Lead Software Engineer

The Opportunity We're looking for a Lead Engineer to provide technical leadership within one of our engineering squads. This is a hands-on individual contributor role where you'll design, build, review, and deliver high-quality software while raising engineering standards through technical leadership and example. Working closely with your Engineering Manager and Principal Engineer, you'll translate technical direction into execution, own the squad's day-to-day technical delivery, and ensure solutions are scalable, maintainable, and aligned with FrankieOne's engineering standards. You'll lead through influence, engineering expertise, and hands-on contribution rather than formal people management authority. You'll also be responsible for the technical health of your squad's services, including reliability, operational excellence, incident response, product support, observability, and continuous improvement. As an AI-native engineering organisation, we expect AI-assisted and agentic software development to be your default way of working, helping the team move faster while maintaining a high bar for quality, security, and reliability. What Success Looks Like Deliver Outstanding Software Consistently deliver high-quality, well-tested software.Take ownership of the squad's most complex technical challenges.Unblock other engineers through hands-on engineering and sound technical judgement.Ensure solutions are scalable, maintainable, and aligned with engineering standards.Lead Through Technical Excellence Raise the engineering bar through strong design, code quality, testing, and review practices.Lead technical design discussions and drive engineering decisions within the squad.Mentor engineers through pairing, coaching, feedback, and example.Promote a culture of continuous improvement and engineering excellence.Turn Strategy Into Delivery Translate technical direction from the Engineering Manager and Principal Engineer into successful execution.Break down complex initiatives into achievable delivery plans.Identify technical risks early and communicate them proactively.Ensure the squad delivers reliably against commitments.Own Your Services Take accountability for the technical health of your squad's services throughout their lifecycle.Drive operational excellence across:ArchitectureCode qualityReliabilityObservabilityProduct supportOn-call readinessIncident responseContinuous improvementContribute Beyond Your Squad Collaborate with Lead Engineers across FrankieOne to evolve architecture, engineering practices, and technical standards.Represent your squad in cross-functional technical discussions.Help drive consistency and technical excellence across the wider engineering organisation.Champion AI-Native Engineering Use AI-assisted and agentic engineering as your default approach to software development.Leverage AI to:Accelerate software deliveryImprove platform reliability and resilienceReduce operational overheadImprove developer experienceSimplify complex systemsIdentify automation opportunitiesDrive architectural evolutionHelp your squad adopt effective AI workflows while maintaining high standards of quality, security, and reliability.Communicate with Confidence at a Senior Level Engage directly and regularly with the VP Engineering and senior leaders across the business.Proactively raise technical risks, issues, and delivery concerns as they emerge.Communicate clearly, honestly, and effectively with senior stakeholders.Ensure leaders always have an accurate understanding of squad health, delivery status, and technical risk.Drive Engineering Improvement & Innovation Identify opportunities to improve engineering practices across the squad and broader organisation.Champion innovative tools, approaches, and AI-native ways of working.Build the case for change and drive initiatives through to measurable outcomes.Balance innovation with pragmatic decision-making and delivery priorities.Key Capabilities Technical Excellence Expert-level software engineering skills within the team's technology stack.Strong system design and architectural capabilities.Proven ability to design and deliver scalable, maintainable systems.Consistently produces high-quality, secure, and reliable software.Strong engineering judgement and decision-making.Technical Leadership Leads technical design and architecture discussions.Drives engineering decisions within the squad.Provides thoughtful code reviews and technical guidance.Mentors engineers and promotes engineering best practices.Influences through expertise and collaboration rather than formal authority.Delivery & Ownership Breaks down complex initiatives into achievable delivery plans.Identifies and communicates risks early.Owns service reliability, supportability, and operational excellence.Takes accountability for incidents, on-call readiness, and service health.Delivers outcomes with a strong sense of ownership.Collaboration Partners effectively with Engineering Managers, Principal Engineers, Product Managers, and Designers.Works closely with adjacent engineering teams to deliver customer outcomes.Contributes actively to the Lead Engineer community.Helps shape engineering standards and architecture across FrankieOne.AI-Native Engineering Uses AI-assisted and agentic development as a core part of everyday engineering.Applies AI to improve:ReliabilityObservabilityMaintainabilityOperational excellenceDeveloper productivityAutomates repetitive work and reduces technical debt.Helps others adopt effective AI workflows.Applies strong engineering judgement to AI-generated output, ensuring quality, security, maintainability, and compliance.Senior Stakeholder Communication Communicates clearly, concisely, and confidently with senior leaders.Proactively escalates risks and issues when needed.Tailors communication style and level of detail to the audience.Builds trust through transparency, consistency, and accuracy.Continuous Improvement & Innovation Proactively identifies opportunities to improve engineering practices.Champions adoption of innovative technologies and approaches.Builds support for change and drives initiatives to completion.Delivers measurable improvements to engineering effectiveness and platform quality.Balances continuous improvement with practical delivery considerations.