Engineering Team Lead (Native Apps)

We are excited to offer an opportunity for a passionate Engineering Team Lead to join our forward-thinking Native Apps Team at Reach plc. In this pivotal role, you'll report directly to the Head of Development and take charge of leading a talented squad of engineers. Your leadership will be key in empowering them to craft high-quality software solutions that meet our strategic goals.

Your responsibilities will include collaborating closely with cross-functional teams, ensuring seamless communication and cooperation across departments. You'll drive the successful delivery of innovative projects, leveraging your expertise to overcome challenges and optimize processes. If you're ready to make a significant impact and lead our team towards excellence, we want you on board!

Role Location

The role is fully remote, so we are open to candidates across the UK. However, there would be the expectation to meet and work with the wider team in our Canary Wharf HQ from time to time.

So, who are we? 

We are Reach Plc, you might not have heard of us but we have probably met without you even realising it. We are home to the UK and Ireland’s most iconic digital platforms, magazines and newspapers. From the Mirror, Daily Express and OK!, to our regional titles such as the Liverpool Echo, BirminghamLive and the Manchester Evening News (plus lots more), our brands and the stories we cover are as varied as our people. We help all kinds of people share experiences through our stories because we believe this is what makes us human.

Oh, and we should probably also mention that with a monthly readership of 47 million people, Reach is the largest commercial publisher in the UK. At Reach, not only will you feel better understood, you will also feel you understand other people better too.

As the Engineering Team Lead, you'll inspire your team to deliver outstanding software solutions on time and within quality standards. Collaborating with Product Managers and Designers, you'll transform project requirements into actionable tasks, ensuring each step adds value.

Beyond managing projects, you'll mentor your team, guiding their professional growth. You'll champion transparency and teamwork, fostering effective communication within your squad and across departments. By driving continuous improvement, you'll implement best practices and elevate our engineering processes.

You'll monitor project progress, manage risks, and keep stakeholders informed to ensure alignment. Working with Principal Engineers and other Team Leads, you'll resolve issues and maintain a cohesive engineering environment. Additionally, you'll play a vital role in recruitment, helping us attract top engineering talent through CV assessments and interviews.

We're seeking an Engineering Team Lead with substantial senior experience in software development and a proven track record of successfully leading and delivering software projects. Your history in leadership or supervisory roles will be key to driving our team's success.

You'll bring expertise in Agile methodologies like Scrum or Kanban, and familiarity with tools such as JIRA, Git, and CI/CD will be essential. Your excellent problem-solving skills will enable you to analyze and resolve complex technical challenges efficiently.

Strong communication and interpersonal abilities are crucial, as you'll collaborate seamlessly with cross-functional teams and stakeholders. Additionally, your capacity to adapt to a fast-paced, dynamic work environment while managing multiple priorities will ensure you thrive in our innovative setting.

Essential Skills

• Swift and/or Kotlin: Expert in either native iOS or Android app development with strong framework knowledge.
• Networking: Proficient with REST APIs and advising on mobile app best practices.
• Security: Experienced in building secure applications using frameworks like Keychain.
• CI/CD & DevOps: Skilled in maintaining pipelines for apps with tools such as Bitrise.
• Research & Evaluation: Capable of assessing new technologies for organisational use.
• Store & Release Management: Knowledgeable in deploying apps to stores.
• Testing: Competent in creating unit tests and mocks for QA automation.
• Leadership: Strong leadership and people management skills.
• Communication: Excellent skills for collaboration with cross-functional teams.
• Agile: Experienced with Agile methodologies.
• Problem Solver: Effective at resolving complex technical issues.
• Trustworthy: Organisational skills for managing tasks and meeting deadlines.
• Growth Mindset: Committed to ongoing learning and staying current with industry trends.

Desirable Skills

• Modern UI Frameworks: Experience with SwiftUI or Jetpack Compose for native UI.
• Tooling: Skilled in building tools to support team efficiency and codebase management.
• Data Protection: Strong understanding of data protection laws and advocacy.

We are offering a competitive salary and benefits including;

• Help saving for your retirement - join our pension scheme and we’ll match contributions up to 6%
• 25 days’ holiday per year when you join. After three, five and ten years’ service with Reach, you’ll accrue one additional day of annual leave. We also have a Holiday Purchase Scheme
• Giving back day - an additional day’s leave each year to support a cause close to your heart
• Enhanced family leave - including maternity, paternity and adoption - and you’ll be eligible after just six months’ employment
• Private Healthcare Cash Plan - free health cash plan so you can claim back cash for a range of medical expenses
• As one of the UK’s top 50 Inclusive Employers everyone’s invited to join our events, programmes and networks to celebrate diversity and build an environment where all our people can thrive
• Wellbeing support - including a 24/7 employee assistance programme (EAP) for you and your nearest and dearest
• Awesome career opportunities - you’ll have support from your line manager and a range of learning & development programmes
• We are also a member of the 30% Club, a global campaign aimed at increasing gender diversity at board and senior management levels

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested please apply early to avoid disappointment.

Reach plc believes diversity brings benefits for our customers, our business and our people. This is why we are committed to being an inclusive employer and encourage applications from all suitable applicants irrespective of background, circumstances, age, disability, gender identity, ethnicity, religion or belief and sexual orientation.