Lead Engineer (AI-Native Pods)

The Agile Monkeys; Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; Remote; EUR 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The Agile Monkeys are seeking a senior engineering lead to guide a pod of engineers embedded with enterprise clients. You will own a domain end to end, decide what gets built and how, and stay hands-on to drive quality and impact.

You’ll set engineering standards, encourage AI-assisted development, and coordinate with client leadership to ensure clear communication and alignment across teams.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of software development with real leadership experience.
• Deep expertise in at least one backend stack, preferably Java/Spring Boot.
• Strong architecture, domain modeling and API design skills.
• Experience using LLMs and AI coding tools in real projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead a pod of three to four engineers embedded with a client team.
• Own a domain end to end, from decisions to delivery, and stay hands-on.
• Set engineering standards and drive AI-assisted development.
• Triage multiple requests while maintaining focus and quality.
• Communicate with client leadership and internal teams clearly.

Skills

Backend stack (Java/Spring Boot)

DDD / Domain modeling

API design

AI tooling / LLMs

Regulated/enterprise client experience

Team leadership

Job description

We're a software studio of 75+ people, and still growing. We build production AI systems for regulated industries like healthcare, insurance and banking, mostly for US clients. We also build our own AI-native products. AI isn't a layer we add on top. It's how we work and what we ship.

About the role

You'd lead a pod of three or four engineers embedded with one of our enterprise clients. You own a domain end to end: what gets built, how, and why. You stay hands‑on.

We have more than one pod looking for a lead right now. Some are established teams where the current lead is moving on. Others are new. We'll match you with the one where your stack and your style fit.

Day to day, you'd:

• Lead the pod technically. Prioritize, delegate, review and give direct feedback.
• Be the reference point for your domain, for your team and for the client's teams around you.
• Keep leadership in the loop, and explain what's going on to people who don't read code.
• Triage constant, simultaneous requests without losing the thread.
• Set the engineering standards your pod builds against, and know why they exist.
• Make AI‑assisted development the normal way your team works, check whether it's actually helping, and adjust.
• Question tickets that don't make sense before anyone builds them.

What we're looking for

The technical side

• 8+ years building software, with real experience leading engineers. Leading people, not just managing tasks.
• Deep in at least one backend stack. Java with Spring Boot is the most common across our pods.
• A good feel for architecture, domain modeling (DDD or similar) and API design.
• You use LLMs and AI coding tools in your own work, and you've helped a team adopt them.
• Experience with large or regulated clients is a plus.

Communication

• Fluent English. You'll talk to client leadership every week.
• You talk to leadership in their language and to your team in theirs.

The human side

• You'd rather own a domain than staff one.
• Ambiguity and competing priorities don't throw you off. You organize around them.
• You give direct feedback, and you take it well.
• You grow the people around you.

On your background

Skip the resume that lists every framework you've touched. Show us a team you've led, a domain you owned end to end, and a decision someone pushed back on, and why you held your ground (or didn't).

What you get

Fully remote, with our Las Palmas, Tenerife and Madrid offices open to you whenever you want them.

If you're already leading a team somewhere and quietly wishing you owned more of the decisions, this is that job. Let's talk!