Senior Software Engineer (Team Lead) – Cardiff, South Glamorgan

 Senior Software Engineer (Team Lead) – Cardiff, South Glamorgan

Who We Are

At 8th Light, we take a human-centred approach to software development, collaborating with the people writing the code as well as those using it. We embrace the need for adaptability in a constantly changing world. We are a team of polyglot generalists—thinkers and doers ready to take on almost any challenge that we encounter.

An employee-owned software consultancy, we consider software development a craft. Our team of expert developers and designers hold the title of “Crafter” to reflect our dedication to quality, our emphasis on continual learning, and our belief that software is truly a craft—something that we take pride in, and value highly. We value colleagues who enjoy learning and teaching, which creates our collaborative organisation. You’ll be mentored and supported, and you’ll further your expertise as a technologist, a manager, or both.

We enjoy working with empathetic, passionate collaborators who value the work they do. If this approach to software development resonates with you, we’d love to talk.

Who You Are

You’ve worked as a professional software developer for at least 3 years. You’re ready to take the next step in your career to take a leadership role leading small engagements. You’ve successfully:

• Written production-quality code in Ruby OR Elixir OR Java OR Python OR JavaScript OR TypeScript OR React – preferably 2 or more languages
• Built high-quality, maintainable software collaboratively, incrementally, and pragmatically, as a team member
• Independently completed features
• Used context-appropriate automated testing to inform software design choices and catch bugs
• Debugged and refactored pre-existing code to incrementally improve it
• Collaborated with teams using Git, MacOS/Linux, CI/CD
• Understood tradeoffs of technology choices
• Mentored and shared knowledge with colleagues
• Actively sought out feedback
• Been aware of and attentive to the impact of communication with colleagues
• Made thoughtful recommendations to your team
• Understood and balanced tradeoffs of communications and collaboration choices

What You’ll Do At 8th Light

You’ll work with a variety of clients, typically 1-2 in a year, and in a variety of languages over the course of your career with us. You’ll lead small teams or serve as the tech lead on small projects. You’ll work with colleagues who share your passion for creating software. You’ll invest time developing your skills and sharing what you know with your colleagues. You’ll be responsible for:

• Making immediate contributions to projects, rapidly building trust with clients
• Working pragmatically to balance technology choices while delivering high-quality work within deadlines
• Preparing for and facilitating iteration meetings and retrospectives
• Clearly articulating and documenting outcomes and driving forward action items
• Ensuring your team has a healthy, prioritized, estimated backlog
• Maintaining relationships with client technical leaders
• Regular syncs with the client to provide status updates, and for identifying and evaluating risks and presenting potential solutions
• Serving as a manager or mentor to developers on your teams
• Identifying and resolving blockers to team progress
• Contributing to 8th Light by serving as a mentor to apprentices, leading or designing workshops internally or for clients, representing 8th Light in the tech community, or supporting our hiring processes

Nice to Have

We work across many areas, and encourage anyone with the experience mentioned above to apply. We have a place for you. Also, given recent client requests, we would particularly like to encourage applicants with experience in the following areas:

• Infrastructure as code
• Data Engineering
• CI/CD pipelines
• Native Mobile Development

We truly hope to hear from you.

Join Us

We recognise that creating a truly diverse, equitable, and inclusive organisation is an ongoing journey, and we’re excited to share our journey with you. We have a proud tradition of hiring talented colleagues with unusual career experiences. We’re more interested in your experiences, results, and impact than brand names, degrees, or keywords that may appear on your resume. We appreciate your time in completing a few application questions to help us get to know you better.

8th Light is committed to promoting equal opportunities in employment. Applicants will receive equal treatment regardless of age, disability, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.