Job Description
Job Title: Lead Developer
Seniority: Lead
Start Date: ASAP
Location: Edinburgh (Hybrid – 2 days office-based)
Salary: Competitive, dependent on experience
Contract Type: Permanent, Full-Time
About the Opportunity
We are partnering with a high-growth digital product agency to appoint a Lead Developer to join their Edinburgh-based team. This is a permanent, full-time position operating on a hybrid basis.
Our client delivers AI-enabled, human-centred digital products for ambitious organisations across the UK and internationally. Operating in a fast-paced, agency environment, they combine technical excellence with commercial awareness to deliver high-impact solutions. With sustained growth and an expanding client portfolio, they are seeking a technically strong and commercially astute engineering leader to drive delivery excellence.
The Role
This is a senior, hands-on leadership position combining technical ownership with people leadership. You will shape engineering standards, influence architectural direction, and remain actively engaged in production-level code.
Expect an approximate 70/30 split between hands-on development and leadership responsibilities, flexing according to project phase and delivery requirements.
You will lead a cross-functional delivery squad consisting of:
* 1 Product Owner
* 2–4 mid-level Developers
* Yourself as Lead Developer
You will be accountable for delivery quality, technical decision-making, team development, and overall outcomes. Project Environment
You will work across:
* Bespoke web platforms and business-critical applications
* Mobile applications built with React Native
* API integrations and backend systems
* A combination of greenfield builds and scalable legacy platforms
This is a dynamic agency environment. Projects vary in scope and sector, and context switching is part of the role.
Delivery methodologies include Scrum and Kanban, with two-week sprints typical. Engagements range from fixed-price to time-and-materials models.
Core Responsibilities
Delivery Ownership
* Lead end-to-end technical delivery across multiple client projects
* Take ownership from project initiation through production and handover
* Assess and enhance existing platforms where required
* Plan and balance workload across your squad
* Identify and remove blockers efficiently
Technical Leadership
* Define and enforce engineering standards alongside fellow technical leads
* Review and approve pull requests
* Make sustainable architectural decisions
* Own CI/CD pipelines, deployment strategies, and hosting approaches
* Establish and uphold testing standards
Mentorship & Team Development
* Support mid-level developers through pairing, structured feedback, and review
* Conduct regular 1:1s with direct reports
* Identify skill gaps and implement development plans
Commercial Contribution
* Provide technical input during pre-sales and proposal stages
* Contribute to estimates and scope definition
* Identify and communicate delivery risks early
* Support technical sections of statements of work
Technology Stack
The environment is adaptable depending on client requirements. Core technologies currently include:
Frontend
* React
* Inertia.js
* React Native
* Tailwind CSS
Backend
* Laravel (strategic standardisation focus)
* PHP
* Node.js
Data
* MySQL
* PostgreSQL
* MongoDB
Infrastructure & Tooling
* Git and GitHub
* CI/CD pipelines
* AWS (project-dependent)
* Docker where appropriate
You may also contribute to future stack evolution and technical direction.
Essential Experience
* 5+ years’ commercial software development experience
* Minimum 2 years operating at Senior or Lead level with people responsibility
* Experience within an agency or consultancy environment
* Full lifecycle delivery exposure (scoping through to live support)
* Demonstrated experience mentoring and developing engineers
Technical Capability
* Strong commercial experience with Laravel or Symfony
* Solid React experience
* Strong SQL capability (MySQL or PostgreSQL)
* Proficient with Git workflows and pull request processes
* Experience implementing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines
* Comfortable owning cloud deployment and hosting decisions
Desirable Experience
* Production integration of LLMs or AI services
* React Native applications delivered to production
* Node.js API development
* Inertia.js and Tailwind
* Docker and containerisation
* AWS infrastructure
* MongoDB
Personal Attributes
* Clear and confident communicator (written and verbal)
* Comfortable engaging with clients when required
* Able to articulate technical trade-offs to non-technical stakeholders
* Self-directed and capable of managing workload autonomously
* Decisive and composed under pressure
Role Expectations
This position is suited to individuals seeking ownership and responsibility within a fast-moving agency context. It is not a single-product environment, nor is it a role for developers seeking purely hands-on coding without leadership accountability. Variety, pace, and ambiguity are inherent in the role.
Benefits
* Competitive salary aligned with experience
* Company pension scheme
* Private healthcare
* Enhanced maternity and paternity leave
* Hybrid working model
* Regular team events
* Supportive, collaborative working environment
* Ongoing professional development and training
* 30 days annual leave plus birthday leave
If you are interested in leading delivery within a high-growth digital agency environment and shaping technical standards across diverse client engagements, we welcome your application.