Software Engineer

Digital Waffle; Royal Leamington Spa; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

Digital Waffle is seeking a Lead Software Engineer to own the backend engineering function and help shape the next phase of the platform. This hands-on leadership role requires deep C++ experience and a blend of technical delivery with mentoring, architecture and AI adoption.

You’ll lead backend systems, work with cross-functional teams, and drive improvements in performance, reliability and development velocity in a hybrid Leamington Spa setting.

Qualifications

• Lead backend ownership and mentoring responsibilities.
• Deep C++ expertise with STL knowledge and algorithms.
• Experience designing scalable backend services and APIs.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and evolution of scalable backend systems and APIs.
• Take technical ownership of backend projects from planning through to production delivery.
• Work with Product, Architects and Engineers to define technical requirements.
• Lead and mentor a team of backend engineers.
• Drive improvements across architecture, performance, reliability and observability.
• Identify bottlenecks and optimise queries and system performance.
• Evaluate and implement AI-powered tools to improve productivity and quality.
• Shape adoption of LLMs and AI engineering practices across the team.
• Lead sprint planning, standups and retrospectives with Product and Delivery teams.
• Champion secure coding, testing and code review.

Skills

Leadership

C++ expert

Backend design

Agile

AI familiarity

Tools

C++ STL

APIs

Databases

AI tools

Job description

A growing technology business is hiring a Lead Software Engineer to take ownership of its backend engineering function and help shape the next phase of its platform.

This is a hands‑on leadership role for someone with deep C++ experience who enjoys combining technical delivery with mentoring, architecture and modern AI adoption. You’ll work closely with Product, Front End and R&D teams to improve platform performance, engineering quality and development velocity.

Salary: Up to £70k depending on experience

Location: Leamington Spa, hybrid working, 2 to 3 days per week onsite

What you'll be doing

• Lead the development and evolution of scalable backend systems and APIs.
• Take technical ownership of backend projects from planning through to production delivery.
• Work closely with Product Managers, Architects and Engineers to define technical requirements.
• Lead and mentor a team of backend engineers, supporting their development and technical progression.
• Drive improvements across architecture, performance, reliability and observability.
• Identify bottlenecks and optimise database queries, services and system performance.
• Evaluate and implement AI-powered tools to improve engineering productivity and software quality.
• Help shape the adoption of LLMs, AI-assisted development and modern AI engineering practices across the team.
• Lead sprint planning, stand‑ups and retrospectives alongside Product and Delivery teams.
• Champion secure coding, testing, code review and engineering best practice.

What you'll need

• Strong commercial experience as a Lead Backend Engineer, Senior Backend Engineer or similar technical leadership role.
• Expert-level C++ experience with strong knowledge of the standard library, STL containers and algorithms.
• Experience designing and maintaining scalable backend services and APIs.
• Strong understanding of database systems and performance optimisation.
• Previous experience leading, mentoring or coaching software engineers.
• Experience working within Agile engineering environments.
• Hands‑on experience developing, integrating or deploying AI or Machine Learning-powered solutions.
• Familiarity with LLMs, AI-assisted development tools and modern AI frameworks.
• Understanding of AI architecture including prompt engineering, vector databases, RAG and AI service integration.
• Experience evaluating and introducing AI tools that improve developer productivity.
• Strong problem‑solving skills with a proactive and pragmatic approach to engineering.

Nice to have

• Experience contributing to hiring and onboarding technical teams.
• Exposure to hardware-integrated software, access control, security or workforce management platforms.
• Experience improving engineering observability, reliability and secure development practices.

This role would suit an experienced C++ engineer who wants to combine hands‑on development with technical leadership and play a key role in introducing modern AI capabilities into an established engineering environment.