Engineering Lead

The OpportunityThis is an opportunity to join IRIS Software Group as we transform into an AI-first company delivering cloud-native solutions that impact millions of lives globally. IRIS produces an integrated suite of mission-critical software applications spanning accountancy, HR, payroll, education, and business operations. You will be working as part of an Agile team to deliver innovative solutions to user stories and requirements, contributing to our modernisation journey that serves over 100,000 customers across 135 countries.
The role is challenging and dynamic, with key deadlines to be met as we accelerate our cloud transformation and implement next-generation technologies. You'll need to embrace continuous learning and bring a focused attitude to tasks that directly enable businesses, schools, and organisations to work smarter and more efficiently.
You will be involved in a variety of cutting-edge technical solutions, ranging from the latest .NET technologies using C# to various Front End Web JS Frameworks, all while contributing to our AI-powered platform evolution. You will be supported in your career growth by a highly experienced team, comprehensive learning opportunities, and a vibrant technical community committed to creating exceptional solutions that make a real difference in how our customers operate and succeed.
Role PurposeThe Engineering Lead is a hybrid leadership role that combines technical leadership, agile delivery ownership, and people management. You will lead an autonomous engineering team building modern full-stack web applications using the latest UI frameworks, .NET Core backends, and cloud-native technologies, ensuring both delivery excellence and team development while remaining technically hands-on with containerised, scalable solutions.
Key ResponsibilitiesDelivery Management (25%)Ensure projects are scoped, prioritised, and delivered on time with clear alignment to business goals and quarterly OKRsDrive predictability, velocity, and quality through effective agile practices and continuous improvementCommunicate proactively with stakeholders (product, design, leadership, customers) on delivery progress, risks, and dependenciesFacilitate alignment between technical capabilities and business objectives through clear, strategic communicationOwn team's Agile maturity, establish team delivery standards, and optimise team practices for maximum effectiveness and predictabilityBalance workload, staffing, and hiring needs to maintain sustainable delivery while planning for growthManage up and across the organisation to secure resources, remove impediments, and represent the team strategically
Technical Leadership & Contribution (50%)Provide strategic technical leadership through architectural guidance and critical technical decisions, with selective hands-on contributionsDefine technical decisions and maintain system health through architectural oversight and technical debt managementEstablish and drive comprehensive quality culture including TDD/BDD practices, testing standards, automated quality gates, and team code review excellenceDefine team security standards ensure team compliance governance, and drive security-first culture within the engineering teamStay technically current through code reviews, architectural discussions, strategic technical involvement and ensure alignment with broader organisational technical strategyDelegate technical execution to senior team members while maintaining oversight and accountabilityDefine AI strategy and ensure responsible AI culture across teamsEmpower team decision-making within established frameworks and escalation criteriaDefine
team documentation strategy establish governance frameworks for the team, and ensure knowledge management within the engineering team
People Management (25%)Line manage engineers including coaching, performance reviews, career planning, and regular 1:1sCreate inclusive, collaborative environment that enables team success by removing blockers and providing resourcesDevelop team members through structured career development, skill building, and succession planningHandle performance management including improvement plans, conflict resolution, and team dynamics

Required Experience & SkillsTechnical SkillsFrontend Strategy: Strategic understanding of modern UI frameworks (e.g. Angular, React, Vue.js, Blazor)Backend Leadership: Strong understanding of .NET Core, C#, ASP.NET Core Web APIs, REST, application architectures, and distributed systemsData Architecture: Strategic knowledge of SQL, NoSQL and data architecture decisionsAgentic AI Engineering: Demonstrated experience using AI coding agents (Cursor, Copilot, Devin, Claude Code, etc.) as a primary development workflow - not as a productivity add-on. Able to define team guardrails, review AI-generated output critically, and lead a team culture where agentic development is the default mode of working.Prompt engineering and AI workflow design: Experience designing effective AI interactions through prompt engineering, context management, and MCP integration - with the ability to coach team members on getting high-quality, production-safe output from AI agents.CI/CD
Strategy: Define team CI/CD strategy, establish team governance frameworks, and ensure adoption of deployment best practices across the teamInfrastructure as Code: Infrastructure as Code with Terraform, ARM Templates or AWS CloudFormation/CDKObservability Strategy: DataDog, Application Insights or Amazon CloudWatch implementation with comprehensive observability strategy and cloud governanceCloud Strategy: Strategic SAAS using Azure (Functions, Queue, Blob Storage, VMs, etc) or AWS (Lambda, SQS/SNS, EC2, etc.) ecosystemsContainer Orchestration: Advanced Container (e.g. Docker) and Kubernetes (AKS/EKS) with production-scale deploymentsArchitecture Governance: Expertise in clean architecture, domain-driven design, and application architectural patternsScalable Solutions: Experience with highly scalable solutions and internet-facing traffic levelsQuality & Testing Leadership: Define team testing strategy, establish quality governance for the team, and measure team adoption with
continuous improvement initiativesApplication Security: Confident vulnerability management, thread modelling and trackingProduction Support: Knowledge of observability and production support practices
Experience Requirements8+ years in software engineering, minimum 1 year of formal people management experience OR 2+ years of technical leadership with mentoring responsibilitiesDemonstrable experience delivering complex software projects using Agile methodologiesProven recent technical skills with strategic contributions to production systemsCode review leadership with experience establishing review standards and cultureDemonstrated ability to balance technical excellence with business delivery requirements
Leadership & Soft SkillsExcellent communication, collaboration, and stakeholder management skillsEffective prioritisation and negotiation abilitiesStrong analytical and strategic thinking capabilitiesAbility to balance technical excellence with business delivery requirementsFostering collaboration, promoting team building and culture development skills
Desirable SkillsExperience working with regulated or complex domains (finance, health, govtech) with audit requirementsExperience line managing engineers including 1:1s, performance reviews, and career developmentExperience with platform engineering or shared service teams building reusable UI components and backend servicesExpertise with advanced monitoring and APM strategies using DataDog, including custom dashboards and alertingAdvanced understanding of modern UI architecture patterns (micro-frontends, SSR/SSG)Experience as Engineering Lead, Tech Lead, or similar leadership role with full-stack teamsExposure to DevOps processes and automation ensuring end-to-end responsibility of featuresAdvanced cloud certifications in Azure or AWS
Success MeasuresDelivery Excellence: Sprint goals achieved, predictable releases, strong velocity, and minimal carry-overTechnical Leadership: High team code quality, effective architecture decisions, reduced technical debt, improved scalability, and proactive tooling adoptionStrategic Leadership: Selective technical contributions to critical decisions with effective delegationAI adoption: Team is operating with agentic AI tooling embedded in daily workflow, with measurable impact on delivery velocity and code qualityQuality Excellence: Team adoption of automated TDD/BDD and code review practices with effective quality gates and measurable quality improvementsPeople Development: Autonomous team with strong ownership, positive engagement scores, clear development objectives, low attrition, and active succession planningCross-Functional Impact: Strong collaboration with Product, Design, and Platform teams, supported by positive stakeholder feedbackBusiness Alignment: Quarterly

Benefits & Why Join IRISCompensation & Benefits:- Competitive salary with leadership premium- Generous holiday allowance- Private medical healthcare- Life assurance - Pension (location dependent)Professional Development:- Executive leadership development programs- Conference speaking and industry thought leadership opportunities- Advanced technical and management training- Mentorship from senior engineering leadership- Opportunity to shape engineering culture and practicesCulture & Environment:- Great Place to Work certified with leadership recognition- Best Workplaces for Women with inclusive leadership focus- Autonomous team leadership with strategic impact- Flexible working arrangements and excellent work-life balance- Opportunity to build and lead high-performing engineering teams- Additional benefits: Cycle to Work, charity days, discount schemes