Head of Engineering - Tech Start Up

Talent Locker; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Talent Locker in London is seeking a hands-on Head of Software Engineering to lead a six-person engineering team while continuing to code.

You will shape technical direction with the CTO, design scalable backend systems in Python, and drive architectural decisions in a high-growth startup. If you enjoy mentoring engineers, collaborating with product and architecture, and delivering impactful software at pace, apply now.

Qualifications

• Experience leading engineering teams in startups or high-growth environments.
• Proven hands-on coding in production systems.
• Strong architectural and scalability design experience.
• Excellent communication with stakeholders and CTO.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow a six-person engineering team while remaining hands-on.
• Define and drive the technical strategy in collaboration with the CTO.
• Design scalable backend systems using Python and real-time data processing.
• Oversee architecture decisions and production systems reliability.
• Mentor engineers and align product, architecture, and leadership priorities.

Skills

Leadership

Hands-on coding

Python

Distributed systems

Kafka

Backend architecture

Stakeholder management

Mentoring

Product collaboration

Hiring & people leadership

Tools

Git

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

Head of Software Engineering, London (4 days in office)

Start up

Are you a hands-on engineering leader who thrives in a startup environment? Do you enjoy building products from the ground up, leading talented engineers, and still getting stuck into the technical detail?

This is an opportunity to join a well-funded, VC-backed technology business that's transforming the logistics industry through data, real-time analytics and intelligent decision-making infrastructure platform. Their platform processes vast amounts of complex data to solve real operational challenges, and they're only just getting started.

As Head of Engineering, you'll lead a team of six highly capable engineers while remaining technically hands-on. This isn't a role where you'll spend your days in meetings. You'll be involved in architectural decisions, technical problem-solving, mentoring the team and helping shape the future of the product alongside the CTO.

They're looking for someone who combines strong technical credibility with confident leadership. You'll need the confidence to challenge ideas, influence senior stakeholders and make difficult decisions when required, all whilst creating an environment where engineers can do their best work.

This role would suit someone who has already helped build and scale a product within a startup or high-growth business and has seen products through the full lifecycle, from early concept to successful delivery and continuous improvement.

You'll ideally bring experience with:

• Leading and developing high-performing engineering teams while remaining hands-on
• Building scalable backend platforms using Python
• Distributed systems, real-time data processing and modern backend architecture
• Streaming technologies such as Kafka or similar
• Designing production systems that operate at scale
• Working closely with product, architecture and executive leadership to shape technical direction
• Making sound engineering decisions whilst balancing speed, quality and commercial priorities

You'll also be an excellent communicator who can explain technical concepts clearly, influence stakeholders across the business and confidently push back when needed.

This is a business with exceptionally high standards. They're building something ambitious, move quickly, and expect people to take ownership and deliver. If you enjoy working alongside talented people in an environment where your contribution genuinely shapes the future of the company, you'll fit right in.

If you're looking for a senior engineering leadership role where you can still write code, influence technical strategy and play a key part in scaling an exciting product business, we'd love to hear from you.