Engineering Lead

We’re the Moonpig Group – home to Moonpig, Greetz, Red Letter Days and Buyagift – and we’re on a mission to make people feel loved, celebrated and remembered. Whether it’s a card that gets them laughing out loud or a gift that makes their day, we help people stay close, no matter the miles.   We’re proud to be leading the online gifting revolution, with brilliant products, clever tech and a whole lot of heart. Our platform makes it easy to create moments that matter – packed with personal touches and delivered with care.   We’re not just about selling cards or gifts – we’re here to spread joy, spark smiles and make every celebration feel extra special. And with values that guide how we work and support one another, we’ve built a place where people (and ideas) can truly thrive.   If you’re looking to make an impact, bring your spark and be part of something meaningful – we’d love to have you on the team. 🌙🐷

Key Responsibilities Write clean, high-quality code and remain hands-on with the day-to-day technical delivery of Search initiatives.

Own and develop our backend integration with OpenSearch, alongside the wider team.

Build and maintain scalable, resilient infrastructure using AWS and Terraform.

Build and maintain customer-facing features using technologies including .NET/C#, React, Node.js, TypeScript and GraphQL.

Design, implement and A/B test new features as part of a cross-functional team, using agile principles to scope, track and deliver work.

Build appropriate tests into new development and contribute to the ongoing quality and safety of the codebase.

Collaborate with engineers and data teams to design and deliver AI/ML-driven features using internal ML inference APIs and external LLMs.

Work closely with Product, Design, Data Science and engineering teams to understand priorities, dependencies and how Search contributes to wider initiatives.

Support client teams integrating with our services by providing technical guidance and practical solutions.

Help shape the Search team roadmap with Engineering, Product and Design stakeholders, constructively challenging plans where needed.

Provide delivery estimates, explain the thinking behind them and identify the ongoing engineering work needed to keep our services operating effectively.

Stay closely involved in technical execution, including estimation, planning and backlog refinement.

Help the team make pragmatic technical decisions, including when to build something ourselves and when to use existing solutions.

Create clear communication within and outside the team so dependencies, decisions and delivery plans are understood.

Advocate for the Search team in wider discussions and help communicate its technical context, priorities and constraints.

Support a collaborative environment where engineers have ownership of how they work rather than imposing a preferred process.

Coach and support colleagues, encouraging knowledge sharing and helping build technical capability across the team.

Identify opportunities to improve delivery processes while working with the Senior Engineering Manager to maintain appropriate standards.

Engage with Moonpig’s wider engineering community and champion effective engineering practices across teams.

Provide relevant input and feedback to Engineering Managers on engineers working within your area.

About You: Strong hands-on experience with OpenSearch, Elasticsearch or comparable search-engine technology, with OpenSearch experience particularly valuable for this role.

Strong understanding of how search engines work and how search models rank products.

Understanding of model building and how engineers can build on and integrate with search models.

Strong hands-on software engineering experience, including C#/.NET.

Experience across frontend and backend development.

Experience with some of our wider technology stack, which includes AWS serverless, React, Node.js, TypeScript, GraphQL and Terraform.

Ability to collaborate on complex technical work, contribute to design discussions and deliver high-quality solutions.

Experience working cross-functionally with Product, Design, Data Science and other engineering teams.

Ability to communicate technical topics clearly with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Experience planning technical delivery, managing dependencies and providing clear, reasoned estimates.

Comfortable balancing hands-on engineering with wider team and stakeholder responsibilities.

Collaborative leadership style, with the confidence to challenge constructively, listen to different perspectives and advocate for the team.

Interest in coaching others, sharing knowledge and helping engineers develop.

Keen to keep learning new processes, techniques and technologies.

Motivation to take the next step from senior engineering into a broader engineering leadership role.

Experience with serverless, event-driven systems would be beneficial.

Our Tech Environment: OpenSearch

AWS serverless

.NET / C#

React

Node.js

TypeScript

GraphQL

Terraform

GitHub and CI/CD pipelines

Internal ML inference APIs and external LLMs

Our Interview Process: Stage 1: Recruiter Screening Call 15-30mins

Stage 2: Take home tech test

Stage 3: Pairing interview 60-90mins

Stage 4: System design interview 60mins

Stage 5: Final culture/team fit interview 30mins

Offer! 🎉

Please note: Our interview process may vary depending on the specific role, hiring team availability, or other business needs. We aim to keep candidates informed of any changes throughout the process.

Additional information What's in it for you?   We believe in empowering our team to do their best work. Enjoy: 💰 Competitive Pay & Bonuses: Plus, generous pension plans & staff discounts. 💆🏽 Wellbeing First: Private healthcare (UK) and mental health support 🏖️ Flexible Working & Time Off: Generous holidays, hybrid working (1-3 days in office, depending on role/team) & up to 20 days of international working. 📈 Career Growth: Learning allowances, coaching & development programs.   Want to know more? Explore our full benefits package: here Check out our podcast, tech blog and product blog to hear more about how we work and what we're building!   Our Ways of Working: We trust our colleagues to do what’s right and offer flexibility to support a balance between work and life. At the same time, face-to-face office time is an important and expected part of working at Moonpig Group. We believe regular in-person working supports collaboration, alignment, and effective decision-making. Candidates will have regular and ongoing time working from the office as part of their role, which will be discussed during the recruitment process.   Moonpig Group's Commitment to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusivity: At Moonpig Group, we’re all about creating a workplace where everyone feels they truly belong. We celebrate what makes each of us unique, whether that’s our background, how we work best, or what matters most to us.   From working parents who need flexible hours to neurodiverse colleagues with specific working styles, we’re here to support our people in ways that work for them. Because when you feel valued and included, you can thrive, and so can we.   We’re proud to have a number of employee-led groups driving this forward, including our LGBTQ+, Gender Balance, Neurodiversity and EMBRACE (Educating Myself for Better Racial Awareness and Cultural Enrichment) communities, plus our Group-wide EDI committee. These teams help make sure every voice is heard and every idea has a place.   We know that diversity fuels creativity, innovation and connection, and that’s why we’ll keep pushing for progress. Together, we’re building a culture where everyone feels safe, supported, and free to be their brilliant, authentic selves.   If you have a preferred name, please use it to apply and share your pronouns if you are comfortable to do so😊 - If you have any reasonable adjustment requests throughout the interview process please let us know on your application or speak to the Recruiter.