Lead Backend Engineer (C++, AI) - Hybrid

Digital Waffle; Royal Leamington Spa; Hybrid; GBP 63,000 - 77,000; Full time

Job summary

Digital Waffle in the United Kingdom is seeking a Lead Software Engineer to own the backend and drive the next phase of our platform.

This hands-on leadership role requires deep C++ expertise, architecture mindset, mentoring, and a focus on performance, reliability and AI-powered development. You will collaborate with Product, Front End and R&D teams to accelerate delivery and code quality.

Qualifications

• Strong commercial experience as a Lead Backend Engineer, Senior Backend Engineer or similar technical leadership role.
• Expert-level C++ experience with strong knowledge of the standard library, STL containers and algorithms.
• Experience designing and maintaining scalable backend services and APIs.
• Strong understanding of database systems and performance optimisation.
• Previous experience leading, mentoring or coaching software engineers.
• Experience working within Agile engineering environments.
• Hands-on experience developing, integrating or deploying AI or Machine Learning-powered solutions.
• Familiarity with LLMs, AI-assisted development tools and modern AI frameworks.
• Understanding of AI architecture including prompt engineering, vector databases, RAG and AI service integration.
• Experience evaluating and introducing AI tools that improve developer productivity.
• Strong problem-solving skills with a proactive and pragmatic approach to engineering.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and evolution of scalable backend systems and APIs.
• Take technical ownership of backend projects from planning through to production delivery.
• Work closely with Product Managers, Architects and Engineers to define technical requirements.
• Lead and mentor a team of backend engineers, supporting their development and technical progression.
• Drive improvements across architecture, performance, reliability and observability.
• Identify bottlenecks and optimise database queries, services and system performance.
• Evaluate and implement AI-powered tools to improve engineering productivity and software quality.
• Help shape the adoption of LLMs, AI-assisted development and modern AI engineering practices across the team.
• Lead sprint planning, stand-ups and retrospectives alongside Product and Delivery teams.
• Champion secure coding, testing, code review and engineering best practice.

Skills

Lead Backend Engineer

C++

Backend APIs

Agile

Mentoring

AI adoption

Performance optimisation

LLMs

Code review

Secure coding

Tools

STL

Standard Library

Job description

Digital Waffle in the United Kingdom is seeking a Lead Software Engineer to own the backend and drive the next phase of our platform.

This hands-on leadership role requires deep C++ expertise, architecture mindset, mentoring, and a focus on performance, reliability and AI-powered development. You will collaborate with Product, Front End and R&D teams to accelerate delivery and code quality.