Senior Software Developer / Architect - Technology Vendor

Keen to join a company that champions growth and development? Join a profitable, founder-led network technology company with over 25 years of experience delivering network appliance solutions to customers in more than 160 countries. The organisation is entering a new phase of growth, modernising its engineering platform, rebuilding its technical capabilities, and embracing AI-assisted development to shape the future of its products.

As a Senior Developer / Software Architect, you will lead the architectural direction of an established global product portfolio while driving new platform development. Working within a small, highly experienced engineering team, you'll have significant influence over product strategy, engineering standards, AI adoption, and the long-term evolution of the organisation's network technology platform.

Ready to make a move? Get in touch and apply today! Responsibilities: Own and drive software architecture decisions across the full product range, established systems and greenfield development, ensuring choices are pragmatic, forward-looking, and right-sized for a globally deployed SME Assess the current architecture and establish a clear, documented architectural vision for the next generation of the platform Produce and maintain system diagrams, component maps, API contracts, data models, and technical specifications that enable the engineering team to build with clarity and confidence Define and champion the team's AI-assisted development approach, selecting and embedding tools such as Claude Code, Cursor, or GitHub Copilot into day-to-day engineering practice Lead architectural decision-making on all major new development, ensuring decisions are documented and understood across the team Translate complex technical architecture into clear roadmaps and conversations for engineers, leadership, and external partners Contribute to product strategy, including evaluating new software opportunities in EdTech and adjacent verticals, bringing architectural and technical feasibility perspective Skills / Must Have: Experience: Significant experience architecting and shipping production software systems, operating at Senior Architect, Principal Engineer, Lead Architect, Technical Director, or CTO level Core Tech / Domain: Strong understanding of Linux and server environments, APIs, distributed systems, and databases; full-stack awareness spanning back-end (Python preferred; C/C++/Rust a bonus), front-end web technologies, and network services (DNS, DHCP, HTTP/S) Methodology / Protocols: Fluency in architectural documentation, C4, UML, ERDs, sequence diagrams, and written specifications that engineering teams actually use; demonstrable, hands-on experience using AI coding tools as a genuine force-multiplier in real development work; understanding of agentic AI systems and LLM orchestration Soft Skills: Excellent communicator who can translate technical architecture for non-technical stakeholders; intellectually direct and honest; comfortable managing ambiguity, competing constraints, and rapid change without losing clarity or momentum Desirable Skills: Experience in education technology or government / public sector software Background in network appliance development, DNS, DHCP, caching, or proxy systems Experience building or advising early-stage software products Comfort with fractional or portfolio working arrangements Benefits: Remote-first working with some in-person time at the company's Midlands HQ Performance incentives on top of base salary High autonomy and direct access to the leadership team Real influence over engineering culture, tooling strategy, and product direction as the team grows Salary: £60,000–£85,000 (dependent on experience) + performance incentives