Lead Developer

Lead the evolution of a platform that has outgrown its current architecture, while helping the engineering team grow with it.

Lead Developer - Caen

Caen, France · Permanent · On-site

What you'd actually work on

• Leading architecture decisions for a SaaS platform facing increasing functional and technical demands
• Contributing directly to the codebase alongside the development team
• Reviewing technical designs and code changes across critical parts of the platform
• Defining a progressive migration strategy for services currently running within the monolith
• Mentoring developers with different levels of experience and supporting their technical development
• Working with product and business stakeholders to turn priorities into a realistic technical roadmap
• Assessing technical debt and deciding what should be addressed, documented, or temporarily accepted
• Improving engineering practices across testing, code reviews, documentation, and deployment
• Supporting production investigations and ensuring recurring issues lead to lasting improvements
• Contributing to technical recruitment and the onboarding of new developers
• Introducing tools and processes that remain useful as the team grows

Where it gets technically interesting

• Migrating core services away from an ageing monolith while continuing to deliver product features
• Identifying which components should be separated and which are better kept within the existing architecture
• Managing dependencies between legacy code, new services, databases, and external integrations
• Improving test coverage in critical areas without attempting an unrealistic full rewrite
• Balancing short-term delivery commitments with the long-term stability of the platform
• Defining technical standards that support the team without introducing unnecessary process
• Scaling the engineering team in a market outside the usual Paris talent pool
• Making architecture and tooling decisions that will remain effective as the product and team expand

What we're looking for

• 6+ years of professional software development experience
• Previous experience as a Lead Developer, Tech Lead, or senior developer with significant technical leadership responsibilities
• Strong hands-on coding skills and the willingness to remain involved in implementation
• Experience making and documenting architecture decisions
• Experience working with monolithic applications and progressive modernisation strategies
• Good understanding of software design, automated testing, code reviews, and deployment practices
• Ability to evaluate technical debt and explain the associated risks and trade-offs
• Experience mentoring developers and improving engineering practices
• Confidence working with product and business stakeholders
• Experience supporting production systems and investigating technical incidents
• An interest in building a stronger team, not only improving individual output

The company

An established SaaS company serving business customers across France. Based in Normandy, the company is growing steadily and investing in the evolution of both its platform and engineering organisation.

The role offers direct influence over architecture, engineering practices, and the future structure of the development team.

Health insurance, profit-sharing, and a working environment that supports sustainable working hours.

Languages: Native or bilingual French and professional English.

A search run by The French Sourcer, recruitment built for technical teams.