Engineering Lead

IRIS Software Group, one of the UK's leading privately held software companies, is transforming how businesses, schools, and organisations operate through our comprehensive suite of cloud-native solutions. With over 100,000 customers across 135 countries, we deliver mission-critical software spanning accountancy and finance, HR and payroll, education management, and business operations.

Our impact reaches deep into communities: over 4 million UK families connect with their children's schools through our education apps, nearly 5 million employees globally are managed through our HR solutions, one in eight UK employees receive their pay through IRIS payroll systems, and we serve over 13,000 schools and academies nationwide.

We're the largest third-party online tax filer with the UK Government and are trusted by 91 of the top 100 UK accountancy firms and 54 of the top 100 US CPA firms.

As we accelerate our transformation into an AI-first company, we're pioneering the next generation of cloud-based solutions that don't just digitise processes—they intelligently automate them. Our modernisation journey focuses on cloud-native architecture, advanced analytics, and AI-powered insights that enable our customers to work smarter, stay compliant effortlessly, and focus on what matters most to their success.

We remain committed to being more than a software provider—we're partners in our customers' growth, ensuring they can embrace the future with confidence while we handle the complexity behind the scenes. Our continued recognition as a Great Place to Work and Best Workplace for Women reflects our belief that exceptional people create exceptional solutions that make a real difference in millions of lives every day.

Core Experience

• 8+ years of professional experience as a Software Engineer in PHP-based environments (Laravel, Symfony, or equivalent frameworks)
• Proven experience leading small to medium development teams within Agile environments
• Strong background in designing, developing, and maintaining scalable cloud-based applications (AWS, Azure, or GCP)
• Deep understanding of LAMP stack, modern PHP (8.x+), and best practices for enterprise-grade systems

Technical Expertise

• Expert-level understanding of Object-Oriented Programming, SOLID principles, and modern PHP standards (PSR series)
• Proven ability to design and implement large-scale, modular, and maintainable architectures (Domain-Driven Design, Hexagonal/Clean Architecture preferred)
• Strong experience in API architecture and design (REST, GraphQL, OpenAPI)
• Deep knowledge of database architecture, query optimization, and performance tuning (SQL and NoSQL)
• Proven experience designing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines (TeamCity, GitHub Actions, or similar)
• Proficiency with observability tools (monitoring, logging, APM) and performance diagnostics
• In-depth understanding of application and infrastructure security best practices
• Experience integrating multiple systems and data sources across distributed environments

Leadership & Delivery

• Leads technical design discussions and guides the implementation of robust, scalable, and maintainable solutions
• Acts as a technical mentor for mid- and senior-level engineers; promotes code quality, testing discipline, and best practices through reviews and pair programming
• Owns the full software delivery lifecycle from planning and estimation through release and production support
• Partners with Product Owners, QAs, and cross-functional teams to ensure predictable delivery and high-quality outcomes
• Advocates for continuous improvement, including automation, test coverage, documentation, and refactoring efforts
• Participates in recruitment and onboarding of engineers, shaping team capability and technical culture

Collaboration & Communication

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills across engineering, product, and management layers
• Ability to translate complex technical challenges into clear, actionable discussions for both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Provides technical leadership in sprint planning, backlog refinement, and architectural discussions
• Proactively identifies technical risks, proposes mitigation strategies, and drives consensus on solutions

Nice to Have

• Experience with microservices or event-driven architectures
• Experience leading migrations (e.g., monolith → services, PHP upgrades, cloud re-architecture)
• Exposure to front-end frameworks (React, Vue, etc.) for full-stack collaboration
• Contribution to open-source projects or technical community involvement