Lead Software Engineer

Hiring Business: Genie Broadband
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Job Title: Lead Software Engineer

Department: Broadband Comparison Platform

Reporting to: Head of Product

Location: Remote, with access to Cambridge office and occasional travel

Salary Range: £68,000 - £74,000

Working Hours: Full Time 37.5 hours per week with flexible working arrangements

The Team

Broadband Genie is the UK’s broadband comparison expert, on a mission to take the stress out of broadband for every UK household. Building on an impressive 18-year legacy, we have strategic relationships with all of the UK’s major broadband providers, including Sky, BT, TalkTalk and more. Over the last year, Broadband Genie achieved a £4.5m turnover with significant investments in growth and we are on track to double our market share over the next 18 months. Our sights are firmly set on becoming a top tier comparison site to rival other players in the space.

Broadband Genie is part of Genie Ventures, a group of fast-growth digital marketing companies based in Cambridge. As such, we benefit from the culture, Executive leadership, and shared services of this larger group of over 60 employees. Genie operates a hybrid model, with a mix of remote and in-person working. Our face-to-face time is primarily at Genie’s office hub in Cambridge.

Location

Primarily remote, with access to a Cambridge-based office hub.

Genie believes that a distributed team is a more powerful model than the traditional office. It increases autonomy and productivity by allowing us to choose how, where and when we do our most effective work. We also believe that face-to-face remains the best format for certain types of work, and is important in building meaningful relationships with colleagues, customers and other partners, therefore there will be occasions where employees will need to attend face to face meetings on request (with appropriate notice).

What's it about

As a Lead Software Engineer, you'll be responsible for the technical leadership and development of our broadband comparison platform. You will work closely with the Head of Product and provide mentorship to 2 software engineers to achieve our platform goals in line with commercial and business priorities. You'll lead technical architecture decisions while remaining hands-on with development work, ensuring our platform can scale to meet growing user demand and partner requirements. We are looking for someone who loves to work within an Agile product team with pace, focus and flexibility, while providing technical guidance to help junior team members grow their skills.

What you'll do

Technical Leadership Responsibilities

• Lead technical strategy and architecture decisions for the broadband comparison platform by:
• Providing technical mentorship and guidance to 2 software engineers, conducting code
• reviews, and establishing development best practices.
• Driving technical decision-making in collaboration with the Head of Product to ensure
• platform scalability, performance, and reliability.
• Leading sprint planning, technical estimation, and communicating technical concepts to
• non-technical stakeholders.
• Identifying and adopting emergent tools and practices that will contribute to long-term
• technical success.
• Development & Engineering Responsibilities
• Maintain ownership of critical platform functionality by:
• Developing and maintaining PHP applications using Symfony framework with focus on performance and maintainability.
• Designing and optimising MySQL database schemas and queries to support postcode/address-based product availability logic.
• Building responsive front-end interfaces using JavaScript, CSS, and SASS that deliver excellent user experience across all devices.
• Implementing and maintaining affiliate tracking systems that accurately attribute conversions and revenue.
• Ensuring platform security, data protection compliance, and minimising customer-facing errors.
• Infrastructure & DevOps Responsibilities Manage and optimise AWS infrastructure by:
• Maintaining AWS compute and database infrastructure for reliable platform operation.
• Monitoring system performance, implementing optimisations, and ensuring platform uptime
• meets business requirements.
• Collaborating on infrastructure automation using Terraform where beneficial to operational
• efficiency.
• Taking responsibility for technical KPIs including site speed, security, uptime, and
• cross-browser compatibility. Other Responsibilities
• Attending and contributing to weekly team check-ins, sprint retrospectives, and any other meetings required by your line manager. Supporting other platform development work when required by the business priorities.

Required Experience

• 7+ years of professional PHP development experience with strong Symfony framework proficiency
• Significant experience building data-driven websites with complex data sources using APIs and
• databases
• Proven experience in technical leadership, including mentoring developers, guiding architectural
• decisions, and driving the delivery of complex software projects.
• MySQL database design, optimisation, and administration experience
• Frontend development using JavaScript, CSS, and SASS with high degree of accuracy
• AWS services experience specifically with EC2, RDS, and Docker containerisation
• Source control with Git and collaborative development workflows
• Understanding of web security best practices and data protection requirements

Desirable Experience

• Terraform infrastructure as code experience
• Experience with affiliate marketing or tracking systems
• A/B testing to validate platform changes and optimisations
• Knowledge of performance optimisation techniques for high-traffic websites
• Understanding of SEO best practices for content-driven platforms
• Experience working within Agile product teams

Technical Skills

• Object-oriented PHP with Symfony or comparable MVC framework
• Responsive HTML & CSS with modern web standards
• JavaScript using modern practices and frameworks
• MySQL database design and query optimisation
• AWS infrastructure administration and monitoring
• Docker containerisation and deployment
• Version control with Git

Behaviours

I lead by example in technical excellence

Technical leadership means demonstrating high standards in code quality, architecture decisions, and development practices that others can learn from and follow.

I mentor and develop my team

I take responsibility for helping junior developers grow their skills, providing constructive feedback, and creating learning opportunities that benefit both individuals and the platform.

I take ownership of platform reliability

I understand that our platform serves real customers making important decisions, so I ensure our code is robust, well-tested, and performs reliably at scale.

I communicate technical concepts clearly

I can explain complex technical decisions and trade-offs to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, ensuring everyone understands the impact of our work.

I stay current with technology trends

I take responsibility for keeping my technical skills up-to-date and identifying new tools or practices that could benefit our platform and team.

I collaborate effectively in a remote environment

I understand the importance of clear communication, proactive updates, and building strong working relationships with distributed team members.

What We Offer

Remote Working Allowance - We pay all Genies £126 per month WFH allowance.

Flexible Working - We provide flexibility in working options and work in a distributed team model.

25 Days Annual Leave + Bank Holidays.

Enhanced Absence and Family Leave Policies.

Workplace Pension - Your 4% employee contribution is matched by Genie via salary exchange

Employee Referral Scheme - A bonus payment if we hire someone you recommend

Electric Car Scheme - Allows you to lease an electric car through salary exchange, giving savings on Tax and NI

Cycle to Work Scheme - The Cycle2Work Scheme allows you to buy a new bike for commuting to work, spreading the cost over 12 months via salary exchange

Genie Academy - Our in-house training helps develop talented people into world-class digital marketers. Courses cover all aspects of the business

Quarterly Social Events - We all get an afternoon off each quarter to attend a staff social. Events range from bowling and punting to cocktail making and quizzes

Access to Spill - Professional therapist sessions

Wellness Activities - Workshops and support sessions cover everything from crafting, exercise, posture and staying fit in the workplace through to managing both stress and financial wellbeing

Wellbeing Perks - Paid eye tests, contribution towards glasses for DSE use and a yearly flu jab reimbursement

Genieversaries - Work anniversary awards give gratitude to Genies for their dedication and commitment to the business

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Genie is committed to creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive experience for our Genies and clients, in turn fostering a safe and happy workplace where everyone can be their authentic selves and thrive.

We strive to build a team that reflects the diversity of the community we work in and encourage applications from traditionally underrepresented groups. If we can make this easier through accommodation in the recruitment process, please let us know via apply@genieventures.co.uk

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