Tech Lead, AI-Driven Interactive Systems (Hands-On)

Iconic; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Iconic is building AI-driven digital actors for interactive entertainment. We’re seeking a Tech Lead to mentor a small, high-caliber team while remaining hands-on, driving execution, and shaping technical direction.

You’ll own core systems, write production code, and collaborate with product to translate ideas into scalable features, balancing craft with pragmatic trade-offs. London-based, hybrid role; you’ll help define what digital actors are and how players interact, while fostering

Qualifications

• Proven track record leading fast-moving engineering teams.
• Active hands-on coding as part of daily work.
• Experience delivering production-grade software from concept to production.
• Comfortable across languages and systems.
• Strong engineering practices (testing, CI/CD, architecture).
• Genuine interest in games/interactive experiences.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a small team of engineers, setting a high technical bar
• Remain deeply hands-on owning and building core systems, writing production code, and contributing directly to key features
• Take ownership of critical systems
• Own project delivery: planning, prioritisation, and execution
• Bring strong engineering practices and help create a high-performance culture
• Work closely with product to shape features and make pragmatic trade-offs
• Contribute across the stack, choosing the right tools and languages for each problem
• Help define and evolve our technical architecture as we scale

Skills

Team leadership

Hands-on coding

End-to-end ownership

CI/CD & testing

Cross-functional collaboration

Game/interactive tech interest

Product-minded

Architectural thinking

Tools

CI/CD tooling

AI/ML awareness

Job description

Iconic is building AI-driven digital actors for interactive entertainment. We’re seeking a Tech Lead to mentor a small, high-caliber team while remaining hands-on, driving execution, and shaping technical direction.

You’ll own core systems, write production code, and collaborate with product to translate ideas into scalable features, balancing craft with pragmatic trade-offs. London-based, hybrid role; you’ll help define what digital actors are and how players interact, while fostering