help shape architecture, product direction, and engineering culture. You’ll have real impact, autonomy, and the trust to build solutions that scale with the business — without micromanagement or heavy bureaucracy.

What We Offer

• Direct impact — work on business-critical systems and influence core architecture

• Modern tech stack — Python 3.11, Django, MySQL, Redis, AWS, GitHub, TeamCity

• Remote-first and flexible — work from anywhere, with meaningful overlap with London working hours expected for this leadership role (team rituals, cross-team alignment, and stakeholder meetings)

• Unlimited vacation — take the time you need, when you need it

Hiring Process

• Intro call with our Talent team

• Technical interview with the Backend team

• Final conversation with our CTO

• Fast and clear process — typically 1–2 weeks from first call to offer.A supportive, experienced team that values quality, learning, and delivering results.