Lead Engineer - Buildscout

Buildscout Ltd; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 100,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading PropTech company in the UK is seeking a Lead Full-Stack Engineer to provide technical leadership and guide engineering teams. This hands-on role involves mentoring engineers, contributing to the codebase, and shaping product direction through technical insights. The ideal candidate boasts 7+ years of software engineering experience, with proven leadership in high-growth environments. This position offers a hybrid work model based in London, competitive salary, generous holiday allowances, and a commitment to inclusion and diversity.

Benefits

25 days holiday + bank holidays

HealthShield employee cash plan

MacBook and home office setup

Personal growth fund of £500

Team socials and free lunches

Qualifications

• Proven track record leading engineering initiatives or teams in a high-growth environment.
• Experience mentoring engineers and helping teams deliver high-quality software at pace.
• 7+ years in software engineering with at least 2–3 years in a leadership role.

Responsibilities

• Provide architectural oversight across frontend, backend, and platform components.
• Mentor engineers and support their growth through coaching and design reviews.
• Translate complex technical challenges into actionable insights for stakeholders.

Skills

Technical Leadership

Communication

Mentoring

Problem Solving

Frontend Development

Backend Development

Tools

React

Tailwind

Node.js

PostgreSQL

Express

Job description

Salary : £100,000 – £120,000 dependent on experience

Working Location : Hybrid/ London (2 days a week on site at our Old Street office)

Buildscout was founded with a clear mission: to empower property and construction professionals by transforming planning application data into valuable business opportunities.

Backed by Searchland, the UK’s leading B2B PropTech company, Buildscout is at an exciting stage of growth. Our platform combines data, technology, and insight to help professionals uncover and act on opportunities faster and more intelligently.

About The Role

We’re looking for a Lead Full-Stack Engineer who will combine deep technical ability with strong leadership and architectural oversight. You will drive technical excellence across the organisation, mentor and develop engineers, and help shape the long-term direction of Searchland’s platform.

This is a hands‑on role – expect to contribute to the codebase daily – but also a highly strategic one. You will influence product direction through technical insight, guide multidisciplinary squads (engineering, data, design), and help build and scale a high‑performing engineering organisation.

🎯 What You’ll Do

• Technical Leadership & Architecture
• Provide architectural oversight across frontend, backend, data infrastructure, and platform components
• Set engineering standards and champion best practices in reliability, scalability, and maintainability
• Lead complex technical design discussions, ensuring trade-offs between speed, scope, and scale are well balanced
• Shape Searchland’s technical roadmap in partnership with product and data leaders
• Mentor senior and mid‑level engineers, supporting growth through coaching, pairing, and design reviews
• Foster a positive engineering culture built on autonomy, trust, continuous learning, and pragmatic delivery
• Support multidisciplinary collaboration across data, design, and product teams
• Delivery & Hands‑On Engineering
• Lead by example with high‑quality contributions across the full stack
• Develop performant, accessible front‑end features using React (Vite) + Tailwind
• Design and ship scalable APIs using Node.js, Express, and tRPC
• Maintain and improve PostgresQL database and query performance
• Work closely with our data team to evolve Elasticsearch‑driven architectures
• Own delivery of complex projects from discovery through deployment and monitoring
• Cross‑Functional Impact
• Work closely with Product to ensure technical input shapes roadmap and feature direction
• Translate complex technical challenges into clear, actionable insights for non‑technical stakeholders
• Proactively identify opportunities to improve product performance, reliability, and developer experience

An experienced engineer who has led teams or initiatives and thrives on pairing technical depth with leadership impact. You think holistically – systems, teams, product – and you influence through clarity, pragmatism, and strong delivery instincts.

You likely bring:

• A proven track record leading engineering initiatives or teams in a high‑growth environment
• Strong communication skills and the ability to influence product direction through technical framing
• Experience mentoring engineers and helping teams deliver high‑quality software at pace
• Comfort working with data scientists, designers, and product managers in multidisciplinary squads
• A proactive, ownership‑driven mindset and a bias toward outcomes
• Right to work in the UK
• 7+ years in software engineering with at least 2–3 years in a lead, staff, or senior‑plus role
• Demonstrable experience building and scaling SaaS platforms
• Experience leading technical architecture or system design initiatives
• Experience mentoring or managing engineers

Strong experience with our stack (or strong adjacent experience):

• Frontend: React (Vite), Tailwind
• Working in PropTech or data‑heavy product environments
• Prior experience building or scaling engineering teams
• Familiarity with UK planning, property, or geospatial data
• Initial asynchronous video assessment (Willo) and follow up with our internal HR Team
• Pre prepared technical task (React + Tailwind + tRPC + PostgreSQL) with a walkthrough & system design interview with a Senior Engineer
• In depth technical task
• Final interview with the Chief Product Officer
• Flexibility: Hybrid working with two days in our Old Street office
• Wellbeing & balance: 25 days holiday + bank holidays, your birthday off, Christmas office shutdown, and a HealthShield employee cash plan including dental
• Growth & development: Learn across onboarding, customer engagement, and project work, with mentoring and clear opportunities to progress in SaaS.
• Tools & support: A MacBook and contribution to a home office setup, EMI scheme, and £500 per year personal growth fund.
• Great culture: Free lunches and team socials (bake‑offs, 3 Peaks challenge, staycations, holidays abroad when targets are hit)

🌍 Our Commitment to Inclusion

We are committed to creating an inclusive, diverse workplace where every team member feels valued, heard, and empowered. If you need any accommodations during the recruitment process, we are here to support you. We welcome applications from all backgrounds, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, religion, or any other characteristic. If you require any adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know—we are happy to support you.

Role Type

Pay Rate

100000 GBP – 120000 GBP (Annum)

Company Overview

Behind every great project is a team of passionate professionals who bring ideas to life. We are designers, developers, strategists, and innovators, united by a shared vision to create meaningful experiences. Collaboration, creativity, and curiosity drive us forward, shaping the future with every project we take on.