Lead Software Engineer

Searchland; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 95,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working with two days in Old St

MacBook provided for home office setup

£500 per year personal growth fund

Private healthcare with Vitality (d21

Job summary

Searchland is seeking a Lead Full‑Stack Engineer for Buildscout, reporting to Buildscout’s Lead Engineer. The role is primarily hands‑on and core to solving complex engineering challenges end‑to‑end.

You’ll work closely with product and design teams to shape features, own key areas of the stack, and mentor peers as part of a small high‑output team. Hybrid London work pattern applies.

Qualifications

• Right to work in the UK – sponsorship not offered.
• 7+ years in software engineering with 2–3 years in lead/senior‑plus roles.
• Demonstrable experience building and scaling SaaS platforms.
• Strong experience with stack: Frontend React/Tailwind; Backend Next.js/Node.js/tRPC; Databases PostgreSQL/Elasticsearch.
• Experience leading technical architecture or system design initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Write high‑quality code across the full stack daily.
• Build performant features using Next.js, React, Tailwind.
• Own PostgreSQL schema design, migrations and queries.
• Collaborate with data team on Elasticsearch‑driven search and filtering.
• Lead features from discovery through deployment and monitoring.
• Mentor junior engineers through code reviews and pairing.

Skills

React

Tailwind

Next.js

Node.js

tRPC

PostgreSQL

Elasticsearch

SaaS

Tools

Elasticsearch

Job description

Role

Lead Engineer (I)

Reporting To

Lead Engineer (II)

Salary

£95,000 - £110,000 dependent on experience

Working Location

Hybrid/ London (2 days a week on site at our Old Street office)

Please note this role is for our sister product, Buildscout, not Searchland.

About Buildscout

Buildscout is revolutionising lead generation for the UK construction industry. We use real‑time planning application data to help contractors, developers, and tradespeople secure high‑quality, location‑specific jobs before the competition and with minimal hassle. We deliver reliable, guaranteed leads, automate the entire outreach process — from planning data filtering to sending conversion‑optimised letters and follow‑ups, and provide a user‑friendly dashboard to track campaigns and measure ROI in real time

Buildscout is backed and supported by Searchland, the UK’s leading B2B prop‑tech company transforming how businesses and individuals’ access and leverage property data. This role will be reporting to Buildscout’s Lead Engineer

About The Role

We're looking for a Lead Full‑Stack Engineer who thrives on building - someone who wants to own meaningful technical problems end‑to‑end and ship great products every day. You'll be a key technical voice on a small, high‑output team, working closely with our Lead Engineer and product teams to drive quality and pace across the Buildscout platform. This is primarily a hands‑on role. You'll spend the majority of your time in the codebase, solving complex engineering challenges, improving performance, and helping set the bar for how we build. You'll also contribute to technical direction and occasionally mentor peers - but deep individual contribution is at the heart of this position.

What You’ll Do

• Write high‑quality, production‑ready code across the full stack daily
• Build performant, accessible features using Next.js, tRPC, React + Tailwind
• Own PostgreSQL schema design, migrations, and query performance
• Work alongside our data team on Elasticsearch‑driven search and filtering architectures
• Take complex features from discovery through to deployment and monitoring
• Partner closely with product and design to shape features with strong technical input
• Translate technical constraints and opportunities into clear language for non‑technical teammates
• Occasionally support and guide more junior engineers through code review and pairing

Essential Experience

• Right to work in the UK - we cannot offer sponsorship for this role
• 7+ years in software engineering with at least 2–3 years in a lead, staff, or senior‑plus role
• Demonstrable experience building and scaling SaaS platforms
• Strong experience with our stack (or strong adjacent experience):
• Frontend: React, Tailwind
• Backend: Next.js, Node.js, tRPC
• Databases: PostgreSQL, Elasticsearch
• Experience leading technical architecture or system design initiatives

Interview Process

Stage 1: 20 minute introductory call with HR Team

Stage 2: Take home technical test and submission

Stage 3 : Live coding session building on take home test with one of our Lead Engineers

Stage 4 : In person technical test with our Chief Technology Officer

Why Join Us

• Flexibility: Hybrid working with two days in our Old Street office
• Wellbeing & balance: 25 days holiday + bank holidays, your birthday off, Christmas office shutdown, and full private healthcare with Vitality including dental cover.
• Growth & development: Learn across onboarding, customer engagement, and project work, with mentoring and clear opportunities to progress in SaaS.
• Tools & support: A MacBook and contribution to a home office setup, and £500 per year personal growth fund.
• Great culture: Free lunches and team socials (bake‑offs, 3 Peaks challenge, staycations, holidays abroad when targets are hit).

Our Commitment to Inclusion

We are committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workplace where everyone feels valued and empowered to thrive. We welcome applications from all backgrounds, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, religion, or any other characteristic. If you require any adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know - we are happy to support you.