Lead Engineer / Head of Software Engineering

Northampton Business Directory; Kettering; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A fast-growing UK financial technology company is seeking a Lead Engineer / Head of Engineering to shape the strategic and technical direction of its platforms. The ideal candidate will have 5+ years of full-stack experience in JavaScript and Python, strong AWS skills, and a proven ability to design scalable systems. This role combines strategic leadership and hands-on engineering, offering the chance to mentor a growing team and impact the engineering culture significantly. The position requires attendance in the Kettering office at least three days a week.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of full-stack experience in JavaScript and Python.
• Strong background in AWS services including Lambda, S3, Glue, and Redshift.
• Proven ability to design scalable web and data systems.

Responsibilities

• Own the technical roadmap for customer and data platforms.
• Design and build web applications and APIs using Node.js, React, Python, and AWS.
• Mentor developers and lead by example through high-quality coding.

Skills

Full-stack development (JavaScript, Node.js, React)

Cloud services (AWS)

CI/CD best practices

Problem-solving and communication

Tools

Node.js

Python

Git

Job description

Overview

A fast-growing UK financial technology company is seeking a Lead Engineer / Head of Engineering to shape the strategic and technical direction of its platforms and lead a new era of engineering maturity. The company provides innovative digital lending and finance solutions for SMEs across the UK. Its technology underpins the entire customer lifecycle - from onboarding and credit analysis through to lender integration, decisioning models, and customer self-service. The environment blends custom full‑stack applications, CRM, and AWS-hosted data engineering systems. This role combines hands‑on coding with strategic leadership. You will design scalable architecture, improve engineering standards, and mentor a small but growing team. It is ideal for a senior developer or technical lead from a larger fintech, financial services, or SaaS environment who wants greater autonomy, ownership, and visibility.

What You’ll Do

• Own the technical roadmap, working directly with the Head of Tech to deliver next‑generation customer and data platforms.
• Design and build web applications and APIs using Node.js, React, Python, and AWS.
• Oversee integrations between CRM, AWS services, data pipelines, and internal systems.
• Implement and enforce best practice in CI/CD, testing, code review, and version control.
• Develop secure, reliable cloud infrastructure across AWS Lambda, S3, Glue, and Redshift.
• Mentor developers, set standards, and lead by example through high‑quality hands‑on coding.
• Contribute to strategic initiatives including:
  • A new customer self‑service portal
  • Automation of credit and lending workflows
  • Data engineering and machine learning model deployment for lender matching and risk profiling
  • Continuous improvement of API and data architecture for scalability
• Be an experienced software engineer who builds and leads equally. You want a role where your technical depth, problem‑solving skills, and leadership make a visible impact.

You'll Bring

• 5+ years of full‑stack experience in JavaScript (Node.js/React) and Python.
• Strong cloud background, ideally AWS (Lambda, S3, Glue, Redshift).
• Proven ability to design and deploy scalable web and data systems.
• Understanding of CI/CD, automated testing, and version control (Git).
• Experience integrating CRM or SaaS systems (Zoho, Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.).
• Excellent communication and problem‑solving skills – confident presenting to business stakeholders.
• UK‑based, with full right to work, UK work software engineering experience and ability to attend the office minimum three days per week.

Ideal Industry Sector Backgrounds

• FinTech / Alternative Lending / Payments
• SaaS, Data or Analytics Platform Providers
• Financial Services or Digital Banking Engineering Teams
• Larger blue‑chip or consultancy environments where you’ve learned engineering project/program discipline and now want autonomy, ownership, and pace within a smaller, entrepreneurial business.

You'll Suit This Role If You

\

• Enjoy being both a strategic thinker and a hands‑on engineer.
• Thrive in a high‑energy, collaborative environment where delivery speed and technical quality both matter.
• Want the freedom to shape engineering culture, standards, and architecture.

You Won’t Suit This Role If You

• Are seeking a fully remote or management‑only position.
• Lack UK software engineering / full stack development experience or confidence communicating with senior business stakeholders.