Engineering Tech Lead - Search

We are looking for an Engineering Tech Lead to join our dynamic Digital Engineering team, guiding the development of key platform components, including search, CMS, and the pages at the heart of our websites.

This is a unique opportunity to lead technical innovation at scale, driving the evolution of platforms that support over 50 websites and 10 mobile applications for some of the UK’s most iconic retail brands.

As an Engineering Tech Lead, you’ll play a pivotal role in shaping your squad’s technical direction while contributing hands-on as a coder and mentor. You’ll wear many hats—serving as an architect, engineer, coach, and trusted advisor to stakeholders.

You’ll split your time between coding (approximately 30%) and leadership responsibilities, ensuring your team delivers high-quality, scalable solutions. From defining roadmaps and breaking down work to championing best practices and Agile principles, you’ll ensure the squad operates at its best.

• Lead a high-performing squad focused on building and enhancing search, CMS, and the pages at the heart of our websites.
• Spend approximately 30% of your time coding, contributing to key projects and setting high technical standards.
• Mentor and support your team through pair programming, code reviews, and sharing best practices.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to define roadmaps and priorities, breaking down Epics into manageable Stories and Tasks.
• Design and implement integrations with headless CMS platforms and SaaS search solutions, ensuring scalability, performance, and seamless content management.
• Ensure your team follows Agile processes and ceremonies, implementing and maintaining best practices.
• Balance technical and leadership duties, shifting between a “maker’s schedule” (coding and deep work) and a “manager’s schedule” (team leadership and collaboration).
• Advocate for and implement modern engineering principles, including microservices, API-first development, and event-driven systems.
• Foster a culture of continuous learning, sharing articles, advice, and ideas to inspire your team.

Location: Hybrid, with 2 days at home and 3 days in our Shirebrook HQ

What We’re Looking For

• Proven experience leading software engineering teams, balancing technical and leadership responsibilities.
• Strong React, Next.js, GraphQL, TypeScript, and Node.js expertise.
• Hands-on experience with NoSQL/SQL databases and REST APIs in a microservices architecture.
• A pragmatic, delivery-focused attitude, with the ability to guide technical decisions and align with business objectives.
• Familiarity with Agile methodologies and a strong understanding of team dynamics and processes.
• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to effectively engage technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Desirable Skills

• Experience with MACH and Composable Commerce architectural principles.
• Knowledge of event-driven architectures and tools like Redis.
• Familiarity with Azure, AWS, and Infrastructure as Code tools.
• Experience with DevOps practices and principles.
• Knowledge of Algolia and/or Amplience.