Backend Engineering Team Lead

Netcraft; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

33 days annual leave

Equity tracking

Hybrid work options

Private health cover

Pension scheme

Learning & Development days

Volunteering days

Spot reward bonus

Job summary

Netcraft is seeking a Backend Engineering Team Lead to establish and lead a new backend team responsible for several key Netcraft products, including the Integration Layer, NSI, Web and SSL Server Survey, and Spam. You’ll drive a technical leadership role across a mixed stack, modernising legacy platforms while commercialising new offerings and shaping a delivery roadmap.

You’ll collaborate with Product and Design to define strategic directions, retain hands-on engineering time, and build a

Qualifications

• Proven leadership of engineering teams with delivery focus.
• Strong backend engineering background across a varied stack.
• Experience with AWS and ML tooling.
• Ability to translate business needs into technical strategy.
• Experience in hiring and developing engineers.

Responsibilities

• Lead the new backend team and roadmap.
• Partner with Product and Design to set strategy.
• Hands-on engineering ~30–50% of the time.
• Maintain high engineering standards and CI/CD processes.
• Modernise legacy products while commercialising new ones.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic thinking

Backend development

AWS

Machine learning

Team building

AI/ML tooling

Tools

OpenSearch

MongoDB

Perl

AWS Cloud

Job description

We’re looking for a Backend Engineering Team Lead to establish and lead a new backend team responsible for several key Netcraft products, including:

• The Integration Layer, which enables customers to integrate their SIEM platforms with Netcraft data
• NSI, which supports engagement with criminals conducting conversational scams at scale
• The Web and SSL Server Survey
• Spam, which analyses emails from multiple sources to identify phishing and scam activity

These products are a mixture of legacy platforms that produce key data supporting Netcraft systems and new products that support our customer base. You’ll be a technical leader with expertise across a varied stack, with the commercial acumen to understand how to modernise legacy products as well as commercialise new products.

You will build a new team to manage and improve these products, contributing code, demonstrating best practice, and managing an exciting delivery roadmap.

You’ll be:

• Working with Product and Design colleagues to evaluate each of your products, determining where immediate improvements can be made and helping to develop the long-term strategy for each
• Operating with autonomy, taking the initiative to solve problems and recognising the importance of adhering to demanding delivery timelines
• Managing requirements from key stakeholders and customers, understanding what needs to be done based on business needs without necessarily needing to be told
• Prioritising, refining, and sequencing the team’s workflow while retaining approximately 30–50% of your time for hands‑on engineering
• Deeply embedded in conceiving and executing engineering solutions, creating performant systems and services to delight our customers
• Upholding high engineering standards with a demonstrable commitment to code quality, a test‑driven approach, and a modern continuous integration/continuous deployment delivery flow
• Well-versed in how AI‑first development techniques can materially boost productivity
• Responsible for building and leading a high‑performing team of talented and enthusiastic engineers

What You’ll Need to Be Successful

• Strong and demonstrable leadership skills, with a constructive attitude to problem‑solving and the ability to switch effectively between priorities
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to distil technical concepts for a range of stakeholders and motivate a team
• A strong engineering background spanning a range of technologies
• A demonstrable track record of identifying opportunities to create significant value within existing products and taking ideas from concept through to production
• Experience partnering closely with Product Managers and Product Owners to shape product strategy, define priorities, and translate customer and business needs into effective technical solutions
• Experience working with AWS technologies and a range of machine learning tools and frameworks
• An interest in reverse‑engineering codebases, where necessary, to understand the inner workings of legacy products
• Experience interviewing and hiring engineers, building effective teams, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement

Bonus Points If You Have:

• Strong Go development skills, particularly in technology modernisation or uplift projects. OpenSearch, MongoDB, and Perl experience considered an advantage.
• Experience with generative AI technologies and where and how to apply them to improve customer experiences
• Practical experience managing engineers at different career stages, from recent graduates to seasoned professionals

The Rewards Package

• 33 days annual leave - includes public holidays which can be worked if you prefer
• Generous enhanced family leave and pay
• Enhanced company sick pay from day one of employment, with additional support after your first six months’ service
• Salary sacrifice pension with matched employer contributions up to 5% + NI savings
• Private health cover, including access to a private GP service
• Life Assurance at 4 x salary
• Equity tracking scheme (eligibility criteria apply) - allowing you share in Netcraft's long term success
• Hybrid and flexible working options
• Meals, snacks, and drinks provided in the office
• Comprehensive health, safety, and wellness service available 24/7 for you and your family
• Two paid Learning & Development days per year plus access to learning resources such as Udemy and Coursera to support your career
• Two Volunteering Days per year, to allow you to contribute to your wider community or charity
• Spot reward bonus scheme to reward truly outstanding contributions