Salary: £50,000 - 80,000 per year Requirements: Proven experience leading complex platform or product rebuilds Strong backend engineering background (PHP/Laravel or equivalent) Experience delivering modern web platforms (React/Next.js or similar) Deep understanding of system architecture, API design, authentication and RBAC, cloud infrastructure and CI/CD Demonstrated ability to control scope, push back on stakeholders, and make pragmatic technical trade-offs Experience working with and challenging external delivery partners Experience running parallel legacy and greenfield systems (highly desirable) Prior responsibility for platform security and production readiness (highly desirable) Background in SaaS, community platforms, or enterprise B2B products (highly desirable) Comfortable operating credibly at Board and Exec level (highly desirable) Calm under pressure Decisive and structured thinker Commercially aware Comfortable saying no Respected technical authority Low-ego, high-accountability leadership style Responsibilities: Act as the technical authority for Apellas Community Platform, ensuring timely delivery within a 9-month window Own the architecture and make critical decisions regarding the platform build Challenge partner designs, estimates, and delivery plans to maintain end-to-end alignment Run delivery from foundational stages through MVP, integration, pilot, and parallel runs Protect focus on essential features while managing distractions and off-scope requests Enforce a dual-track model to ensure stability of legacy systems and focus on new development Set triage rules and escalation thresholds to prevent legacy issues from derailing the roadmap Be the senior technical counterpart to delivery partners, ensuring accountability and adherence to plans Establish standards for quality and security, overseeing go-live acceptance Lead a small senior engineering group, balancing speed with correctness and promoting capability development Technologies: API Backend CI/CD Cloud Laravel PHP RBAC React Security Web AI ARM Frontend OWASP More: At Apella, we are on an exciting journey to build the next generation of executive community knowledge sharing applications. As part of ABM Alliance, we leverage six years of expertise in creating a globally recognized executive engagement engine. Our mission is to transform executive engagement and knowledge sharing into a dynamic, always-on community platform. We are looking for hands-on engineering leaders who are passionate about shaping the future of this platform. With a competitive compensation package and a chance to grow into broader technology leadership roles, we invite high-caliber candidates to join our team at our Bristol office. This is a unique opportunity to join at the start of our journey and make a significant impact. last updated 5 week of 2026