Staff Engineer

Capitalontap; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private healthcare

Annual learning budget

Cycle to work

Season ticket loan

Dental and opticians

Sabbatical

Health & wellbeing

Job summary

Capital on Tap in London is seeking a Staff Engineer to lead cross-group technical initiatives. You will own the architectural roadmap, stay hands-on with production code, and drive delivery with strong collaboration across engineering and product teams.

You will mentor engineers, influence decisions, and help shape hiring and promotions. Fintech experience and AI-enabled engineering are a plus; hybrid work with the London Moorgate office is offered.

Qualifications

• A track record of leading technical work across teams.
• Deep experience with distributed systems and API design; choosing efficient solutions.
• Hands-on experience with .NET or a similar back-end stack.
• Web or mobile frameworks familiarity is a plus but not required.
• Exceptional communication and collaboration with engineers and non-technical staff.
• Ability to influence people who do not report to you.
• Nice to have: fintech/regulatory experience and AI-assisted engineering.

Responsibilities

• Lead cross-group projects from design to production, including failure scenarios.
• Plan ahead to handle tenfold load growth without rewrites.
• Stay hands-on and write production code when needed.
• Review designs and own the technical roadmap for your area.
• Coordinate decisions across groups and own outcomes.
• Coach Lead and Senior Engineers and assist with hiring and promotions.

Skills

Leadership

Mentoring engineers

Cross-group coordination

Communication

Architectural judgement

Influencing others

Fintech domain knowledge

Tools

.NET

API design

Job description

We're Capital on Tap Capital on Tap started because small businesses were underserved. Big banks were slow, their products weren't fit for purpose, and small business owners often couldn't access what they needed. We set out to fix that. Today we're a financial platform - not just a credit card company. We offer a best-in-class business credit card, SME-focused spend management platform, a savings product that hit £1 billion in funds within its first year, and a growing suite of tools and financial products that make running a small business easier. 1,000+ employees, £20bn in annual card spend, 200,000+ customers, 17,000+ Trustpilot reviews averaging 4.7 stars, and we're profitable. We've done a pretty good job so far, but we're just getting started!

This is a Hybrid role, the Engineering team work from our London (Moorgate) Offices 2 days per week. This is a multiple headcount role, so please don't be put off if you've seen this advertised for a while.

What you'll be doing

• Lead cross-group projects from first design to production, including when they go wrong.
• Plan ahead, so your systems can handle around ten times today's load without a rewrite.
• Stay hands-on.
• Write production code, review designs and build the hard parts yourself.
• Own the shared technical roadmap for your area.
• When a decision spans several groups, bring them together, weigh the options and own the outcome.
• Coach Lead and Senior Engineers, and help with senior hiring and promotions.

What success looks like

Faster delivery, decisions made swiftly, alignment with the direction set by the Engineering Architecture Team, fewer incidents and less duplicated work in the groups you support. A Staff Engineer helps several groups decide well, while owning the outcome of the decisions that have a broad impact. You'll agree named outcomes with your manager each quarter.

What we're looking for

• A track record of leading technical work across teams
• Deep experience with complex distributed systems and API design, and the judgement to pick the boring solution when it's the right one.
• Hands-on experience with .NET or a similar back-end stack.
• Familiarity with web or mobile frameworks would also be beneficial but not required.
• Exceptional communication and collaboration skills with engineers and non-technical people alike.
• Demonstrable ability (and comfort) to influence people who don't report to you.
• Nice to have: fintech or regulated financial services experience, and experience using AI tools to make engineering teams better.

Diversity & Inclusion

We welcome, consider and encourage applications from anyone who shares our commitment to inclusivity. Join us in creating a space where authenticity thrives, and everyone can do their best work.

Great Work Deserves Great Perks

• Private Healthcare including dental and opticians services through Vitality
• Worldwide travel insurance through Vitality
• Anniversary Rewards (£250, £500, £750, 4-week fully paid sabbatical)
• Salary Sacrifice Pension Scheme up to 7% match
• 28 days holiday (plus bank holidays)
• Annual Learning and Wellbeing Budget
• Enhanced Parental Leave
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Season Ticket Loan
• 6 free therapy sessions per year
• Dog Friendly Offices
• Free drinks and snacks in our offices

Interview Process

• First stage: 30 minute intro call with Talent Partner
• Second stage: 60 minute "Tech Chat" & Values Interview with an Engineering Manager
• Third stage: 60 minute Code Pairing with 2x members of our Senior engineering team
• Final stage: 60 minute Case Study with Product & Engineering + 60 minute Good to Great Interview with our CTO ( onsite )