Lead Engineer, Software Engineer

We’re on a mission to back the UK’s small businesses like no one else

Small businesses are the backbone of the economy, and we’re here to help them win. We’ve built a platform that uses clever data to get them the funding they need in minutes, not weeks.

At Funding Circle, we have the restless energy of a fintech start-up with the stability of a public company. It’s a unique mix that gives Circlers the autonomy to take ownership and the scale to make an impact that truly counts.

We’re a high-performing team that chooses to lift each other up. We challenge, we champion, and we have each other’s backs – because we know that when we stand together, we move faster and build better.

The impact is real:
Last year alone, the businesses on our platform generated £7.2bn for the UK economy

[Read our Impact Report] | [See our Trustpilot]

London (Hybrid) | 2 days in the office | Competitive Salary + Benefits

We are looking for an experienced Lead Engineer to join our Collections, Recoveries and Investor (CRI) Engineering team, part of the Multi Product Experience (MPX) group within Core Services Engineering.

CRI spans two domains - Collections, Recoveries & Litigation (CRL) and Investor Management. Our systems sit directly in the path of every loan we fund and every investor relationship we hold, so reliability isn't optional. The stack is a mix of Ruby, Clojure and Python.

As Lead Engineer, you'll bring technical authority and hands-on delivery to a team navigating change on systems foundational to how the business runs.

• You lead your team(s) to deliver large, complex, ambiguous initiatives - brokering solution ideation across team boundaries and holding your team accountable for outcomes. With your Engineering Manager, you jointly own your team's engineering performance metrics, driving a culture of continuous improvement against them.

• You champion engineering-led improvements across Product Engineering, proactively spotting gaps and shaping engineering-wide standards, including how to most effectively leverage AI.

• You can solve technical problems within your area of focus, acting as a recognised technical authority across Product Engineering and role-modelling effective use of AI tooling.

• You drive technical strategy that correlates with commercial outcomes, proactively identifying how your area accounts for end-to-end customer needs and making trade-offs visible to product partners.

• You collaborate with your Engineering Manager and Product Manager to set the technical and product vision for your team and domain, ensuring alignment with broader Technology and business strategy.

• You drive architectural decisions affecting your team(s) and domain, ensuring designs are durable, scalable, and secure, while referring global decisions to the appropriate forums and owning the outcomes.

• You communicate expertly with stakeholders at all levels (including non-technical audiences) and know how to adapt your stakeholder-management style to the situation, navigating contentious conversations when they arise.

We value deep expertise, but a growth mindset and good energy are what really make our team click. We’re a group that chooses to lift each other up and think smart every day.

• A technical leader with a track record of owning complex, ambiguous delivery across team boundaries. Not just shipping features, but driving outcomes.

• A genuine passion for mentoring and coaching, with feedback (both giving and receiving it) embedded in how you work.

• Strong instincts for spotting cross-team friction or misalignment early, and the skill to navigate differing priorities to resolve it.

• Experience in at least one major Programming language (e.g. Python, Ruby, Clojure).

• Recognised technical authority in…