Software Engineering Lead (Web Platforms)

The Role

At Unite Students, our website is where students discover, book and pay for their home. We're looking for a Software Engineering Lead to shape the technical direction of this critical customer-facing platform and help us take it to the next level.

We're embarking on a significant, Board-backed transformation to rebuild our trading platform using a modern, headless, multi-brand architecture. You'll play a leading role in shaping that future, driving engineering excellence and ensuring our platform is secure, scalable and resilient.

Combining strong technical expertise with the ability to influence across teams, you'll own the Web Domain's architecture, engineering standards and operational health, working with internal teams and external engineering partners to deliver meaningful, lasting improvements.

Key Responsibilites

• Lead technical direction: Own the Web Domain's architecture, technical roadmap and engineering approach.
• Shape our future platform: Drive the transition to a scalable, headless, multi-brand trading platform.
• Raise engineering standards: Establish best practices, reusable patterns and consistent quality standards across teams.
• Drive delivery excellence: Work with internal teams and engineering partners to improve code quality, testing, CI/CD and release processes.
• Own platform performance: Ensure our web services are reliable, secure, observable and resilient, particularly during critical trading periods.
• Manage our cloud environment: Take ownership of AWS security, operational health, performance and cost.
• Influence and collaborate: Work with technology leaders and engineering partners to align technical decisions and deliver continuous improvement.

What We're Looking for in You

• Experience leading the architecture and evolution of complex, customer-facing web platforms.
• Strong technical knowledge of JavaScript/TypeScript, Node.js, React/Next.js, APIs and cloud technologies, ideally AWS.
• A track record of improving engineering quality, establishing standards and influencing across multiple teams.
• Experience managing engineering partners and driving accountability for technical quality and delivery.
• Understanding of production service ownership, including reliability, security, observability and cloud cost management.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to challenge, influence and bring people together.
• An interest in using AI-assisted engineering tools thoughtfully to improve productivity and quality.

You don't need to tick every box.

We're looking for someone with strong engineering fundamentals, sound architectural judgement and the ambition to make a real difference to our technology platform.

What You'll Get in Return

• A discretionary annual bonus so you can share in the company's success
• 25 days' paid holiday and an annual holiday buying scheme, with 5 additional days awarded for long service
• A generous pension scheme – employer contributions between 5% and 11% depending on how much you save
• Various benefits to support your health and wellbeing including a Healthcare Cash Plan, an Employee Assistance Programme, a Wellbeing platform and a Gym benefit that you can share with your family and friends
• Enhanced Family Leave including 18 weeks full pay for birthing parents and 4 weeks for non-birthing parents
• Lots of other great benefits including an annual ShareSave scheme, Employee Life Assurance, a discounts portal and more!

About Unite Students

Founded in 1991, Unite Students is the UK`s largest provider of purpose-built student accommodation. You can find us in 23 leading university towns and cities, with over 70,000 students calling US home! We are driven by our values, culture, and a commitment to develop diverse and inclusive teams, filled with positive energy and new ideas.

Instinctive inclusion.

We know that to create and maintain a happy healthy organisation, we have to work hard to ensure inclusion isn`t just what we do but who we are.

People make Unite Students.

Employees, students, and neighbours all contribute to building environments where we can all thrive.

Room for Everyone

We`re proud to be an employer thatembraces individuality , and we`re passionate about building inclusive teams. We focus on creating a collaborative culture where you can be you, where your voice is heard, and where you can truly belong. We take great pride in being rated Gold Investors in People and are constantly striving to provide the highest standard of learning and development opportunities and professional pathways for our people. Building ahome for success , for both our employees and students, requires exceptional people with passion. Join us as we build better experiences for students that live with us.

We are US.