Lead Engineer

Inara; Leeds; On-site; GBP 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Inara is seeking an experienced Lead Android Engineer in the United Kingdom to lead technical direction and mentor multidisciplinary teams. You will build high-quality Android apps in Kotlin, leverage Kotlin Multiplatform and Compose Multiplatform, and shape architecture for offline, high-latency environments.

You’ll work directly with clients and senior stakeholders, driving architectural decisions while maintaining delivery excellence and strong CI/CD and testing practices.

Qualifications

• Proven Kotlin development experience with Android focus.
• Hands-on experience with Kotlin Multiplatform (KMP).
• Experience with Compose Multiplatform and cross‑platform design.
• Experience building apps for Android and desktop platforms.
• Strong understanding of shared vs platform-specific logic.
• Knowledge of offline/low-connectivity architectures and data sync.
• Solid CI/CD, Gradle and automated testing practices.
• Previous leadership of teams or workstreams.
• Ability to drive technical architecture decisions and client alignment.

Responsibilities

• Take technical ownership of projects from discovery through production.
• Lead multidisciplinary engineering teams with clear technical direction.
• Build high-quality Android apps using Kotlin and maintain cross-platform parity.
• Work with Kotlin Multiplatform and Compose Multiplatform across platforms.
• Design solutions to work reliably offline and recon synchronize when online.
• Guide architectural decisions balancing quality with client needs.
• Communicate with clients and senior stakeholders on trade-offs and outcomes.
• Mentor engineers and promote best practices and culture.

Skills

Kotlin

Kotlin Multiplatform (KMP)

Compose Multiplatform

Android development

Cross-platform architecture

CI/CD

Gradle

Mentoring/leadership

Client communication

Tools

Gradle

Android Studio

Kotlin Multiplatform tooling

Job description

We’re looking for an experienced Lead Android Engineer who combines deep hands-on Kotlin expertise with the ability to lead technical direction, influence clients and guide multidisciplinary engineering teams.

You’ll be working on complex digital engineering projects where the problems aren’t always straightforward, including applications that need to operate reliably in disconnected, offline or high-latency environments.

This is a role for someone who wants to remain close to the technology, but can also step back and see the bigger picture: shaping architecture, leading engineers, influencing technical decisions and helping clients get to the right outcome.

What you’ll be doing

• Taking technical ownership of projects, products or engineering workstreams from discovery and design through to production
• Leading and supporting multidisciplinary engineering teams, providing clear technical direction and helping engineers perform at their best
• Building high-quality applications using Kotlin, with a particular focus on Android
• Working with Kotlin Multiplatform and Compose Multiplatform to develop shared solutions across platforms
• Developing across Android and desktop, making informed decisions about shared business logic versus platform-specific implementations
• Designing solutions that can operate reliably without consistent connectivity and synchronise effectively when connectivity is restored
• Solving challenging engineering problems associated with offline, disconnected and high-latency environments
• Leading technical design and architectural decision-making, balancing technical quality with client and business requirements
• Working directly with clients and senior stakeholders to understand their challenges, shape solutions and communicate technical decisions clearly
• Challenging requirements where appropriate and helping clients understand the trade-offs and implications of different approaches
• Working closely with Product, Delivery and other technical disciplines to ensure solutions are designed and delivered effectively
• Establishing and maintaining strong CI/CD pipelines, Gradle configurations and automated testing practices
• Championing engineering standards, good development practices and continuous improvement across teams
• Mentoring and coaching engineers, supporting their technical development and helping create a strong engineering culture
• Identifying opportunities to add value beyond the immediate project, contributing to the wider client relationship and consultancy offering

What we’re looking for

• Strong commercial experience developing with Kotlin
• Hands-on experience with Kotlin Multiplatform (KMP)
• Experience with Compose Multiplatform
• Experience developing applications across Android and desktop platforms
• A strong understanding of shared business logic and platform-specific implementations
• Experience designing applications that need to work reliably in offline, disconnected or high-latency environments
• Strong knowledge of CI/CD, Gradle and automated testing
• Previous experience leading a team, technical workstream, project or significant engineering initiative
• Strong experience contributing to and driving technical architecture and design decisions
• Excellent communication skills and confidence working directly with clients and senior technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Experience mentoring, coaching and technically guiding other engineers
• The ability to provide technical leadership without losing sight of the wider delivery and commercial objectives
• A genuine consultancy mindset, with the confidence to operate in ambiguous and complex client environments
• Commercial awareness and an understanding of how engineering decisions can contribute to wider client outcomes and future opportunities

The important bit…

This isn't simply a Senior Android Engineer with a Lead title.

We’re looking for someone who can take ownership of the technical direction, bring engineers with them and act as a trusted technical partner to the client.

You might be deep in Kotlin and Compose one minute, solving how an application should synchronise data in a disconnected environment, and the next be working with a client CTO to explain the architectural trade-offs or helping an engineer develop their approach to a complex problem.

You’ll be expected to lead from the fron"t, technically credible enough to get into the code when required, but experienced enough to know when the bigger challenge is architecture, communication delivery or client alignment.

We’re looking for someone who can ask:

“What is the right solution for the client?” not simply “What have they asked us to build?”

If you're an experienced Android Engineer ready to take genuine technical leadership, enjoy solving complex problems and want to work directly with clients and multidisciplinary teams, we’d love to hear from you.