Lead Software Engineer

Lead Software Engineer, Product Acceleration Team (Innovation)

The Lead Software Engineer is a broad technical generalist who supports the Product Acceleration Team in evaluating, prototyping, and delivering solutions to proposed hypothesis. The role requires a wide-ranging understanding of software engineering, cloud technologies, data platforms and emerging technologies, with the ability and willingness to develop deeper expertise in unfamiliar areas when required. A strong foundation in full-stack software development is core, complemented by a working knowledge of data engineering and data science concepts, including the ability to understand and troubleshoot workloads.

The role also requires practical experience with Azure cloud technologies including secure networking concepts and Databricks including Unity Catalog. Knowledge of a variety of database technologies, including relational, graph, vector and NoSQL databases, is useful.

The successful candidate may also have to deploy company solutions in both local and containerised environments. Working knowledge of both Linux and Windows environments is expected. A key aspect of the role is the ability to transform vague or high-level business requirements into practical technical solutions. This may involve designing solution architectures, planning and executing technical experiments, evaluating technology options and balancing competing requirements such as performance, scalability, accuracy and delivery speed. In a ‘nut shell’, the ability to assess and select the most appropriate technology for a given problem is needed. The role requires an interest in emerging technologies, particularly Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, together with the judgement to determine when such technologies provide genuine value and when alternative approaches may be more appropriate. As a technical leader within the team, the Lead Software Engineer is expected to provide guidance and support to colleagues by helping shape technical approaches, reviewing work, troubleshooting issues and advising on delivery plans. The ability to context switch effectively is essential, as the role typically involves leading or contributing to multiple initiatives simultaneously, including their own project work and supporting several projects owned by other team members.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop and deliver software POCs across a range of technologies and platforms.

• Translate high-level or ambiguous requirements into technical solutions and experiments.

• Provide technical leadership and guidance to project teams. • Review designs, implementations and results to ensure alignment with objectives.

• Evaluate and select appropriate technologies, platforms and architectural approaches. • Support cloud deployments including containerisation solutions where required.

• Contribute to data engineering and data science initiatives, including an understanding of workloads.

• Assess emerging technologies, including AI capabilities, and recommend their appropriate use.

• Troubleshoot technical issues across applications, infrastructure and data platforms.

• Manage and balance multiple concurrent projects and priorities within an innovation environment.

Desired Skills and Experience

• Full-stack software development.

• Azure cloud services and networking.

• Databricks and Unity Catalog.

• Distributed data processing

• Relational, graph and NoSQL databases.

• Docker and containerisation environments.

• Linux and Windows administration and development environments.

• Solution architecture and technical experimentation.

• AI and ML awareness.

• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.

• Ability to work effectively in situations with incomplete information or evolving requirements.