Key Facts

Remote From:

Full time

English

Hard Skills

Software Development Back End (Software Engineering) Systems Design Java (Programming Language) Distributed Computing Performance Review Technical Authority Product Management Artificial Intelligence Cross-Functional Collaboration

Other Skills

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Leadership
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Team Leadership
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Communication
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Problem Solving
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Teamwork

Roles & Responsibilities

Strong software development background with solid backend expertise (ideally Java ecosystem) and distributed systems knowledge
Emerging leadership experience as a Tech Lead, Team Lead, or similar role with a track record of helping others deliver and grow
Interest in people management with either early experience or clear readiness to take on these responsibilities
Strong English communication skills for both technical and cross-functional discussions

Requirements:

Own delivery outcomes for 1-2 teams (6-15 engineers), ensuring reliable delivery while tracking progress and surfacing risks early
Manage people and career development through 1-on-1s, performance reviews, and day-to-day team leadership with guidance from senior leaders
Maintain strong engineering standards across backend, frontend, mobile, and QA teams while ensuring quality and architectural consistency
Stay technically hands-on (~30%), contributing to code, reviewing pull requests, and maintaining technical credibility within your teams

Discover Exceptional Opportunities Worldwide

About Discover Exceptional Opportunities Worldwide

Are you tired of boring, traditional recruitment companies? Do you wish there was a recruitment company that was actually fun and enjoyable to work with? Well, now there is! Introducing Bullfinch Recruitment, the hottest new recruitment company on the block. We're doing recruitment differently, with a focus on fun, innovation, and technology. We know that recruitment can be a stressful and time-consuming process. That's why we're here to make it as easy and enjoyable as possible for both businesses and candidates. Here's what sets us apart from other recruitment companies: • For us innovation in recruitment is key in finding the right talent, we don’t just wait hoping candidates will apply or have a rolodex of CVs that we shove at people. Each role for us is unique and we headhunt to get the right person for the role. It’s not just about filling the role and getting a bum on a seat and an invoice in an inbox…it’s about making sure that the candidate is right for the company, but that also the company is right for the candidate. Continuous relationships with our partners and our candidates is key. • We have a dedicated team of recruitment experts who are passionate about helping businesses and candidates succeed. • We provide an end to end managed service from research, marketing, sourcing and screening, interview management, offer management and notice period management. Along with at no additional cost ongoing services provided which surpass the offerings from your normal recruitment agencies such as access to our Applicant Tracking System (ATS), weekly insights reporting and regular check ins with the hiring team. So, if you're looking for a recruitment company that is not a grind to work with, in fact will make your recruitment lives a lot easier, more fun and more successful while also helping you find the right talent or the right job, then contact Bullfinch Recruitment today!

Founded: 2018

Company size: 2 - 10

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Job description

Bullfinch Recruitment are proud to be partnering with a high-growth social gaming business, delivering innovative, scalable products to a global player base, who are looking for an Associate Engineering Manager to join their team.

The Role

Lead cross-functional engineering teams building high-performance systems that power gaming experiences for millions of players worldwide.

AI-Driven Engineering Culture:
We are actively building an AI-driven engineering organization with a clear and deliberate stance: artificial intelligence is a core part of how we build and deliver software — not an experiment, not a trend, and not an optional add-on.
AI is embedded into our engineering workflows, from system design and prototyping to refactoring, testing, and code review. We expect engineers to be fully comfortable working in AI-driven environments and to treat AI as a primary productivity multiplier. Strong engineering judgment, architectural ownership, and accountability remain essential—AI amplifies our engineers, it doesn’t replace responsibility for technical decisions.

What you will be doing
• Own delivery outcomes for 1-2 teams (6-15 engineers), ensuring reliable delivery while tracking progress and surfacing risks early
• Manage people and career development through 1-on-1s, performance reviews, and day-to-day team leadership with guidance from senior leaders
• Maintain strong engineering standards across backend, frontend, mobile, and QA teams while ensuring quality and architectural consistency
• Stay technically hands-on (~30%), contributing to code, reviewing pull requests, and maintaining technical credibility within your teams
• Enable smooth team execution by working closely with Team Leads and Product Managers to define clear work and remove blockers
• Support system reliability by helping teams investigate incidents, understand root causes, and continuously improve platform stability

What we are looking for
• Strong software development background with solid backend expertise (ideally Java ecosystem) and distributed systems knowledge
• Emerging leadership experience as a Tech Lead, Team Lead, or similar role with a track record of helping others deliver and grow
• Interest in people management with either early experience or clear readiness to take on these responsibilities
• Strong delivery instincts with ability to track work progress, identify risks early, and keep teams moving without micromanagement
• Sound product sense to identify gaps, risks, and engineering implications in requirements
• Strong English communication skills for both technical and cross-functional discussions

Why you will love it
This is your chance to step into engineering leadership at a fast-scaling company where your decisions directly impact millions of players worldwide. You'll work with cutting-edge technology in a high-performance environment that values pragmatic execution over bureaucracy. We offer the perfect balance of hands-on technical work and leadership growth, with clear mentorship and support as you develop into a strong Engineering Manager. You'll have the freedom to shape engineering practices, work with highly skilled teams, and see real impact from day one—all while building systems that operate at massive scale in the exciting world of gaming.