Senior Software Engineer

Focaldata Ltd; City Of London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A cutting-edge tech startup in London is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to deliver high-quality code and lead DevOps practices. The ideal candidate has over 5 years of software engineering experience, particularly with Python, and a strong background in DevOps, including experience with GCP and Kubernetes. The role is office-based 3 days a week and offers a collaborative environment to grow and innovate.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of software engineering experience (3+ years with Python).
• Experience building and maintaining complex web-based systems.
• Strong DevOps experience including CI/CD pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Develop clean, efficient, and maintainable code.
• Break down complex product requirements into manageable tasks.
• Plant best practices in CI/CD and deployment strategies.

Skills

Software engineering experience

Python

DevOps practices

Software design patterns

Communication skills

Problem-solving focus

Tools

GCP

Kubernetes

Terraform

Job description

We at Focaldata are on a mission to close the "understanding gap" between what organisations believe about people and reality. By leveraging AI, we provide deeper, more accurate insights at a fraction of the cost and time of traditional methods.

We have built an amazing team of research industry experts and great engineers to reimagine what is possible in research. We do impactful work with amazing organisations ranging from well-known brands to life-changing non-profits.

We are now looking for a Senior Software Engineer with extensive experience delivering high-quality code quickly, breaking down complex technical challenges into manageable tasks, and proactively unblocking team members to keep progress on track.

What you'll do

• As a Senior Software Engineer at Focaldata, you will:
• Deliver High-Standard Code: Develop clean, efficient, and maintainable code that meets the highest standards and prioritises simplicity over cleverness.
• Decompose Complex Tech Challenges: Break down complex, high-level product requirements into smaller, manageable technical deliverables. You will manage the breakdown of epics into tasks to ensure clear progress and communication.
• Provide DevOps Leadership: Apply and share best practices in CI/CD, deployment strategies, monitoring, and infrastructure management to improve our engineering processes.
• Bridge Technical and Business Needs: Translate between technical and non-technical stakeholders, explaining complex concepts in simple terms and presenting trade-offs clearly to enable informed decisions.
• Champion Quality & Best Practices: Operate in a startup tech team environment that is growing to the next level, and champion best practices to ensure scalability and maintainability.
• Go where you're needed: We're a small startup engineering team and while we have specific needs, there will also be times when you'll need to contribute to a wide range of different software engineering work.

Who you are

• 5+ years of software engineering experience (3+ years with Python)
• Experience building and maintaining complex web-based systems
• Strong DevOps experience including CI/CD pipelines, container orchestration, and cloud infrastructure (we use GCP, Kubernetes, Terraform)
• Solid understanding of software design patterns, architecture principles, and best practices
• Experience working with LLMs (large language models) in a practical context
• Experience working in agile teams and contributing to the full software development lifecycle
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders
• Strong problem-solving focus: A laser-like focus on identifying and solving critical path issues

Nice-to-Have

• 🆕Experience with evaluation systems and performance measurement
• 🆕Background in data processing or analytics platforms
• Experience in mentoring junior developers, helping them grow and ensuring adherence to best practices

Please note that our team is required to be in the office three days a week.

Focaldata is an equal opportunities employer. We believe in the value of a diverse and inclusive workforce for our business, team and customers. We encourage all applications regardless of age, disability, gender, marriage, pregnancy, maternity, race or nationality, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

We also understand that certain groups may not feel empowered to apply unless they match every single requirement. Please do apply even if you don't match 100% of every single requirement!