Lead Engineer (TypeScript & Node.js)

Location: Kent - On-site
Salary: £75,000-£95,000 DOE + Bonus + Benefits
Job Type: Permanent
Please note: Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

We're partnering with an established and innovative technology-focused business that is investing in the continued development of its digital products, platforms and engineering capabilities.

This is an exciting opportunity for a Lead Engineer to join a talented team, combining hands-on technical expertise with people leadership, mentoring and architectural ownership.

You'll play a key role in strengthening backend engineering capability, championing modern development practices and helping the team deliver reliable, scalable and high-quality software solutions.

As a Lead Engineer, you'll lead and line manage a small team of full-stack engineers, many of whom have strong frontend backgrounds. A key focus of the role will be developing deeper backend engineering capability across the team, particularly in TypeScript and Node.js.

You'll set technical direction, support the growth of your engineers and work closely with stakeholders across the business to deliver high-quality software.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role where you'll balance engineering excellence, delivery and people development.

• Lead and line manage a small team of software engineers, supporting their development, wellbeing and performance.
• Define and champion best practices for TypeScript and Node.js backend development.
• Set technical direction for your team and business domain, making pragmatic architectural decisions.
• Build and maintain scalable, secure and reliable backend systems.
• Coach and mentor engineers through pairing, feedback and technical guidance.
• Help develop the team's backend engineering capability and support engineers in broadening their technical skills.
• Own technical decisions within your domain, balancing innovation, delivery and long-term sustainability.
• Collaborate with Product, Delivery, Commercial and Data teams, as well as external partners.
• Champion AI-assisted development tools and automation to improve productivity and code quality.
• Represent your team's work through stakeholder demonstrations and regular updates.
• Manage technical debt strategically while maintaining delivery momentum.
• Identify new technologies and opportunities to improve engineering practices and platform performance.
• Dedicate time to your own learning and professional development.

You'll be an experienced software engineer with strong backend expertise and a passion for developing people. You'll enjoy working in a collaborative environment where you can influence technical direction while remaining close to the code.

You'll ideally have:

• Substantial commercial experience developing backend systems using Node.js and TypeScript.
• Experience leading and line managing software engineers.
• A proven track record of mentoring, coaching and supporting engineers' career development.
• Experience owning technical direction within a business domain.
• Strong understanding of scalable, reliable and secure software architecture.
• Experience working with APIs, integrations and third-party systems.
• A pragmatic approach to technical decision-making, balancing innovation with delivery.
• Experience collaborating with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong communication and problem-solving skills.
• A track record of improving engineering practices, platform performance or delivery outcomes.
• A genuine passion for sharing knowledge and helping others grow.
• Openness to adopting AI-assisted development tools where they provide genuine value.

• Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS or Azure.
• CI/CD and automated testing.
• Microservices and event-driven architecture.
• Docker and containerisation.
• Infrastructure as Code.
• Experience working in domain-led or distributed architectures.
• Experience using AI coding assistants and automation tools.
• Full-stack development experience, including frontend technologies.

• £75,000-£95,000 salary, depending on experience.
• Annual performance bonus.
• Comprehensive benefits package.
• Opportunity to lead a talented engineering team.
• Hands-on technical leadership with genuine ownership.
• Investment in learning and professional development.
• Opportunity to champion AI-assisted engineering practices.
• Collaborative working environment focused on innovation and career growth.

This is an on-site position based in Kent. Applicants should be comfortable working from the office.

Applicants must have the full right to work in the UK.

Unfortunately, visa sponsorship is not available for this position.