Staff Software Engineer

Jobtailor; Greater London; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Funding Circle in London seeks an engineering leader to own high‑level solution design, drive architectural direction, and oversee engineering performance. You will shape tech decisions that influence customer outcomes and business metrics, while leading with Generative AI to transform processes.

You’ll collaborate with product teams to build informed roadmaps, mentor an empowered engineering group, and represent the company at external events to attract talent.

Qualifications

• Experience as technical lead for a platform domain.
• Proficiency in Python, Ruby or Java.
• Strong coaching and mentoring skills.
• Demonstrated adoption of Generative AI to drive change.

Responsibilities

• Take accountability for high-level solution design, standards, engineering performance, and technology decisions within your Group.
• Articulate how tech drives top and bottom line, and platform outcomes.
• Identify and leverage Generative AI tools to drive innovation and AI-native transformation.
• Collaborate with customer-facing product teams to build a roadmap and translate into architecture with milestones.
• Perform deep-dives and troubleshoot issues in a hands-on capacity, enabling teams.
• Exhibit stakeholder-management skills, presenting technology solutions and tradeoffs to audiences across the organisation.
• Represent Funding Circle externally at events to share industry insights and attract talent.

Skills

Engineering leadership

Technical lead

Platform architecture

Python

Ruby

Java

Coaching & mentoring

Stakeholder management

Generative AI

Job description

Responsibilities

• Take accountability for high-level solution design, standards, engineering performance, and technology decisions within your Group.
• Have sound commercial acumen and a solid understanding of how tech drives the top and bottom line, articulating how our platform drives customer and commercial outcomes.
• Proactively identify and leverage the latest Generative AI tools and techniques to drive innovation and transform engineering processes, helping the organisation become fully "AI Native."
• Understand that collaboration with customer-facing product teams is vital; build an informed roadmap, shape technical direction, and translate this into a target system and data architecture with clear milestones.
• Perform deep-dives and troubleshoot issues in a hands‑on capacity, while enabling teams rather than becoming a dependency.
• Exhibit excellent stakeholder‑management skills, presenting technology solutions, risks, and tradeoffs to all audiences across Funding Circle, influencing without requiring reporting authority.
• Represent Funding Circle externally at events, leveraging your network to share industry trends and insights, and attract talent.

Qualifications

• Engineering leader who can solve high‑level problems, while also deep‑diving into technical challenges in a hands‑on capacity.
• Experience operating as the technical lead for a platform domain, either as a staff equivalent or a SaaS founding/lead engineer.
• Understanding of the importance and limitations of internal platforms, experienced with deciding when to invest in centralisation vs bespoke, and in driving adoption.
• Experience in at least one major programming language (e.g., Python, Ruby, Java).
• True advocate for an empowered engineering team over 10x engineers, with a passion for coaching, mentoring, and sponsoring.
• Strong passion for critically assessing and applying emerging technologies to solve complex engineering challenges and drive transformational change across an organization.
• Proven experience in adopting and applying emerging technologies, particularly Generative AI, to solve complex engineering challenges and drive transformational change across an organization.

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in high‑level solution design and engineering performance, focusing on leveraging Generative AI technologies to drive innovation. Proven ability to lead technical teams, manage stakeholder relationships, and translate complex technical concepts into actionable strategies.