Lead AWS Engineer

Job Title: Lead Engineer

Location: Remote-first (Cardiff office twice a month)

Salary: £85,000 per annum

Overview

Were recruiting for an experienced engineer to take ownership of a cloud architecture that underpins a growing SaaS product used by thousands of customers.

This role combines hands-on engineering with architectural leadership. Youll guide technical direction, redesign core AWS infrastructure, and ensure systems are secure, scalable, and well-governed.

The position is not a management role in the traditional sense. The focus is on technical leadership through design decisions, problem-solving, and hands-on contribution.

Key Responsibilities

• Re-architect and improve an established AWS environment, addressing scalability, security, and governance.
• Design and implement distributed systems, APIs, and data pipelines focused on reliability and maintainability.
• Work hands-on with infrastructure-as-code and application development (~50% hands-on).
• Evaluate technical approaches and run proofs of concept to inform architecture decisions.
• Support and mentor engineers within the team, encouraging sound engineering practices.
• Define and evolve architectural standards and contribute to the roadmap for the wider technology function.

Experience Required

• Proven experience designing and maintaining AWS-based architectures (networking, IAM, security, automation, and monitoring).
• A background in a modern programming language such as Node.js, C#, or Java (the current stack uses Serverless, Node.js, and React).
• Sound knowledge of SQL and experience with NoSQL and data pipelines.
• Understanding of distributed systems, serverless computing, and modern cloud-native patterns.
• Ability to think through complex technical challenges and communicate design choices clearly.
• AWS qualifications are distinctly advantageous.

Preferred Background

This role may suit someone currently working as:

• AWS Solutions Architect
• Senior Software Engineer
• Lead DevOps Engineer
• Senior Data Engineer with strong AWS skills
• Technical Lead in a SaaS or product-focused environment

Why Join

• Opportunity to influence and define how AWS architecture evolves.
• Work across a modern, serverless-first technology stack.
• Exposure to a range of technical challenges at scale.
• Remote-first culture with occasional on-site collaboration in Cardiff.
• Stable environment focused on improvement, not firefighting.

Hours: Monday-Friday, full-time

Environment: Remote-first, collaborative, technically mature