Lead Software Engineer

Lead Software Engineer | Financial Services | Northampton | Permanent

Salary £60,000 - £70,000 (depending on experience, plus uncapped annual bonus typically ranging from 5% to 15% of basic salary)

Overview

The
Lead Software Engineer
will play a pivotal role in leading the
architecture, development, and optimisation
of internal applications, web tools, and integrations across our wider technology stack (including Zoho, AWS and custom web applications). This is both a
hands-on technical
and
leadership role
, responsible not only for building high-quality, scalable systems but also for implementing and maintaining modern
development, coding, and deployment practices
across the team.

Beyond your own coding contributions, you will take ownership of establishing robust engineering standards, CI/CD pipelines, version control workflows, and peer review processes to ensure consistent code quality, reliability, and scalability. Working closely with stakeholders, CRM developers, and other full stack developers, you will drive continuous improvement, mentor team members, and help shape the technical direction that supports Portman Finance Group's growth and innovation in the FinTech space.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain
  CRM functionality and integrations
  within
  Zoho CRM
  , including use of
  Deluge scripting
  (prior experience not required).
• Lead the
  design, development, and deployment
  of full-stack web applications and business tools using modern frameworks and best practices.
• Define, document, and implement
  development standards
  , including version control, testing, code review, and CI/CD processes.
• Mentor and guide existing developers, providing technical leadership and promoting a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
• Develop and maintain
  scalable cloud-based solutions
  using
  AWS services
  such as
  Lambda, S3, Redshift, Glue
  .
• Create and manage
  API integrations
  between Zoho CRM, internal systems, and third-party platforms.
• Build and enhance
  custom CRM widgets and interfaces
  using
  JavaScript, HTML, CSS, React
  , and
  
  .
• Utilise
  Python
  for automation, data transformation, and backend logic, particularly in support of analytics and integration tasks.
• Continuously review and optimise existing codebases for performance, scalability, and maintainability.
• Work alongside CRM, Machine Learning, and Data teams to integrate predictive models and analytical insights into operational workflows.
• Provide
  technical oversight and support
  for complex issues, ensuring reliability and best practice across all deployments.

Skills and Experience Required

• 5+ years of full-stack development experience
  in a commercial environment.
• Strong proficiency with
  JavaScript, HTML, CSS
  and modern front-end frameworks (e.g.
  React
  ).
• Advanced experience with
  
  and
  Python
  for backend development.
• Proven hands-on experience with
  AWS cloud technologies
  , including
  Lambda, S3, Redshift, and related services
  .
• Experience designing and maintaining
  RESTful APIs
  and database-driven applications.
• Familiarity with
  Zoho CRM
  (customisation, Deluge scripting, integrations) is highly desirable.
• Solid understanding of
  software engineering best practices
  : testing, version control (Git), deployment pipelines, and security.
• Demonstrated leadership skills — capable of mentoring developers, managing priorities, and driving technical improvement.
• Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and communication skills, with the ability to collaborate across technical and business teams.
• Experience in
  financial services, lending, or FinTech environments
  is advantageous but not essential.

Personal Attributes

• Excellent written and oral communications skills;
• Ability to remain calm under pressure and meet deadlines;
• Strong organisational skills with a high attention to detail;
• Ability to prioritise and handle multiple tasks at any given time in a fast-paced environment;
• Pro-active and enthusiastic with a can do attitude;
• Good commercial acumen; and
• Ability to work on own initiative as well as being a team player.

Company Overview

Portman Finance Group was established in 2007 to provide UK SMEs with access to a range of finance options under one roof. We have arranged over £1billion in funding for over 15,000 companies.

Portman secure finance for businesses of all sizes via our own lending and panel of over 40 partners. We offer flexible payment terms, reducing large initial outlays and protecting cash-flow, and are one of the largest privately owned Broker-Lenders in the UK.

Please note that as part of the recruitment process a criminal records check/credit history check will be carried out by an authorised third party.