"Tech Lead and Engineer Manager"

Tech Lead and Engineer Manager

The University of Cambridge's Information Services seeks a hands-on Tech Lead and Engineering Manager to lead a team building and modernising cloud-native services and modernising existing applications within an Engineering Division of 50 engineers. These services, used by around 60,000 staff, researchers, and students worldwide, have a significant impact on the University's global reputation.

This hybrid, Cambridge-based role offers excellent benefits, including a defined benefit pension and 41 days' annual leave.

Our newer services use modern web architecture standards, are structured around APIs and are continuously built and tested using GitLab. They run on Docker containers and are deployed to a serverless container platform on Google Cloud.

Our technology stack is Python, Django, React, Typescript, GitLab, Terraform, and Google Cloud. We use boilerplate solutions and turnkey templates to scale efficiently, stay DRY, and support a DevOps culture.

Examples of our projects can be found at https://gitlab.developers.cam.ac.uk/uis/devops. Our technical strategy is published in our guidebook at https://guidebook.devops.uis.cam.ac.uk/

Our ideal candidate will:

• Be highly skilled in modern software development, testing, and ops practices and processes. Keeps knowledge current.
• Be an expert in:
  • Management of software requirements, priorities, and dependencies.
  • Architecting web applications, including API design, with a focus on maintainability, stability and security, using clean code.
  • Integrating multiple applications via APIs, event buses, asynchronous tasks, etc.
  • Packaging web applications in Docker containers.
  • Testing frameworks and testing best practices.
  • GitLab or similar.
  • Creating CI pipelines for building and testing web applications.
  • Creating CD pipelines for deploying web applications to the cloud using Terraform.
  • Google Cloud or similar.
• Collaborates across products and teams to ensure unified architecture.
• Drive improvements in technical architecture, standards and processes.
• Find the right solution for the right problem. Sometimes this will be: switching off a service, extending an existing service, building a new service, or purchasing a SaaS solution.
• Have strong experience managing agile cross functional teams using a DevOps approach.
• Manage, train, and mentor a team of engineers.
• Have excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Focus on delivery while taking a continuous improvement approach to existing services.
• Work closely with other University members to gather, clarify, and break down requirements.
• Enjoy working with a large variety of services and technologies.

You will be responsible for:

• Ensuring team motivation, performance, and current practices.
• Managing priorities and help with scrum tasks such as: managing dependencies, scheduling work in sprints, writing tasks to the backlog, and backlog grooming.
• Understanding and supporting the needs of product and services, gathering requirements and developing strategies to satisfy these.
• Performing competitive analysis and identify the strengths and weaknesses of various solutions.
• Developing cases for proposed new features, products, or services.

You will be part of a team of a Tech Leads and Engineer Managers reporting to the Head of Development and Operations (DevOps).

We welcome applications from individuals who wish to be considered for part-time working or other flexible working arrangements.

We particularly welcome applications from women and /or candidates from a BME background for this vacancy as they are currently under-represented at this level in our department.

Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.

If you are interested in this opportunity and would like to know more, please contact Abraham Martin, Head of Development and Operations (amc203@cam.ac.uk).

Please quote reference VC48384 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

Key information

Department/location: University Information Services

Salary: Up to £82,687

Reference: VC48384

Category: Academic-related

Date published: 22 December 2025

Closing date: 4 January 2026