Studio Tech Lead
2 days ago
City of London
Location: London, UK SharpEnd is an experience-led connected studio, partnering with ambitious brands to reimagine the real world as a connected platform. We design and deliver connected physical–digital experiences for global brands, from NFC-connected products and hardware-enabled products to mobile, web, and in-store systems. We are hiring a Tech Lead to join the Studio team. This role is explicitly hands-on and delivery-focused. You will act as the technical authority across studio projects: shaping stacks, validating ideas early, guiding build teams, and ensuring work ships on time, resilient, and future-facing; playing a pivotal role in overseeing the end-to-end technical solutions for some of the world’s biggest brands, driving innovation and excellence across the board. The Role You are accountable for how things are built in the Studio. You partner closely with creative, strategy, and production to: • Validate what’s possible, • Challenge assumptions, • Shape realistic, ambitious technical approaches You will work across multiple concurrent projects, balancing SharpEnd’s solution offerings with bespoke client requirements. You are comfortable moving between experimentation, prototyping, and production delivery. Core Accountabilities • Own technical decision-making across studio projects (stack, architecture, tooling)., • Act as the senior technical authority for delivery teams., • Ensure projects ship on time, robustly, and with a clear path to scale or reuse., • Make and defend trade-offs between speed, polish, risk, and future flexibility. Success in this role is measured by: • Confident, well-reasoned technical decisions, • Smooth delivery with minimal late-stage surprises, • Resilient builds that don’t need reworking post-launch Responsibilities Hands-On Technical Leadership • Actively investigate, prototype, and test ideas to inform technical direction., • Contribute directly to codebases when needed (critical paths, prototypes, reviews)., • Define and uphold engineering standards across studio work. Architecture & Stack Ownership • Define architectures across mobile, web, backend, and physical/hardware-enabled systems., • Work across SharpEnd’s private infrastructure as well as client-mandated stacks., • Champion reuse of platforms, components, and patterns where appropriate. Creative & Scoping Partnership • Embed into early creative and scoping phases., • Validate feasibility and highlight opportunities to push ideas further., • Identify risk early and shape scopes accordingly. Delivery & Team Enablement • Guide engineers across multiple projects., • Act as escalation point for technical blockers and delivery risk., • Support prioritisation in collaboration with Studio and Production leads. Client & Partner Engagement • Act as senior technical contact for clients., • Confidently interface with client technical, legal, and security teams., • Support RFP responses, vendor assessment, and technical due diligence. About You Technical Breadth • Strong experience across mobile and web technologies., • Solid knowledge of modern JavaScript stacks (TypeScript, React, Next.js)., • Backend and API experience, including data modelling and auth., • Experience working with physical hardware builds, IoT touchpoints, or embedded systems., • Comfortable operating across AWS-based environments. Leadership & Judgement • Proven experience leading technical delivery in an agency or consultancy environment., • Comfortable with ambiguity and incomplete briefs., • Confident saying “no” and explaining why., • Trusted to make decisions and move forward rather than waiting for consensus. Ways of Working • Curious, pragmatic, and unafraid to get hands-on., • Enjoys variety and multi-project environments., • Balances experimentation with delivery discipline. This Role Is Not For • Engineers looking for a single long-term product roadmap., • Candidates who prefer narrowly defined tickets over open-ended problem solving., • Pure people managers who do not want to stay close to code and architecture. How This Role Adds Value Over Time Beyond individual projects, this role helps the Studio mature its technical thinking, improving how we scope, architect, and deliver connected experiences over time, not just shipping isolated builds. What We Offer • Pension: 3% employer contribution (People’s Pension, from 3 months)., • Holiday: 20 days + festive shutdown, plus 1 additional day per year of service (up to 5)., • Health Insurance: Vitality (post-probation)., • Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)., • Cycle to Work Scheme and dog-friendly office., • Work From Anywhere: Up to 2 weeks per year (UK time)., • Office Perks: Breakfast, drinks, and snacks., • Culture: Collaborative, delivery-driven, and creatively ambitious.