Lead C++ Backend Engineer — Hybrid AI-Driven Platform

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 engineering function and help shape the next phase of its platform. You will combine technical delivery with mentoring, architecture and AI adoption, working with Product, Front End and R&D teams to improve performance and velocity.

This hands-on leadership role requires expert C++ experience and a track record of delivering scalable backend services, mentoring engineers and driving engineering quality in

Qualifications

• Experience in leading backend teams and projects.
• Expert-level C++ with strong STL knowledge.
• Designing scalable backend services and APIs.
• Deep understanding of database systems and performance.
• Experience mentoring software engineers.
• Experience in Agile engineering environments.
• Hands-on AI/ML solution development.
• Familiarity with AI tools, LLMs and AI frameworks.
• Understanding AI architecture including prompt engineering and vector databases.
• Strong problem-solving and pragmatic approach.

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

C++ Expert

Backend APIs

DB Performance

Mentoring

Agile

AI/ML Dev

LLMs

Architecture

Problem Solving

Job description

Digital Waffle in the United Kingdom is seeking a Lead Software Engineer to own the backend engineering function and help shape the next phase of its platform. You will combine technical delivery with mentoring, architecture and AI adoption, working with Product, Front End and R&D teams to improve performance and velocity.

This hands-on leadership role requires expert C++ experience and a track record of delivering scalable backend services, mentoring engineers and driving engineering quality in