Staff Software Engineer

A major enterprise payments division is being carved out from a top-tier global banking group to establish an independent, modern technology business. Rather than maintaining legacy banking infrastructure or owning a tiny slice of a massive corporate estate, this project offers the rare chance to build a high-scale tech company from the ground up.

The engineering organisation is scaling rapidly from the foundation up. The product-facing engineering org will expand to 100–200 engineers across ~12 teams , alongside a dedicated platform and infrastructure group of 20–30 engineers . Joining during this initial build phase means having an outsized influence on technical architecture, hiring bar, operational norms, and culture.

The Role

Engineering Leads will shape the tech culture, technical standards, and delivery tempo. The business is hiring across two distinct levels, with candidates calibrated to the right level during the process:

• EL1 (Hands-on Lead): Leading a single engineering team, driving delivery while remaining actively hands-on with code and design.
• EL2 (Manager of Managers): Accountable for an entire product area/domain, leading multiple teams through engineering managers and senior leads.

The focus for the initial build phase is on experienced leaders who excel in early-stage setup, ambiguity, and high-autonomy environments.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Building & Scaling Teams: Hire, mentor, and grow high-performing software engineering teams.
• Culture & Standards: Establish engineering rigor, coding standards, continuous delivery, and a culture of accountability without introducing unnecessary bureaucracy.
• Technical Pragmatism: Make balanced technical and architectural decisions that trade off speed, robustness, and long-term scalability.
• Product Partnership: Work side-by-side with Product Leadership to define domain roadmaps, strategy, and execution plans.
• Organizational Design: Help define how engineering operates enterprise-wide—including buy vs. build decisions, team topographies, and delivery metrics.
• Technical Credibility: Stay close enough to the codebase and technology to constructively challenge, support, and guide your teams.

Technology & Mindset

Core Stack:

• Backend: Rust, Kotlin
• Frontend: TypeScript
• Platform / Scoping: Golang, Python

Tech Philosophy: You do not need deep, day-one expertise in every language listed. What matters most is strong engineering judgment, system design fundamentals, and a pragmatic "right tool for the job" mindset. The interview process assesses core engineering principles and problem-solving over syntax memorization.

What We’re Looking For

• Proven experience leading software engineering teams within modern, high-scale digital or fintech environments.
• Strong background in backend or full-stack software development (ideally with exposure to strongly typed languages like Kotlin, Rust, Go, or Java).
• Track record of navigating ambiguity, building structure from scratch, and shipping software rapidly.
• Demonstrated ability to partner with Product, Design, and Executive stakeholders.
• A passion for building greenfield systems rather than maintaining legacy architectures.