Lead Software Engineer Java AWS - Sports

Client Server; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading software company in Manchester is seeking a Lead Software Engineer to guide a high-performing team. This role involves balancing technical delivery in sports betting applications with team development and mentoring. The ideal candidate will have strong Java, Spring, AWS, and leadership experience. Competitive salary up to £80k and a supportive working environment.

Benefits

Salary to £80k

Personalised training budget

Pension

Healthcare including dental and optical

Wellness experiences and gym subsidy

Volunteer days

Career progression opportunities

Qualifications

• Strong backend software engineering skills and experience.
• Experience in Java, Spring, AWS, Kafka, Docker, and Kubernetes.
• Experience in technical/team leadership, mentoring, and coaching.

Responsibilities

• Guide and inspire a high-performing development team.
• Oversee delivery lifecycle ensuring efficient product backlog management.
• Promote engineering excellence and best practices.

Skills

Java

Spring

AWS

Kafka

Docker

Kubernetes

Technical leadership

Mentoring

Team development

Job description

Lead Software Engineer / Team Lead Manchester / WFH to £80k

Are you a hands‑on technical leader with strong Java skills?

You could be working on complex and interesting systems using the latest technology within a diverse, supportive environment whilst enjoying a range of perks and continual learning opportunities at a global games software house.

What's in it for you:

• Salary to £80k
• Personalised training budget
• Pension
• Healthcare including dental and optical
• Various wellness experiences, gym subsidy, cycle to work scheme, volunteer days and much more
• Diverse, supportive environment with great career progression opportunities

Your role:

As a Lead Software Engineer you will play a key role in guiding and inspiring a small, high‑performing development team, working on real‑time in sports betting applications.

This is an excellent opportunity for a hands‑on leader who enjoys balancing technical delivery with team development and collaboration, with approximately a 50/50 split between hands‑on architecture and coding and people management (coaching, mentoring).

Collaborating closely with the Product Owner, you'll oversee the full delivery lifecycle, ensuring that the product backlog is delivered efficiently and to a high standard. You'll promote engineering excellence, encouraging best practices and contributing to continuous improvement across both team and wider organisation. A central part of this role will be creating a developer‑friendly environment that allows individuals to focus, innovate and perform at their best.

Location / WFH:

You'll join the team in Central Manchester three days a week with flexibility to work from home twice a week.

About you:

• You have strong backend software engineering skills and experience
• You have strong Java, Spring and AWS experience
• You also have experience with Kafka for data streaming
• You have a good knowledge of Docker and Kubernetes
• You have technical / team leadership, mentoring and coaching experience, you're an advocate of software engineering best practices
• You're collaborative and pragmatic with great communication and stakeholder management skills