Lead Engineer

C-Link; London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

C-Link, a fast-growing ConTech company, is seeking a Lead Engineer to help shape product and engineering while driving technical excellence. This role involves leading a team, setting technical direction, and ensuring high-quality software delivery, ideal for candidates with robust experience in PHP, React, and Agile practices. The position offers a salary of £70,000 to £75,000, along with benefits such as team-building events and a pension scheme.

Benefits

Regular team-building and social events

Auto-enrolment to Company NEST pension scheme

Discretionary performance bonuses

25 days of annual leave plus public holidays

Qualifications

• Proven experience as a Team Lead or Senior Developer with leadership responsibilities.
• 5+ years of hands-on PHP development experience.
• 5+ years of React.js experience.
• Solid understanding of relational database design.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a small team of developers.
• Own and deliver key features across our React frontend and PHP backend.
• Set and guide technical direction, contributing to architectural decisions.
• Conduct code reviews and uphold high coding standards.

Skills

PHP

React

MySQL

AWS

Docker

Agile/Scrum

Job description

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About Us
At C-Link, we’re revolutionising construction procurement by automating workflows and transforming how subcontractors win work. As a fast-growing ConTech company, we operate two key brands:

• C-Link (www.c-link.com) – Procurement software for main contractors and developers.
• Prosper (www.weallprosper.co.uk) – A marketplace and lead generation platform for subcontractors.
  

With ambitious growth plans and a mission to redefine construction procurement, we are expanding our team and looking for a Lead Engineer to help shape our product and engineering culture while delivering technical excellence. This role reports directly to our CTO.

The Role
We’re looking for a passionate and experienced Lead Engineer with deep PHP and React expertise, alongside strong leadership skills. You’ll be responsible for guiding a small team of developers, setting the technical direction, and remaining hands-on in delivering high-quality software. This is a great opportunity for someone who enjoys mentoring, thrives in a product-led environment, and wants to play a pivotal role in growing a collaborative, high-performing team.

This role is ideal for someone who is:

• A confident leader and mentor with a passion for team growth and technical excellence.
• A full-stack engineer with a strong backend foundation (PHP) and solid React experience.
• An effective communicator and collaborator across disciplines.
• Energised by building both people and products.
• Ideally located in the South East UK (West Sussex, Surrey areas).

What You’ll Be Doing

• Lead and mentor a small team of developers, supporting their growth and performance.
• Own and deliver key features across our React frontend and PHP backend stack.
• Set and guide technical direction, contributing to architectural decisions.
• Conduct code reviews and uphold high coding standards and best practices.
• Collaborate with product, design, and stakeholders to translate ideas into solutions.
• Champion quality, testing, automation, and CI/CD improvements.
• Proactively identify risks and ensure timely delivery of projects.

What We’re Looking For
Essential Skills:

• Proven experience as a Team Lead or Senior Developer with leadership responsibilities.
• 5+ years of hands-on PHP development (Laravel, Symfony, or custom middleware).
• 5+ years of React.js experience (Hooks, Context API, Redux or similar state libraries).
• Solid understanding of relational database design (MySQL).
• Familiarity with RESTful APIs, OAuth, and JWT-based authentication.
• Excellent communication skills and a collaborative mindset.
  
• Experience with AWS services (ECS, RDS, S3, CloudFormation).
• Knowledge of Docker and CI/CD pipelines.
• Experience with automated testing frameworks (PHPUnit, Jest, Cypress).
• Comfortable working in Agile/Scrum environments.
• Experience managing technical debt and modernising legacy systems.

Soft Skills

• Strategic thinker with a proactive and supportive leadership style.
• Passionate about team growth, quality engineering, and continuous improvement.
• Comfortable balancing hands-on coding with team management.
• Strong ability to prioritise tasks, mitigate risks, and make critical decisions under pressure.

Why Join Us?
We’re a high-growth, innovative company where your contributions have real impact. Here’s what we offer:

• Regular team-building and social events
• Auto-enrolment to our Company NEST pension scheme
• Discretionary performance bonuses
• 25 days of annual leave plus public holidays

The salary for this role is £70,000 - £75,000