Job Description
Lead iOS Engineer - (Hands-on)
iOS Developer / iOS Engineer / Mobile Developer / Mobile Engineer
Not every iOS role is about polishing UI or shipping the next consumer app.
This one is for an iOS engineer who enjoys owning the technical direction, working close to the platform, and dealing with the realities of performance, reliability and long-lived apps and SDKs in production.
Despite the title, this is not a people-management role. It's a hands-on position for a senior iOS engineer who wants responsibility, influence and interesting technical problems - without stepping away from code.
What you'll be working on
You'll take ownership of iOS apps and SDKs used in real-world, data-heavy environments, where stability, correctness and long-term maintainability really matter.
Day to day, you will:
* Own the architecture and technical direction of iOS apps and SDKs
* Design and build complex features using Swift, with some Objective-C and C++
* Tackle challenges around networking, performance, stability and edge cases
* Stay ahead of iOS and Apple platform changes, shaping how the team responds
* Support SDK integrations and help resolve tricky production issues
* Run design and code reviews, and help raise engineering standards
* Make pragmatic use of modern tooling, including AI-assisted development tools, to improve quality and reduce busywork
Who this role suits
This role is a good fit if you:
* Like being the technical point of reference for iOS
* Enjoy thinking about architecture and long-term platform health
* Want influence and ownership without line management
* Are comfortable going deep when things break in production
You'll likely bring:
* Strong experience building and shipping iOS apps in Swift (with some Objective-C)
* Solid understanding of iOS networking (HTTP(S), TLS, sockets, proxies)
* Experience integrating or working alongside native C++ libraries
* Good knowledge of iOS SDK/API design, versioning and supporting external integrators
* Familiarity with Apple Developer policies and how OS changes impact apps
* Strong debugging skills (crashes, performance, battery) and sensible testing practices
How you'll work
* Hybrid role, Manchester-based
* 2 days per week in the office, the rest flexible
* Flexible start and finish times
* Full home-working setup provided
iOS Developer / iOS Engineer / Mobile Developer / Mobile Engineer
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