Overview

Join to apply for the Senior Staff Engineer - Repeats role at iwoca

Hybrid in London or Remote within the UK

We’re hiring a Senior Staff Engineer to lead the technical evolution of our core decision-making systems in a hands-on role that balances architectural design, people management, and shipping critical code.

The Company

Imagine a world where every small business has the power to thrive. Since 2012, iwoca has revolutionised how businesses access finance, turning what was once a lengthy process into funding that’s fast, flexible, and works for modern businesses. We’ve funded billions to over 150,000 businesses across Europe and aim to empower one million businesses with the financial tools they deserve. We combine cutting-edge technology and data science with genuine human understanding to make finance feel less like a barrier and more like a superpower.

The team

The Repeats team manages the lending strategy and digital user experience for recurring customers. They own all product decisions after a customer’s first funding, including the repeat user journey, eligibility and document requirements for repeat applications, and offer terms. The team experiments with new product ideas and delivers them through an intuitive, high-performing digital experience with engineering, product, data, and design working together.

The role

As the Senior Staff Engineer in the Repeats team, you will guide both the technical architecture and engineers responsible for its delivery. You will lead the design and development of systems that route existing customers to the most appropriate credit assessment process and offer terms based on their profile and needs. This is a hands-on leadership role with a focus on long-term architectural health, where you will manage the team’s engineers, own the technical roadmap, and contribute to the codebase.

Responsibilities

• Own the technical road map for the Repeats team, re-architecting the code to meet ambitious and dynamic challenges, including transitioning from rules-based to models-driven strategies.
• Lead the evolution of system architecture to optimise customer journeys and enhance decision-making and offer generation processes.
• Collaborate with Principal Engineers to design and deliver a coherent system with support from org-wide teams such as DevOps.

• Be an active, hands-on contributor to the codebase, leading by example in quality, testing, and performance.
• Drive the technical strategy and execution for the Repeats team’s projects, translating product goals into well-architected, production-ready code.
• Proactively identify and resolve technical debt and production issues, ensuring long-term health and stability of the systems you own.

• You will be the direct line manager for three engineers, responsible for performance, coaching, and career development.
• You will define and champion engineering best practices and standards within your team and as a senior leader in the wider engineering group.

The Requirements

Essential:

• Expertise in systems architecture, including designing and managing complex domain models.
• Advanced proficiency in software development using an object-oriented language.
• Experience delivering and operating live customer-facing systems in a production environment.
• Experience leading a team of engineers, including line management. Ability to balance hands-on coding and project delivery with strategic planning while developing the engineers you manage.
• Product-focused mindset, with experience working with stakeholders to turn unclear business problems into clear, actionable technical solutions.
• Pragmatism in making high-stakes technical decisions, weighing trade-offs and explaining impact on customers, timelines, and business goals.
• Clear, concise written and verbal communication, prioritising outcomes and impact.

• Bonus:
• Experience with Python, Django, or PostgreSQL.
• Familiarity with data analytics or machine learning processes.
• Experience with complex data architectures, including event-sourced data models.
• Numerical or technical background, ideally with a degree in maths, physics, computer science, engineering, or a related field.
• Front-end development experience.

The salary

We expect to pay from £100,000 - £160,000 for this role. We’re open-minded, so please include your salary goals with your application. We benchmark salaries against market rates and perform quarterly performance and salary reviews.

The culture

iwoca prioritises a culture of learning, growth, and support, investing in the professional development of our team members. We value diversity in thought and skill and encourage exploring new areas to improve our products and services.

The offices

Offices in London, Leeds, and Frankfurt with plenty of drinks and snacks. We offer events and clubs and other activities.

Benefits

• Flexible working hours
• Medical insurance from Vitality, including discounted gym membership and private GP service for you and your dependents.
• 25 days’ holiday, an extra day off for your birthday, option to buy or sell up to 5 additional days, unlimited unpaid leave, and a one-month fully paid sabbatical after 4 years.
• Emotional and mental health support with Spill.
• Pension and share options.
• Generous parental leave and nursery tax benefit scheme.
• Paid volunteering day.
• Cycle-to-work and electric car schemes.
• Two company retreats per year.

We also offer ongoing learning opportunities, including a learning and development budget, company-wide talks, and access to learning platforms such as Treehouse.

Compensation Range: £100K - £160K