Lead AI Platform Engineer — Real-Time, Scalable Backends

Trust in SODA; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Job summary

Trust in SODA, a London-based AI company, is seeking a Lead Platform Engineer to own the build across the stack and lead a small team, setting technical standards and driving delivery of AI-powered workflows.

You’ll work on scalable backends, microservices and real-time data pipelines using Node.js, NestJS, LLMs, Claude Code, and cloud tech, with equity on offer for the right candidate. This is a hands-on leadership role in a fast-growing startup.

Qualifications

• 5-8+ years of hands-on software engineering, ideally in AI, SaaS or automation platforms.
• Already a lead engineer, or very close to it, with ownership of technical direction and delivery on real projects.
• Deep expertise in Node.js and NestJS, with strong REST API and microservice experience.
• Real experience building with LLMs and agents, and an understanding of what breaks in agentic pipelines at scale.
• Daily use of Claude Code and agentic workflows as standard practice.
• Startup background, or standout performance at a top firm, with the ability to make the right call without a committee.
• Ability to lead engineers while still being the strongest builder in the room.
• A strong degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Maths or a related field.
• Next.js and frontend experience is a plus.
• Right to work in the UK

Responsibilities

• Architect, design and build scalable backend systems and APIs, from architecture through to production
• Design and maintain microservice and event-driven architectures supporting real-time operational workflows
• Lead a small team of engineers: drive delivery, review work and be accountable for what ships
• Set the standard for building with agentic AI, from Claude Code workflows to team-wide patterns
• Shape technical strategy with the Head of Engineering, including what not to build yet
• Keep systems and data pipelines secure, performant and reliable as the product scales
• Get close to the product and the workflows being automated

Skills

Node.js

NestJS

REST APIs

Microservices

Leadership

Agentic AI

LLMs

Frontend basics

Education

Computer Science or related degree

Tools

Google Cloud

Kubernetes

Postgres

MongoDB

Qdrant

Claude Code

Job description

Trust in SODA, a London-based AI company, is seeking a Lead Platform Engineer to own the build across the stack and lead a small team, setting technical standards and driving delivery of AI-powered workflows.

You’ll work on scalable backends, microservices and real-time data pipelines using Node.js, NestJS, LLMs, Claude Code, and cloud tech, with equity on offer for the right candidate. This is a hands-on leadership role in a fast-growing startup.