Technical Lead (Senior Full Stack Engineer) | Python, Django, React, Wagtail | Public Impact Digital Platform
The Role
You’ll step into a hands-on Technical Lead position where you will shape the direction of a nationally important digital platform used by millions. This is a true player-coach role, combining technical leadership with hands-on engineering.
You’ll operate in a partially greenfield environment, building new tools and improving existing platforms. Alongside this, you will elevate engineering standards, introduce scalable architecture, and embed data-driven thinking across the organisation.
You’ll also play a key role in introducing pragmatic AI solutions, focusing on real-world use cases such as triage, summarisation, and guided user journeys, always with a strong emphasis on safety and reliability.
What They’re Looking For
- Python development
- Django web frameworks
- React or modern JavaScript frameworks
- Wagtail CMS
- PostgreSQL or relational databases
- REST APIs, DRF or equivalent
- Docker and containerisation
- CI/CD pipelines, GitHub or GitLab
- Cloud platforms, Azure preferred
- Data platforms, Data Lake or Databricks exposure
- AI API integration
Beyond the tech, you’ll bring strong technical leadership experience, with the ability to mentor and grow a team from the ground up. You’ll be comfortable working in structured or regulated environments and able to communicate clearly with non-technical stakeholders. You’ll also have sound judgement when it comes to architecture decisions and balancing build versus buy.
Nice to Haves
- GraphQL APIs
- Elasticsearch
- Data pipelines and warehousing
- Accessibility best practices
- Azure ecosystem depth
Why Join / Projects
- You’ll lead the build of new digital tools that directly impact millions of users
- You’ll shape the technical roadmap in a growing, evolving environment
- You’ll build and mentor a small, high-performing engineering team from the ground up
- You’ll drive the adoption of AI in a responsible, real-world setting
- You’ll influence how data is captured and used to inform large-scale decision-making and policy
- You’ll work in a product-led environment where engineering has real strategic input
Employee Benefits
- £70,000 to £85,000 salary
- 10% non-contributory pension
- 27 days annual leave
- 35-hour working week
- Flexible working hours, flexi-time
- Hybrid and remote-first working, UK-wide with 1 to 2 days per month in London
- Long-term contract, 18 to 24 months with strong potential to convert to permanent
Technical Lead (Senior Full Stack Engineer) | Python, Django, React, Wagtail | Public Impact Digital Platform
