Lead Software Engineer (Remote) London, England, United Kingdom

At 8th Light, we bring life to the best ideas.Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Chicago, we are a technology solutions provider that partners with organisations to solve meaningful challenges and drive sustainable growth. From early-stage startups to global enterprises, we work across industries to optimise our clients’ digital products through product strategy innovation, experiential design, AI solutions, and deep engineering expertise.Our commitment to quality means we deliver solutions we’re truly proud of, while our curiosity sparks innovation and breakthrough thinking. 8th Lights thrive in an environment that champions continuous education, fueling our growth through mentoring and hands-on work. We foster an open, culture of collaboration grounded in honesty that builds trust, and believe true success is measured by the outcomes we create for our clients.If this kind of work and our kind of people energizes you, you’ve found the right place.Who You Are

You’ve shown long-term repeated success on a variety of projects, typically over the course of 7+ years. You can be the go-to leader for any software development engagement. You have a broad and deep range of expertise that allows you to make an immediate impact on projects. In your previous experience, you have:Successfully led high-stakes consulting engagements from discovery to productionBuilt high-quality, maintainable software collaboratively, incrementally, and through an approach tailored towards the unique needs of the clients you’ve servedLeveraged AI-assistive development tools for tasks like scaffolding, refactoring, debugging, test generation, and documentationExperience building or integrating AI/ML-powered features into products or systems (e.g., recommendation engines, NLP models, computer vision, predictive analytics)Used context-appropriate automated testing to inform software design choices and catch bugsDebugged and refactored pre-existing code to incrementally improve itCollaborated with teams using Git, MacOS/Linux, and CI/CDRemedied architecture-level concerns such as scalability, security, reliability, and performanceBrought together people from different functions and perspectives in forums that encourage idea sharing, collaboration, and problem solvingMade thoughtful recommendations and set direction in the face of ambiguityMentored and shared knowledge with colleaguesActively sought out and effectively given feedbackCommunicated empathically with stakeholders and colleaguesCollaboratively led stakeholders to balance technical considerations with product and user needsWhat You’ll Do At 8th Light

As a lead technologist on projects, you’ll work with a variety of clients, typically one to two in a year, through a variety of technologies and frameworks over the course of your career with us. You’ll lead more complicated projects, leading teams to do so. You’ll work with colleagues who share your passion for technology solutions. You’ll invest time developing your skills and sharing what you know. You’ll be responsible for:Making immediate contributions to projects, rapidly building trust with clientsWorking pragmatically to balance technology choices while delivering high-quality work within deadlinesLeading architecture and software design discussionsCollaborating on systems that involve the full ML lifecycle from data ingestion and preprocessing, to model deployment, integration, and performance monitoringGenerating new potential solutions to challenges (technical and non-technical) in partnership with team members and clientsLeading or initiating formal feedback conversations with teams and clients via retrospectivesClearly articulating and documenting outcomes and driving forward action itemsContributing to the health of your team and 8th Light’s culture by modeling our ValuesEnsuring your team has a healthy, prioritised, estimated backlogManaging high-level project roadmaps as the team lead for large engagementsMaintaining relationships with client technical leadersRegular syncs with the client to provide status updates, and for identifying and evaluating risks and presenting potential solutionsIdentifying, mitigating, and resolving blockers to team progressContributing to 8th Light by serving as a mentor, leading or designing workshops internally or for clients, representing 8th Light in the tech community, or supporting our hiring processesStrongly Preferred Skills

We work across many areas, and encourage anyone with the experience listed above to apply. We would particularly like to encourage applicants with experience in the following areas:DevSecOps and DevOpsMLOpsInfrastructure as CodeBuilding a truly diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace is an ongoing journey, and we’re excited to keep learning and growing together. We have a proud tradition of hiring talented colleagues with real-world career experiences.How You’ll be Supported

At 8th Light, we believe our people are our greatest asset. Their growth, well-being, and success shape our future.Our wellbeing package is designed with the Whole YOU in mind and includes:A robust LandD program with a learning budget and in-person learning opportunitiesAt 8th Light, we are committed to a compensation philosophy that is transparent, fair, and helps us attract and retain top talent in alignment with our company’s strategic growth goals and clients’ needs.We benchmark our salaries using Geographic Structures to establish competitive pay ranges within the regions where 8th Lights live. Our pay range for our Lead Engineer position within London is:Reach out to recruiting@8thlight.com for more relevant information pertaining to your local market.8th Light is Remote-First

We are a distributed team across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. In most cases, our consulting engagements do not require travel.Whether you choose to work remotely or join us in person at one of our offices in Chicago or London, we’re committed to supporting a strong team culture. For team members outside of those cities, we offer access to coworking spaces to foster continued collaboration and connection across our global team.We hope to see you apply!Create a Job AlertInterested in building your career at 8th Light? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email.Apply for this job

*indicates a required fieldFirst Name *Last Name *Email *Phone *Location (City) *Resume/CV *Enter manuallyAccepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtfWhat are your pronouns? * Select...Eligibility Requirements:You must have the legal right to work (without requiring sponsorship) in the United States or Canada, or the United Kingdom and be a citizen in any one of the aforementioned locations.Persons hired must present acceptable proof of identity and proof of their legal right to work. The authenticity of the documents will be verified before employment begins.Please confirm that you meet these eligibility requirements. * Select...Would your employment require sponsorship? * Select...Were you referred by a current or former 8th Light employee? Select...(Referrals Only): Please indicate your referrals name.If the opportunity presented itself, would you be open to short/long term contract-based work? * Select...[VERIFICATION CONSENT]Do you consent to a background screen which includes: Biometric identity verification, employment verification and education verification? * Select...To safeguard the integrity of our hiring process and ensure the security of 8th Light and our clients, we require candidates consent to identity, employment, and education verification prior to any interviews with our team. Any offer of employment is conditional upon passing a criminal background ..... full job details .....