Lead Developer

Lead Developer – Step Into Engineering Management (CTO-Level Growth Ahead)

£75,000 to £100,000 + Bonus (~10%)
Hybrid: 1 to 2 Days Onsite (Oxfordshire Area)
Must Be Commutable

We are working with a rapidly growing technology business in the energy sector, scaling at 40% year on year and about to onboard several major new clients. They are now looking for a Lead Developer who wants to step into genuine engineering leadership, with a clear path into Software Engineering Manager and longer-term CTO-level responsibility as the business evolves.

The company was originally spun out of a well-known energy organisation by two highly skilled senior developers who have successfully launched multiple businesses. As they step back from day-to-day leadership over the next 12 months, this role will become the central technical leadership position in the organisation.

The Opportunity

This role has two phases:

Phase 1: Lead Developer (Now)

Lead development across a modern, serverless cloud stack (AWS, Python, React, SQL).

Work closely with the senior developers while contributing hands-on.

Take ownership of development standards, technical decision-making and tooling.

Support agile delivery within small, self-managing teams.

Phase 2: Engineering Manager / Future Technical Leader

Grow, mentor and manage multiple development teams (approx. 3 teams of 3).

Coach junior developers and guide technical career paths.

Shape the engineering culture, best-practice processes and delivery frameworks.

Take increasing ownership of technical strategy as the founders step back.

This is a perfect role for a Lead Developer or Senior Developer who enjoys leading people and wants a realistic path into Engineering Management and eventually CTO-level ownership.

What They Are Prioritising (in order of importance)

1. Engineering Leadership
   
   Experience leading or managing developers.
   
   Proven mentoring, coaching or developing junior engineers.
   
   Comfortable shaping best practices, processes and team culture.
   
   
2. Technical Foundations
   
   Experience with any of the following is beneficial (they are open-minded):
   
   Python
   
   AWS serverless (Lambda, S3, SQS, API Gateway)
   
   React / JavaScript
   
   REST APIs
   
   SQL
   
   Strong back-end or cloud developers from other stacks will still be considered.
   
   
3. Energy Sector Experience (Nice-to-Have)
   
   Beneficial but not essential.
   
   Why Join
   
   Join a fast-growing business with major new clients.
   
   Direct mentorship from highly experienced senior developers and founders.
   
   Opportunity to shape the future engineering organisation.
   
   Clear, credible route to Engineering Manager to CTO-level leadership.
   
   Hybrid working with flexibility (typically 1 to 2 days onsite).
   
   A genuine high-impact role where your decisions will shape the company’s future.
   
   Apply now to speak with VIQU IT in confidence. Or contact Aaron Chiverton via the VIQU IT website. Know someone great? Refer them and receive up to £1,000 if successful (terms apply). For more exciting roles and opportunities, follow us on LinkedIn @VIQU IT Recruitment