Staff Software Engineer

Arrows; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Arrows in London is hiring a Staff Engineer to own the architecture that scales our Core Markets platform. This hands-on IC role blends architecture leadership with writing code when it counts, in a hybrid London setting.

You will design backend systems, partner with AI/R Retrieval teams to advance search and RAG, and lead cross-team initiatives from whiteboard to production, mentoring engineers along the way.

Qualifications

• Built large-scale backend systems and distributed architectures.
• Think in systems and lead technical initiatives across teams.
• Strong knowledge of AWS, Kubernetes, APIs, and modern backend development.
• Experience with RAG, search, or vector databases preferred.
• Proficient in Python or a similar modern language.
• Excellent communication and mentoring skills.

Responsibilities

• Own architecture and strategy across Platform, AI, Retrieval, and shared services.
• Design backend systems and APIs that scale with a fast-growing business.
• Partner with AI/Retrieval teams to push our search and RAG capabilities forward.
• Lead cross-team initiatives from whiteboard to production.
• Raise the bar through design reviews, mentoring, and sharp technical judgment.
• Use AI-assisted engineering to move faster.

Skills

Backend systems

Distributed architectures

Python

Tools

AWS

Kubernetes

APIs

Job description

Staff Engineer - London (Hybrid) - Full-time - paying up to £150k

The Opportunity

One of the world's biggest, most mission-critical markets still runs on PDFs, spreadsheets, and guesswork. We're building the AI-native platform that fixes that - and we're hiring the engineer who'll shape what comes next.

We've found product-market fit, we're scaling fast across new markets, and our customers stick around because the product actually changes how they work. Now we need a Staff Engineer to own the architecture that gets us to the next level.

The Role

This is a hands-on, high-leverage IC role - part architect, part technical rallying point. You'll set the technical vision for our Core Markets org, align 6+ teams around it, and still write code where it counts.

You’ll:

• Own architecture and strategy across Platform, AI, Retrieval, and shared services
• Design backend systems and APIs that scale with a fast-growing business
• Partner with AI/Retrieval teams to push our search and RAG capabilities forward
• Lead cross-team initiatives from whiteboard to production
• Raise the bar through design reviews, mentoring, and sharp technical judgment
• Use AI-assisted engineering to move faster, not just talk about moving faster

You

• Have built large-scale backend systems and distributed architectures
• Think in systems, not tickets, and can lead technical initiatives across teams without needing the authority to force it
• Know your way around AWS, Kubernetes, APIs, and modern backend development
• Have touched RAG, search, or vector databases - or want to go deep on them
• Code fluently in Python (or an equivalent modern language)
• Communicate clearly and love levelling up the engineers around you

Bonus points: founding engineer or CTO experience, or a track record of modernizing legacy systems.