Software Architect

Lead Forensics; Portsmouth; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Lead Forensics is a rapidly growing SaaS company seeking a Software Architect (Platform and Solutions focus). You will work with the Principal Architect on long-term architectural strategy and support Lead Developers with the design of new products and features.

You will use our stack (NestJS/NodeJS, Vue, Redis, SQL Server and SingleStore) to design cloud-first, high‑performance SaaS that handles large data sets on AWS.

Qualifications

• 3–5+ years in a software architect role.
• Strong technical development background with hands-on engineering experience.
• Experience in mature SaaS organisations, ideally B2B SaaS with high volumes.

Responsibilities

• Define architectural patterns and mentor developers to implement features.
• Design the Group Platform using patterns and best practices.
• Ensure initiatives align with company strategy and business goals.
• Mentor and support developers to create commercially balanced solutions.
• Evaluate new technologies and drive adoption.
• Hands-on coding for proofs of concept and prototypes when needed.

Skills

Software architecture

Cloud-based SaaS

Mentoring developers

Distributed systems

Technical leadership

Education

Computer Science degree

Tools

NestJS/NodeJS

Vue

Redis

SQL Server

SingleStore

AWS

Job description

Location: Portsmouth - Hybrid working - One day per week on-site

Summary

Lead Forensics is a rapidly growing, leading SaaS company with products in the B2B sales and marketing space. We’re seeking a Software Architect (Platform and Solutions focus) within our engineering department that builds our customer facing product suite. You will be working alongside our Principal Architect, working on both long-term strategic architecture work as well as supporting Lead Developers with the design of new products and features.

You will be working with our modern tech stack (NestJS/NodeJS, Vue, Redis, SQL Server and SingleStore) and will need to be highly competent in designing large scale cloud first (AWS), high performance SaaS solutions that can handle high data throughput and large data sets.

This is a role that would suit someone with a very strong development background, with expertise in creating clean code, following DevOps practices and with strong interpersonal skills, who has moved into an architectural career path.

Key Responsibilities:

• Working with the Principal Architect to determine architectural patterns, principles and practices that support our strategy; then mentoring developers to implement features in a way that follows these ideals.
• Apply design patterns and best practices to design the Group Platform, enabling the delivery of fast moving and innovative new products and features.
• Taking ownership of ensuring Lead Forensics Group software initiatives are designed and implemented in alignment with our strategy.
• Mentor, and support Lead Developers, helping them continuously improve on rapidly designing commercially balanced solutions.
• Proactively setting the direction for use of new technologies and tools.
• Hands on Coding of Proof of Concepts and Prototypes as well as reviewing code to ensure adherence to our standards.

About You:

Experience & Background

• 3–5+ years in a software architect role.
• Strong technical development background, having progressed through hands-on engineering roles.
• Experience operating within mature SaaS organisations, ideally B2B SaaS with high customer volumes.

Experience working with distributed and offshore teams.

Technical & Methodological Strength

• Comfortable engaging at both strategic and detailed technical levels when required.
• Deep understanding of modern DevOps practices and architecture patterns that support this.
• Experience developing software with cloud technologies (preferably AWS).
• Experience with a range of database technologies and practices including OLAP, OLTP, ETL and Data Warehousing.
• Experience with AI architecture.

Mindset Style

• Highly analytical, adaptable, and able to operate with mental agility in a fast-moving environment.
• Commercially aware, pragmatic, and outcome focused.
• Strong academic grounding is valued — particularly Computer Science or similar technical disciplines.

The ideal candidate will have:

• Extensive experience designing and developing complex/distributed systems in a SaaS environment following the DevOps methodology, using cloud-native technologies and microservices, with a broad experience in decoupled modular architecture, SOLID and Clean code, design patterns and testing.
• Significant experience and ability to work with technical and non-technical stakeholders, to elicit, clarify and disseminate requirements then design commercial optimal solutions that take technical, scheduling and cost constraints into account.
• Significant previous experience as a hands-on software engineer, and to have maintained the skills required to get down into the code when required.

Why Join Lead Forensics:

A senior technical role with high influence and impact.

Work closely with an experienced CTO on shaping the future of the platform.

Be part of a fast paced, forward-thinking company, that is driving a high performance and commercial approach to SaaS.

Positive culture that values onsite collaboration