Lead Engineer

Nile is a UK strategic design consultancy helping regulated enterprises navigate AI transformation. We believe the decisions organisations automate become permanent - our job is to make sure those decisions deserve to be. We work primarily in financial services and are a small, senior team that takes quality seriously.

We are looking for a Lead Engineer to come on board, responsible for designing, building, and maintaining the internal and client-facing applications that power Nile's work. This is a hands-on engineering role at the heart of Nile's technology function - spanning everything from polished, accessible front-end experiences to robust back-end services and integrations.

You will work across Nile's growing suite of internal tools (including Workbench, Fleming, and the Project Hub), build prototypes and proof-of-concept applications for clients, and contribute to the technical infrastructure that makes Nile a genuinely AI-native consultancy. You bring strong engineering instincts, care about craft, and understand that in a design consultancy, the experience layer is never an afterthought.

This role sits at the intersection of product thinking and engineering rigour. You'll work closely with designers, strategists, and AI engineers - translating ideas into working software quickly, then iterating until it's right.

Key Areas of Responsibility

Product & Application Development (55%)

• Design, develop, and maintain full-stack web applications across Nile's internal tooling and client-facing prototypes.
• Build clean, accessible, responsive front-end interfaces using modern frameworks (React, Next.js, or equivalent), with a high bar for UX quality and WCAG 2.2 compliance.
• Develop and maintain back-end services, APIs, and data integrations - including RESTful and GraphQL APIs, serverless functions, and cloud-based services (AWS preferred).
• Integrate with third-party platforms and APIs (e.g. Google Workspace, ClickUp, Tick, Slack, Fireflies, OpenAI) as part of Nile's connected tooling ecosystem.
• Write clean, well-documented, maintainable code - applying appropriate testing strategies and reviewing others' work thoughtfully.
• Contribute to architectural decisions, helping the team make pragmatic choices that balance velocity with long-term maintainability.

Internal Tooling & AI Integration (25%)

• Build and extend Workbench and Fleming - Nile's internal AI platform - including new skills, integrations, and UI components.
• Implement and maintain MCP (Model Context Protocol) server integrations that connect Workbench to external tools and data sources.
• Collaborate with the AI Solutions Engineer to bring AI capabilities into product surfaces in ways that feel natural and human-centred.
• Identify opportunities to improve internal workflows through automation, tooling, and smarter integrations - and build them.

Client Prototyping & Delivery Support (10%)

• Rapidly prototype working software to support client engagements - turning design concepts into interactive, testable experiences.
• Contribute to client deliverables where working prototypes or technical demonstrations add strategic value.
• Support technical scoping conversations, helping the team understand what's buildable and at what cost.

Collaboration & Continuous Improvement (10%)

• Work closely with designers and strategists in a cross-functional, project-based environment - comfortable picking up context quickly and contributing across disciplines.
• Participate in code reviews, engineering discussions, and retrospectives — helping build a culture of quality and continuous learning.
• Stay current with relevant technologies, frameworks, and AI developments — sharing what you learn with the broader team.
• Contribute to Nile's engineering standards: documentation, conventions, and deployment practices.

Skills & Experience

Essential

• Proven full-stack development experience, with a strong portfolio of shipped web applications.
• Proficiency in a modern front-end framework - React or Next.js strongly preferred.
• Solid back-end development skills - Node.js, Python, or similar; experience with REST and/or GraphQL APIs.
• Comfortable working with cloud infrastructure, particularly AWS, ideally Bedrock and AgentCore
• Experience integrating third-party APIs and building connected, data-driven applications.
• Working knowledge of accessibility principles and WCAG compliance in front-end development.
• Familiarity with generative AI models, frameworks and services, ideally including Anthropic and LangChain Deep Agents
• Experience with version control (Git), CI/CD pipelines, and modern deployment practices.
• A genuine interest in design quality - able to implement interfaces that match design intent, not just approximate it.

Desirable

• Experience with MCP (Model Context Protocol) or similar agent/tool integration patterns.
• Familiarity with Google Workspace APIs (Drive, Docs, Sheets, Calendar, Gmail).
• Experience working in a consultancy, agency, or product studio environment.
• Exposure to regulated industries (financial services, healthcare, or similar) and the constraints that come with them.
• Contributions to open-source projects or internal tooling at a previous employer.

What Success Looks Like

In the first three months, you'll have shipped meaningful improvements to Nile's internal tooling, demonstrated that you can work effectively in a cross -functional team, and established yourself as someone the rest of the team can rely on - both for the quality of your code and your contribution to how we think about what we're building.

Over time, you'll be a core part of how Nile builds software - raising the bar on quality, bringing engineering instinct to strategic conversations, and helping the team move faster without cutting corners that matter.