Software Engineer

About the job About The Company Franklin Bates is a leading recruitment consultancy specializing in technology, digital, and executive placements across various industries. Renowned for its commitment to excellence and deep industry expertise, Franklin Bates partners with innovative startups and established organizations to connect top talent with transformative opportunities. The company prides itself on fostering long-term relationships, understanding client needs, and delivering tailored recruitment solutions that drive business growth and technological advancement. With a focus on integrity, professionalism, and a client-centric approach, Franklin Bates has built a reputation as a trusted partner in the competitive landscape of talent acquisition. About The Role We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Lead Software Engineer to join a dynamic, London-based payments startup. This hybrid role offers an exciting opportunity to influence the technical direction of a rapidly growing platform, working closely with founders, product teams, and engineering colleagues. As a Lead Software Engineer, you will be responsible for shaping the architecture, leading development efforts, and mentoring a talented engineering team. You will operate at the intersection of technical strategy and hands-on engineering, ensuring the delivery of scalable, secure, and innovative payment solutions in a modern cloud-native environment. This position provides a unique chance to be at the forefront of the fintech industry, leveraging cutting-edge technologies to build systems capable of supporting significant growth and evolving customer needs. Qualifications The ideal candidate will possess a strong technical background with proven experience in high-growth startup environments. You should have demonstrated expertise in architecture design, backend development, and cloud infrastructure management. A deep understanding of modern software engineering practices, combined with a consumer-centric mindset, is essential. Experience working with AI-driven tools and workflows is highly desirable. Candidates should have prior experience operating at a senior technical leadership level, such as Technical Architect, Principal Engineer, or Staff Engineer, with a track record of making impactful architectural decisions at scale. Responsibilities Define and evolve the platform architecture across mobile, backend, and cloud infrastructure to ensure scalability, security, and reliability. Lead engineering design decisions, establishing scalable development standards and best practices. Build and optimize high-performance backend services using Node.js, ensuring robustness and efficiency. Drive mobile architecture and delivery utilizing React Native to create seamless user experiences. Own and oversee AWS infrastructure strategy, focusing on scalability, security, and operational excellence. Collaborate closely with product managers and leadership teams to shape the technical roadmap aligned with business goals. Champion engineering excellence through the promotion of DevOps culture, continuous integration/deployment (CI/CD), and automation. Explore and implement modern AI-assisted engineering workflows and tooling, including prompt versioning, LangChain, and other innovative AI integrations. Mentor and guide engineering team members, fostering a culture of continuous learning and technical excellence. Benefits Opportunity to influence and shape the architecture of a pioneering payments platform from an early stage. High level of ownership and autonomy in decision-making processes. Work within a modern, innovative engineering environment that encourages continuous learning and development. Be part of a fast-growing fintech company backed by strong leadership and strategic vision. Competitive salary package with potential for equity participation, reflecting your impact and contribution. Hybrid working model based in London, offering flexibility and work-life balance. Equal Opportunity Franklin Bates is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, or any other protected status. We believe that diverse teams drive innovation and success, and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds to apply for this exciting opportunity. Desired Skills and Experience Software Engineering, Cloud Computing, Architecture, DevOps, Backend Development, Team Leadership