Manager/Technical Team Leader of Software Engineering

Zema Global Data Corporation; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Zema Global Data Corporation is seeking a hands-on Technical Team Leader/Manager to lead our UK Data Surface Engineering team. You will write and review code alongside your engineers and take responsibility for day-to-day delivery of our AWS Lakehouse implementation.

This role offers a rare chance to build a new team, establish engineering standards, mentor engineers, and collaborate with global stakeholders across the UK, US, Canada, and India in a fast-growth data-focused environment.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of hands-on software engineering experience, with at least 2 years in a technical leadership role.
• Strong hands-on experience with AWS services (S3, EC2, EKS, Lambda, Kinesis, Glue, Athena).
• Proficiency in Python and/or Java/Scala for data engineering and backend development.

Responsibilities

• Lead the technical delivery of the Data Surface programme phases, coordinating with senior leadership and architects.
• Lead and mentor a small team of software engineers and QA testers, fostering a culture of technical excellence.
• Lead weekly sprint planning, backlog refinement, and delivery against programme milestones using our AI-driven development methodology.
• Stay hands-on in the codebase, designing, building, and reviewing components of the Lakehouse platform alongside the team.
• Establish and enforce engineering standards, code review practices, and CI/CD workflows.
• Collaborate with product owners and stakeholders to translate business requirements into technical solutions.
• Drive technical decision-making around Lakehouse architecture, data ingestion patterns, and processing frameworks.
• Lead the team in making Lakehouse data consumable by AWS AI/ML platforms such as Amazon Bedrock and SageMaker, taking advantage of the open Apache Iceberg format.
• Champion DevOps practices including infrastructure as code, automated testing, and observability.
• Guide the team in utilizing Claude Code and AI-assisted development tools to maximize productivity and code quality.

Skills

Hands-on software engineering

Technical leadership

AWS expertise

Python/Java/Scala

Data engineering concepts

Agile / sprint planning

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science/Engineering

Tools

AWS services (S3, EC2, EKS, Lambda, Kinesis, Glue, Athena)

Apache Iceberg

Kubernetes / EKS

SQL engines (Trino/Presto/Athena)

Job description

Location: London, UK

Department: Engineering

Work Model: Hybrid (8 days per month onsite)

Position Type: Full-time, Permanent

Employment Level: Lead / Hands on Manager of Engineering

Industry: Energy Data, Commodities & Financial Technology (FinTech)

Reports To: Director of Engineering, London

Visa Sponsorship: Not available.

REQ: 0025

About Us

Founded in 1995, Zema Global Data Corporation empowers organizations to simplify complexity, reduce risk, and make faster, more confident decisions that drive measurable results. Over the past two years, Zema Global has accelerated its growth through strategic investment and acquisition to strengthen our global leadership. Together we’re helping our customers gain a Decisioning Advantage - one bold idea at a time. With a presence across global energy, commodity, and financial markets, Zema Global empowers customers to simplify complexity, reduce risk, and make faster, more confident decisions that drive measurable results.

At Zema Global, we Think Big, Make It Happen, and Win as One. We thrive on collaboration, creativity, and respect, united by a shared drive to innovate and deliver meaningful impact for our customers and communities. If you’re inspired by solving complex challenges and contributing to a culture that values purpose and performance, we invite you to join us.

Overview

Zema Global is embarking on a transformational journey to modernize our data infrastructure through the Data Surface Programme with a strategic vision to build a cloud-native AWS Lakehouse architecture. Zema Global’s Data Surface will enable:

• Unified data governance with full lineage, metadata visibility, and automated quality checks
• Scalable, elastic architecture with decoupled compute and storage optimized for AI/ML workloads
• Enhanced security, compliance, and multi-tenant support with RBAC and encryption
• Real-time and batch data processing supporting both human-in-the-loop and fully automated AI workflows
• Self-service analytics and ML capabilities through open data formats and extensible APIs
• AI and machine learning on our own data through AWS platforms such as Amazon Bedrock and SageMaker, made possible by storing data in open source Apache Iceberg format

We are building a UK-based team to own the technical delivery of this programme. You will collaborate with our global engineering teams across the UK, US, Canada, and India, working with cutting-edge cloud-native technologies to shape the future of commodities data infrastructure as part of an ambitious, forward-thinking organization.

Our team operates using an innovative AI-driven development methodology, leveraging Claude Code to accelerate development cycles and enhance code quality. Working in weekly sprints, you will experience a modern, efficient approach to software engineering that combines the best of agile practices with AI-assisted development tools.

Position Overview

We are seeking a hands-on Technical Team Leader/Manager to lead our UK-based Data Surface Engineering team. This is a deliberately hands-on role. You will write and review code alongside your engineers rather than manage from a distance, while taking responsibility for the day-to-day technical delivery of our AWS Lakehouse implementation, leading a small team of software engineers and QA professionals and collaborating with global teams and senior leadership across the UK, US, Canada, and India. It will suit a team lead ready to step up into their first formal line-management role, or an experienced manager who has kept their hands in the code.

This role offers the unique opportunity to build and shape a new team from the ground up, establish engineering best practices, and lead the technical execution of a strategic programme that will transform how we serve our customers in the energy and commodities markets.

Essential

What You’ll Bring:

• 8+ years of hands-on software engineering experience with at least 2 years in a technical leadership role
• Strong hands-on experience with AWS services (S3, EC2, EKS, Lambda, Kinesis, Glue, Athena)
• Proficiency in Python and/or Java/Scala for data engineering and backend development
• Experience leading engineers day to day as a team lead, tech lead, or first-line manager, and delivering technical work through others
• Solid understanding of data engineering principles, ETL/ELT patterns, and data quality frameworks
• Experience with Agile methodologies, sprint planning, and delivery management
• Strong communication skills with ability to engage technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field

Desirable

• Experience with Apache Iceberg, Delta Lake, Parquet or other open storage frameworks.
• Knowledge of Apache Spark, Flink or similar distributed processing frameworks
• Familiarity with data governance tools (Apache Atlas, AWS Glue Data Catalog)
• Understanding of SQL query engines (Trino, Presto, Athena, Oracle, Postgres)
• Experience in financial services, commodities, or energy markets, and/or working with timeseries data.
• AWS certifications (Solutions Architect, Developer, etc.)
• Background in migrating Oracle workloads to cloud-native architectures
• Experience with Kubernetes and EKS for container orchestration
• Track record in scale-up or fast-growth technology companies with product-focused delivery

What You’ll Be Doing

• Lead the technical delivery of the Data Surface programme phases, coordinating with senior leadership and architects
• Lead and mentor a small team of software engineers and QA testers, fostering a culture of technical excellence
• Lead weekly sprint planning, backlog refinement, and delivery against programme milestones using our AI-driven development methodology
• Stay hands-on in the codebase, designing, building, and reviewing components of the Lakehouse platform alongside the team
• Establish and enforce engineering standards, code review practices, and CI/CD workflows
• Collaborate with product owners and stakeholders to translate business requirements into technical solutions
• Drive technical decision-making around Lakehouse architecture, data ingestion patterns, and processing frameworks
• Lead the team in making Lakehouse data consumable by AWS AI/ML platforms such as Amazon Bedrock and SageMaker, taking advantage of the open Apache Iceberg format
• Champion DevOps practices including infrastructure as code, automated testing, and observability
• Guide the team in utilizing Claude Code and AI-assisted development tools to maximize productivity and code quality

Why Join Zema Global?

Global Impact

Shape the future of energy, commodities, and financial markets through innovative technology.

Innovation at Scale

Work with cutting-edge software, advanced analytics, and complex data that solve real-world challenges.

Career Growth

Join a fast-growing global organization where your ideas, development, and career progression are valued.

Exceptional People

Collaborate with talented colleagues and industry experts across North America, Europe, and Asia.

Meaningful Ownership

Take ownership of your work, influence strategic initiatives, and make a measurable impact on our customers and business.

One Global Team

Be part of a collaborative culture built on trust, respect, and our values:

Think Big. Make It Happen. Win as One.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

Zema Global is committed to building an inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive. We encourage applications from all qualified candidates regardless of background or protected characteristic.