Senior Tech Lead: Architect, Hands-on Leader & Delivery

Backbase; Cardiff; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Backbase is seeking a Senior Engineer who leads people and owns delivery accountability while staying deeply technical. You will split time between system design, architecture decisions, code review, debugging production issues, and coaching a squad of 6–9 engineers.

You will drive AI-native engineering with agentic tooling and robust release practices. You will champion modern engineering practices, foster psychological safety and sustainable pace, and collaborate with Product Managers and

Qualifications

• 5+ years of hands-on software engineering experience.
• Strong grounding in system design and architecture patterns.
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, observability and quality-focused development practices.
• Enthusiasm for AI tooling and leading its adoption.

Responsibilities

• System Design and Architecture: Lead and participate in design reviews, RFCs and architecture decisions.
• Hands-on Contribution: Maintain technical credibility through code reviews, debugging production issues and unblocking the team.
• Quality and Engineering Excellence: Champion CI/CD, test automation, observability and quality gates.
• BS Detector: Spot unrealistic estimates and risk blind spots before they become delivery problems.
• Emergency Response: Lead during critical incidents and coordinate the response.
• AI-Native Engineering: Lead adoption of agentic tooling and AI automation within the squad.
• Talent Development: Conduct 1:1s, calibrate performance and foster career growth.
• Team Health: Maintain psychological safety and sustainable pace.
• Hiring and Succession: Manage hiring and onboarding to build capable teams.
• Conflict Resolution: Mediate conflicts to protect delivery momentum.
• Delivery Mastery: Improve idea-to-production cycle time and delivery predictability.
• Stakeholder Partnership: Align with Product Managers and Domain Architects.
• Continuous Improvement: Enhance tooling and delivery capabilities.

Skills

Software engineering

System design

Architecture patterns

CI/CD

Observability

AI tooling

Leadership

Agile delivery (Scrum Kanban)

Job description

Backbase is seeking a Senior Engineer who leads people and owns delivery accountability while staying deeply technical. You will split time between system design, architecture decisions, code review, debugging production issues, and coaching a squad of 6–9 engineers.

You will drive AI-native engineering with agentic tooling and robust release practices. You will champion modern engineering practices, foster psychological safety and sustainable pace, and collaborate with Product Managers and