134 Lead Software Engineer jobs in London
Lead Software Engineer
Posted 2 days ago
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Create the future of travel with us
Whether it’s to visit the people closest to us, starting an exciting adventure, or a career-defining business trip, travel is an essential part of our lives. Yet we've all experienced the aches and pains of getting to our destination. Today, more than 4 billion airline passengers rely on technology that hasn't kept up with the expectations of the modern connected traveller.
That’s why we’ve started to rebuild the infrastructure that underpins the travel industry. We’re on a mission to unravel travel — simplifying systems and building the tools that will make the future of travel effortless. Central to this mission is ensuring seamless, secure, and reliable payment experiences, which are crucial for every transaction and a cornerstone of trust in our platform.
We were part of Y Combinator S18's cohort and we are backed by Benchmark, Blossom, Index Ventures, and Kima Ventures. A fantastic set of investors that has helped build some of the world's largest companies.
Our team in London is growing, and we’re looking for talented people to join us on our journey.
What we're looking for in you
- You are hands-on. You're comfortable jumping into the codebase, contributing directly to projects, and pairing with engineers to solve complex problems.
- You have strong technical judgment. You can arbitrate technical discussions and make tradeoffs that balance short-term impact and long-term health.
- You’ve led engineering teams. You’ve managed and grown mid-sized teams (5-10 engineers), and you know how to balance delivery with team wellbeing.
- You value leadership. You lead by example, create space for others to thrive, and measure your success through the growth and success of your team.
- You communicate with clarity. Whether in code reviews, design documents, or team updates, you communicate ideas in a way that builds shared understanding.
- You embrace autonomy. You can be trusted to drive initiatives forward without micromanagement, and you help others do the same.
Bonus: Experience with platform, infrastructure, developer tooling, or internal enablement teams.
What we are looking for in you
- Technical leadership: Writing and reviewing production code regularly, contributing to Duffel’s engineering standards and helping the team make well-informed technical decisions.
- Shaping the roadmap: Collaborating with product managers and designers to define and deliver on a roadmap that balances technical and customer priorities.
- Team enablement: Driving high team performance through enabling healthy engineering practices—agile delivery, rapid iteration, test-driven development, and continuous improvement.
- Mentorship & coaching: Supporting your teammates in their personal growth through 1:1s, mentoring, and continuous feedback. Helping engineers identify and pursue their career goals.
- Engineering culture: Actively contributing to a positive, inclusive, and collaborative culture where technical excellence and empathetic leadership go hand in hand.
- Org design & hiring: Partnering with the People team and leadership to recruit, onboard, and retain top engineering talent. Helping shape how Duffel scales its technical organisation.
- Cross-functional collaboration: Working across teams to improve developer experience, infrastructure, reliability, and scalability of our systems.
What you can expect from us
We're dedicated to your personal growth. Our environment is comfortable both physically, but also in that our ears are always open to any ideas, concerns and questions. We believe that everyone should have pride in their work, taking full ownership of it and its impact. That's why everyone who joins Duffel owns a share of the company.
We are an equal opportunities employer. We believe that the key to our success is employing a diverse team, that's why recruitment decisions are only based on your experience and skills. We value your ability to problem solve and build amazing things so we welcome applications for everyone – regardless of age, sex, disability, sexual orientation, race, religion or belief.
Note to recruitment agencies
Duffel does not accept speculative CV's from external parties. Any unsolicited CV's sent to us will be treated as property of Duffel, and any attached terms and conditions associated with these CV's will be null and void.
Lead Software Engineer
Posted 2 days ago
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LEAD DEVELOPER
LONDON - HYBRID
£65,000
THE COMPANY
This world-renowned cultural and scientific institution is home to one of the largest and most unique collections on the planet. By joining their Data team, you’ll play a crucial role in shaping cutting-edge platforms that support global research, conservation, and innovation. Your work will directly contribute to unlocking knowledge that benefits science, education, and society at large.
THE ROLE
As a Lead Developer you will take ownership of developing and scaling the core technology platform for a landmark 10-year national digitisation programme. You’ll be leading technical strategy, mentoring developers, and ensuring the systems are sustainable and fit for the future.
Specifically, you can expect to be involved in the following:
- Designing and building scalable backend systems using Python.
- Developing cloud infrastructure (AWS preferred) and deploying services with Kubernetes.
- Overseeing data storage, management, and publication pipelines for tens of millions of digital assets.
- Providing technical leadership and mentorship to a small development team.
- Driving long-term sustainability by shaping infrastructure for a large-scale digitisation project.
SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
The successful Lead Developer will have the following skills and experience:
- Strong backend development experience, ideally with Python
- Hands-on expertise with cloud platforms (AWS preferred).
- Familiarity with containerisation and orchestration (Kubernetes).
- Experience with SQL databases
- Experience leading projects or mentoring teams of developers.
- Ability to design and implement scalable, sustainable technical solutions.
BENEFITS
The successful Lead Developer will receive the following benefits:
- Salary of £65,000 depending on experience.
- Hybrid working with flexibility
- Opportunity to work on one of the UK’s most significant digital transformation programmes in science.
- Professional development and mentoring opportunities.
- The chance to contribute to a project with real societal and environmental impact.
HOW TO APPLY
Please register your interest by sending your resume/CV to Joana Alves via the Apply link on this page.
Lead Software Engineer
Posted 2 days ago
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Head of Engineering (Hands-On Lead) - Up to £100k
Up to £00,000 + Bonus + Equity
London (Hybrid – 2 days/week in office)
Tech environment: Angular, Ionic (iOS & Android), TypeScript, NestJS, Nx, Azure
Flexible on prior technical experience
We’re on the lookout for a Hands On Lead who enjoys coding while also leading a talented dev team and shaping technical strategy. You’ll join the senior leadership team, work closely with Product, and play a key role in scaling an award-winning consumer app with a global user base.
The role:
- Lead the technical roadmap while coding day-to-day.
- Mentor and grow a small team of engineers.
- Introduce and apply emerging technologies (including AI/ML).
- Ensure architecture, security, and infrastructure can scale globally.
- Collaborate with Product to deliver a best-in-class user experience.
If interested, please get in touch now!
Head of Engineering (Hands-On Lead) - Up to £100k strong>
Lead Software Engineer
Posted 2 days ago
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Lead Software Engineer (Java) – London / Hybrid
Are you a Lead Backend Engineer with a strong background in Java and modern backend architecture?
In this senior technical leadership role, you will set the technical vision, influence system design, and guide teams in delivering secure, scalable, and high-performing services. While remaining hands-on for key projects, you will focus on mentoring others, driving engineering excellence, and ensuring the backend strategy aligns with business goals.
Key Responsibilities
- Define and evolve backend architecture to ensure scalability, maintainability, and reliability.
- Establish and uphold coding standards and secure development practices.
- Guide technology choices, frameworks, and tooling to enhance delivery performance.
- Drive improvements to CI/CD pipelines and operational workflows.
- Communicate technical risks and trade-offs clearly to non-technical stakeholders.
- Contribute directly to core systems when specialist expertise is required.
- Conduct code reviews and ensure architectural consistency across teams.
- Provide oversight on major initiatives to guarantee technical soundness and delivery quality.
- Coach and mentor engineers to strengthen the backend discipline across teams. Lead design sessions, code reviews, and collaborative technical discussions.
Skills & Experience
- Proven experience as a senior or lead backend engineer with Java (11+) and Spring Boot.
- Expertise in designing and leading backend architectures for complex systems.
- Strong understanding of AWS, Kubernetes, and modern microservice-based systems.
- Experience with Kafka or similar event-driven technologies.
- Familiarity with RESTful APIs, SQL/NoSQL databases, and CI/CD best practices.
- Excellent mentoring and leadership skills with the ability to influence technical direction.
About the Company
Our client is a leading digital product studio creating world-class applications, middleware, and digital solutions for global entertainment and gaming brands. They foster an open, collaborative culture where skilled professionals are trusted to take ownership, contribute ideas, and drive innovation.
Benefits include:
- Hybrid & flexible working arrangements
- Annual performance bonus
- 26 days of annual leave
- Regular team events and socials
- Life insurance and income protection
- Tech loan and dedicated training budget
If you want to join a company that offers a dynamic, supportive environment where innovation and growth are encouraged. Apply now.
Lead Software Engineer (Java) – London / Hybrid
Lead Software Engineer
Posted 2 days ago
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Lead Software Developer – Join a High-Growth Startup Tackling a Complex Problem
A profitable, bootstrapped LegalTech founded in 2022, working to make leasehold homeownership fair for everyone, is looking for an Engineer to innovate their whole system environment.
Leasehold property law is a maze that has historically been costly and confusing. They have already transformed the lease extension process into something transparent and accessible, earning a flawless 5/5 customer review record. This is a company with a meaningful mission, a strong product-market fit, and ambitious growth ahead. They are now searching for their first technical hire – a Lead Backend Developer who will become the cornerstone of their engineering function.
This opportunity is ideal for a developer who thrives on solving complex problems and wants to take ownership of a product at an early stage. The successful candidate will work closely with the founding team, including a technical founder, and will help take the current MVP to the next level. The task is clear: design and build a robust, scalable backend platform that underpins rapid growth, supports seamless integrations, and powers an excellent customer experience.
The company is tackling a real-world problem with a direct impact on people’s lives. Every improvement made to the platform saves customers stress, time, and money. This is not just software for the sake of software – it is technology with tangible social value.
As Lead Backend Developer, the role comes with significant responsibility and autonomy. Key areas of focus will include:
- Refactor and Scale : Taking the existing MVP and turning it into clean, maintainable, and scalable systems. This means architecting infrastructure that grows with the business, while improving performance and reliability.
- Applied AI : Using AI and ML pragmatically to deliver real value for users. This could mean improving document analysis tools or enhancing development workflows with the latest AI-assisted coding platforms.
- API Architecture : Designing and building robust APIs that serve as the foundation for future integrations and external endpoints. This will involve shaping a modern architecture based on Postgres while moving away from low-code solutions.
- System Reliability : Ensuring that the backend is resilient, stable, and dependable, giving the wider team confidence to ship improvements without worrying about breakages.
- Cross-Team Collaboration : Working closely with sales, legal, and other functions to deliver technical solutions to everyday business challenges, ensuring the platform evolves to meet real user needs.
The company is looking for someone with strong backend experience, ideally in Python, and a track record of building production-ready systems with complex business logic. Familiarity with relational data modelling and PostgreSQL is key, as is experience making architectural decisions in growing environments. While the work will be 90% backend-focused, some comfort with basic frontend tasks (HTML, CSS, jQuery) will be helpful.
Leadership ability will be crucial. This hire will set technical standards, guide future developers, and bring clarity to architectural decisions. They should be able to navigate ambiguity, communicate technical trade-offs clearly, and keep the end-user front of mind in every decision.
This is a chance to join a small, collaborative, and craft-focused team where engineering quality is valued. The role offers autonomy, ownership, and the opportunity to shape a product from the ground up.
- Salary: £80,000 – £140,000 depending on experience
- 25 days holiday plus bank holidays
- Pension plan included
- London-based role with 4 office days per week initially (with more flexibility over time)
- High-quality equipment and support for continuous learning and development
Apply to hear more!
Lead Software Engineer
Posted 2 days ago
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Lead Software Engineer | Distributed Systems | Sustainable Cloud Native Platform
Up to £130,000 per annum plus bonus plus stock
Central London office
️Golang, Rust, C, Kubernetes, Linux, Cloud Native, Distributed systems.
Are you a Lead Software Engineer with extensive knowledge of building distributed systems? Looking to join a company who are solving genuine problems that disrupt an industry? Interested in working with the best talent on the market and having a real impact on projects?
If so.
I'm partnered with a very exciting Cloud scale-up who have received record Series A funding and are looking for innovative Lead Software Engineers to join their ambitious team! With a new VP of Engineering who has spent much of their career building out a world leading Cloud platform, the team are growing fast and they're looking to attract the best talent on the market.
Having received huge investment, they are on a journey to truly disrupt the industry and are not held back by any legacy code or old customers. This means that they're able to build out state-of-the-art, Greenfield code which can focus on being the worlds most accountable and sustainable cloud provider
What they're looking for in a Lead Software Engineer:
- Tech agnostic but preferable experience working with Golang, Rust, Java and/or C/C++.
- In-depth knowledge of distributed systems, building solutions at scale where performance, reliability and availability are key considerations.
- Confident in leading the definition and creation of solutions from 0-1, solving ambiguous and complex challenges.
- Experience working on software infrastructure or building Cloud native software using Kubernetes.
- Understanding of systems design and Open Source components.
- If you have knowledge of building virtual machines - Virtual servers, virtual networking or network programming - that's a plus. but definitely not needed!
If this sounds like you, feel free to apply and I can run through more details!
Lead Software Engineer | Distributed Systems | Sustainable Cloud Native Platform
Lead Software Engineer
Posted 2 days ago
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Job Description
Lead Software Engineer – FinTech
We’re seeking an accomplished Lead Software Engineer to take a pivotal role within a dynamic FinTech engineering function. This position blends hands-on technical leadership with line management responsibilities — leading by example in both delivery and people development. You’ll oversee one or more engineering teams, guiding them through complex technical challenges while contributing directly to the design and architecture of scalable, cloud-native systems built on C#, .NET, and Azure microservices .
Technical Leadership & Team Management
- Lead, coach, and develop a team (or multiple teams) of talented engineers, fostering a culture of ownership, innovation, and continuous improvement.
- Provide line management support — conducting performance reviews, setting objectives, and identifying development opportunities.
- Mentor and empower senior engineers and engineering managers, ensuring consistent technical standards and strong delivery capability.
- Remain hands-on with design, architecture, and code reviews to guide and elevate technical quality across teams.
Engineering Delivery & Architecture
- Drive the design and implementation of distributed, high-availability systems built with C#, .NET Core , and Azure .
- Lead architectural discussions and define technical direction, ensuring solutions are scalable, secure, and maintainable .
- Translate complex business requirements into actionable engineering plans and achievable milestones.
- Embed strong engineering practices — CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, observability, and version control discipline .
Technology Strategy & Innovation
- Champion the adoption of modern technologies and architectural patterns, including Azure cloud-native services , messaging infrastructures (e.g. Service Bus, Kafka), and microservices .
- Drive continuous improvement across tooling, processes, and system reliability.
- Collaborate with senior technical stakeholders to shape the broader engineering roadmap.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Partner with Product, Architecture, and Delivery teams to align technical execution with business priorities.
- Communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Play a key role in planning, estimating, and delivering cross-functional engineering initiatives.
Operational Excellence
- Oversee the stability, performance, and reliability of core systems in production.
- Participate in or oversee the on-call rotation, providing senior escalation support when needed.
- Lead post-incident reviews and drive long-term improvements in system resilience and operational processes.
What We’re Looking For
- Proven experience in leading and line managing software engineers or engineering managers in a fast-paced environment.
- Deep hands-on expertise in C#, .NET Core , and Azure technologies.
- Strong background in microservices architecture , distributed systems , and messaging platforms .
- Ability to balance strategic technical leadership with practical, hands-on engineering.
- Demonstrated success in Agile software delivery and fostering high-performing engineering teams.
- Experience in financial, transactional, or other complex, high-volume domains is advantageous.
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Lead Software Engineer
Posted 6 days ago
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**Grade Level (for internal use):**
11
**The Team:**
S&P Global corporates value stream technology team consists of geographically diversified software engineers responsible to develop scalable solutions by working directly with product development team. Our team culture is oriented towards equality in the realm of software engineering irrespective of hierarchy promoting innovation. One should feel empowered to iterate over ideas and experimentation without being afraid of failure.
**Responsibilities and Impact:**
You will enable S&P ratings business to provide best in class end-to-end analytical, commercial and customer experience by building feature rich solutions including big data engineering, analytics, business intelligence and workflow capabilities. The ideal candidate thrives in a highly technical role and will design and develop software using cutting edge technologies consisting of web applications, data pipelines, big data, machine learning and multi-cloud.
+ Active participation in all scrum ceremonies, follow AGILE best practices effectively.
+ Play a key role in the development team to build high-quality, high-performance, scalable code.
+ Document and demonstrate solutions using technical design docs, diagrams, and stubbed code.
+ Collaborate effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders
+ Respond to and resolve production issues.
**What we are looking for:**
+ Minimum 7+ years of work experience in Technology (application development and production support).
+ Strong hands-on experience in designing, developing, testing, and successfully deploying critical and complex projects.
+ Strong Java skills with experience in development of concurrent and distributed systems
+ Advanced experience with Spring-based technologies (Spring Boot etc.)
+ Experience in designing and implementing REST APIs & micro services-based solutions.
+ Basic Knowledge of User Interface design & development using Angular, React, HTML5, XML & CSS
+ Working knowledge in AWS cloud (EC2, ECS, Load Balancer, Security Group, EMR, Lambda, S3, Glue, etc.)
+ Experience in DevOps development and deployment using containers.
+ Domain knowledge in Financial Industry and Capital Markets is a plus.
+ Bachelor's degree in computer science, Information Systems or Engineering is required, or in lieu, a demonstrated equivalence in work experience.
**About S&P Global Ratings**
At S&P Global Ratings, our analyst-driven credit ratings, research, and sustainable finance opinions provide critical insights that are essential to translating complexity into clarity so market participants can uncover opportunities and make decisions with conviction. By bringing transparency to the market through high-quality independent opinions on creditworthiness, we enable growth across a wide variety of organizations, including businesses, governments, and institutions.
S&P Global Ratings is a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI). S&P Global is the world's foremost provider of credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity and automotive markets. With every one of our offerings, we help many of the world's leading organizations navigate the economic landscape so they can plan for tomorrow, today.
For more information, visit In It For** **You?**
**Our Purpose:**
Progress is not a self-starter. It requires a catalyst to be set in motion. Information, imagination, people, technology-the right combination can unlock possibility and change the world.
Our world is in transition and getting more complex by the day. We push past expected observations and seek out new levels of understanding so that we can help companies, governments and individuals make an impact on tomorrow. At S&P Global we transform data into Essential Intelligence®, pinpointing risks and opening possibilities. We Accelerate Progress.
**Our People:**
We're more than 35,000 strong worldwide-so we're able to understand nuances while having a broad perspective. Our team is driven by curiosity and a shared belief that Essential Intelligence can help build a more prosperous future for us all.
From finding new ways to measure sustainability to analyzing energy transition across the supply chain to building workflow solutions that make it easy to tap into insight and apply it. We are changing the way people see things and empowering them to make an impact on the world we live in. We're committed to a more equitable future and to helping our customers find new, sustainable ways of doing business. We're constantly seeking new solutions that have progress in mind. Join us and help create the critical insights that truly make a difference.
**Our Values:**
**Integrity, Discovery, Partnership**
At S&P Global, we focus on Powering Global Markets. Throughout our history, the world's leading organizations have relied on us for the Essential Intelligence they need to make confident decisions about the road ahead. We start with a foundation of **integrity** in all we do, bring a spirit of **discovery** to our work, and collaborate in close **partnership** with each other and our customers to achieve shared goals.
**Benefits:**
We take care of you, so you can take care of business. We care about our people. That's why we provide everything you-and your career-need to thrive at S&P Global.
Our benefits include:
+ Health & Wellness: Health care coverage designed for the mind and body.
+ Flexible Downtime: Generous time off helps keep you energized for your time on.
+ Continuous Learning: Access a wealth of resources to grow your career and learn valuable new skills.
+ Invest in Your Future: Secure your financial future through competitive pay, retirement planning, a continuing education program with a company-matched student loan contribution, and financial wellness programs.
+ Family Friendly Perks: It's not just about you. S&P Global has perks for your partners and little ones, too, with some best-in class benefits for families.
+ Beyond the Basics: From retail discounts to referral incentive awards-small perks can make a big difference.
For more information on benefits by country visit: Hiring and Opportunity at S&P Global:**
At S&P Global, we are committed to fostering a connected and engaged workplace where all individuals have access to opportunities based on their skills, experience, and contributions. Our hiring practices emphasize fairness, transparency, and merit, ensuring that we attract and retain top talent. By valuing different perspectives and promoting a culture of respect and collaboration, we drive innovation and power global markets.
S&P Global has a Securities Disclosure and Trading Policy ("the Policy") that seeks to mitigate conflicts of interest by monitoring and placing restrictions on personal securities holding and trading. The Policy is designed to promote compliance with global regulations. In some Divisions, pursuant to the Policy's requirements, candidates at S&P Global may be asked to disclose securities holdings. Some roles may include a trading prohibition and remediation of positions when there is an effective or potential conflict of interest. Employment at S&P Global is contingent upon compliance with the Policy.
**Recruitment Fraud Alert:**
If you receive an email from a spglobalind.com domain or any other regionally based domains, it is a scam and should be reported to . S&P Global never requires any candidate to pay money for job applications, interviews, offer letters, "pre-employment training" or for equipment/delivery of equipment. Stay informed and protect yourself from recruitment fraud by reviewing our guidelines, fraudulent domains, and how to report suspicious activity here ( .
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**Equal Opportunity Employer**
S&P Global is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race/ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, marital status, military veteran status, unemployment status, or any other status protected by law. Only electronic job submissions will be considered for employment.
If you need an accommodation during the application process due to a disability, please send an email to: and your request will be forwarded to the appropriate person.
**US Candidates Only:** The EEO is the Law Poster describes discrimination protections under federal law. Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision - - Professional (EEO-2 Job Categories-United States of America), IFTECH202.2 - Middle Professional Tier II (EEO Job Group), SWP Priority - Ratings - (Strategic Workforce Planning)
**Job ID:**
**Posted On:**
**Location:** London, United Kingdom
Lead Software Engineer (Contract)
Posted today
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Lead Engineers – 12 Month Contract (Outside IR35) – Immediate Start
FRESH has partnered with one of the UK’s fastest-growing beauty scale-ups. Backed by significant funding, they dominate the UK market and have recently launched in the US.
We’re building out a brand-new division from scratch and need immediate, hands-on Lead Engineers with both strong technical skills and proven people leadership experience.
️ Tech stack: JavaScript, TypeScript, Node.js, React or Vue (not all essential)
️ Location: Hybrid — 2 days onsite in Central London
️ Rate: £600-650pd (Outside IR35)
If you’re interested, his the apply button ASAP!
Lead Engineers – 12 Month Contract (Outside IR35) – Immediate Start