Software Engineering Team Lead

Cardiff, G , CF10 1FT

| Glasgow, G , G511DA

| London, G , W1A 1AA

| Newcastle-upon-Tyne, G , NE991RN

| Salford, G , M50 2QH

JOB BAND: D
CONTRACT TYPE:
Permanent, Full-time
DEPARTMENT:
Web Experiences – Find & Participate (Search & Navigation)

LOCATION:

London, Salford, Cardiff, Newcastle, Glasgow – Hybrid
PROPOSED SALARY RANGE: £75,000 – £85,000 depending on relevant skills, knowledge and experience. The expected salary range for this role reflects internal benchmarking and external market insights.
We're happy to discuss flexible working. If you'd like to, please indicate your preference in the application – though there's no obligation to do so now. Flexible working will be part of the discussion at offer stage.

The Search & Navigation team sits within the Find & Participate group, which is at the heart of Web Experiences, shaping how millions of people discover and explore BBC content every day. As a Software Engineering Team Lead in Search & Navigation, you will lead a team responsible for core web journeys that define how audiences find and move through our products.

You will work at the intersection of engineering, product, design and data to deliver scalable, reliable and intuitive discovery experiences. With your leadership, the team will deliver sustainable technical solutions at scale, enable experimentation, and collaborate across TV, mobile and backend platform teams to ensure coherent and consistent discovery experiences across platforms.

Search & Navigation is highly visible, measurable and central to the overall product experience.

High-impact work – We own critical audience journeys. Small improvements can have significant, immediate impact at scale.

Collaboration at the core – Discovery doesn’t live in one platform. We work closely with TV, mobile and backend platform teams to ensure search and navigation experiences are coherent and powered by the right shared capabilities.

Data-informed decisions – We use insight, experimentation and continuous optimisation to improve findability and user journeys.

A genuinely cross‑functional environment – We collaborate daily with design, product, engineering and data colleagues to solve complex discovery challenges together. If you are energised by shaping user journeys, thrive in collaborative environments, and want your work to influence how audiences discover content across platforms, this is a team where you can make a real impact.

• You will lead and line manage a team of software engineers (junior to senior), supporting their growth while fostering a high‑performing, inclusive and collaborative team culture.
• You will guide the design, development, delivery and support of scalable, resilient search and navigation solutions that serve millions of users.
• You will partner closely with Product, UX, Delivery and Data colleagues to shape roadmaps, prioritise effectively and ensure technical decisions align with audience and business outcomes.
• You will collaborate with engineering teams across Web, TV, Mobile and platform services to deliver coherent cross‑platform discovery experiences.
• You will contribute to technical strategy and decision‑making within Web Experiences, balancing innovation, experimentation and operational excellence.

• Experience leading engineering teams to deliver high‑quality software solutions within large‑scale, modern web architectures.
• Proven experience line managing and developing software engineers, supporting career progression and building inclusive, high‑performing teams.
• Strong expertise in modern web technologies including HTML, CSS and JavaScript, with experience in Node.js and SPA frameworks (we use React).
• Demonstrable experience working in cross‑functional environments, collaborating effectively with Product, Design, Data and Engineering peers.
• Ability to communicate technical concepts clearly and confidently to both technical and non‑technical stakeholders, influencing decisions through collaboration rather than authority.

• Experience working on search, navigation or…