Team Lead Engineering

Team Lead Engineering Overview

Fresha is hiring a hands-on engineering team lead to help shape the technical direction of a fast-growing global platform serving the beauty, wellness, and self-care sector. The role sits within the Growth engineering area and reports to the Head of Engineering, working closely with the Product Manager and Staff Engineer to plan, coordinate, and deliver engineering work while keeping technical risk under control.

This position is intended for someone who enjoys operating in a fast-moving environment, can work independently, and wants to make a meaningful impact on the business. It combines technical leadership, people management, and direct contribution to the codebase, so the successful candidate will be expected to lead from the front while still remaining deeply involved in implementation.

What you will do

• Take ownership of the technical vision, strategy, planning, and coordination for the team’s engineering projects.
• Work in close partnership with engineering and product leadership to make sure delivery aligns with business goals and product priorities.
• Manage technical risk proactively and make sure the team is building in a way that is sustainable, scalable, and reliable.
• Be accountable for how the team performs, including the quality of estimates, the consistency of engineering processes, the clarity of communication, and the overall quality of the codebase.
• Line manage team members, helping them understand expectations, responsibilities, and what good looks like in their roles.
• Set challenging but realistic goals for the team and uphold strong technical standards.
• Coach engineers through mentoring and practical technical guidance, especially in system design and coding.
• Encourage learning, improvement, and strong engineering habits across the team.
• Lead by example in applying engineering practices and making sensible trade-offs across the wider system.
• Work with the team to identify process inefficiencies and improve how work is designed, planned, and delivered.
• Help ensure projects are completed on schedule and contribute directly to Fresha’s business outcomes.
• Remain hands-on by contributing code, fixing defects, and helping resolve issues when needed.
• Build and maintain a deep understanding of a major part of the platform architecture, including its scaling boundaries and reliability constraints.
• Support hiring, interviewing, and onboarding/training activities where required.
• Monitor and analyse team and functional performance metrics to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Assist the Head of Engineering with special projects and strategic technology decisions as they arise.

What Fresha is looking for

• A highly technical leader who is comfortable being very hands-on.
• Strong background in system design, software development, and architecture.
• Experience delivering large-scale systems, ideally across multiple programming languages.
• Ability to spot inefficiencies in engineering processes and improve them using technical judgment.
• Skill in rapidly decomposing complex problems into possible solutions, knowns, and unknowns so that issues can be resolved efficiently.
• Experience designing architectures that can support several possible future directions even when the final direction is not yet known.
• A leadership style grounded in ownership, quality, proactivity, continuous improvement, product focus, delivery, and open feedback.
• Enthusiasm and willingness to learn are valued highly, so applicants are encouraged to apply even if they do not match every requirement exactly.

Working style and location

This is a London-based role in Fresha’s office at The Bower, 207-211 Old Street, Tower, London EC1V 9NR. Fresha uses an in-office working model designed to support collaboration and face-to-face teamwork. Employees work from the office four days each week and can work remotely on Wednesdays.

The office is described as dog-friendly, and the company emphasises a collaborative environment where people work closely together across engineering, product, and leadership.

About Fresha

Fresha provides an AI-powered operating system for the global beauty, wellness, and self-care industry. Its platform connects salons, barbers, spas, medspas, fitness studios, and health practices with consumers and business tools that support bookings, payments, operations, and growth.

The company says it is trusted by millions of consumers and businesses around the world, is used by more than 140,000 businesses and 450,000 stylists and professionals, and has processed over one billion appointments. Headquartered in London, Fresha also operates 15 offices across North America, EMEA, and APAC.

Its marketplace helps consumers discover, book, and pay for appointments, while its business platform gives merchants tools for appointment management, point of sale, customer records, marketing automation, loyalty, inventory, team management, and financial technology capabilities. The ecosystem also supports revenue growth through online bookings, automated marketing, mobile apps, and integrations with major platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Google.

Interview process

• Initial screening call with someone from the Talent Team, lasting around 45 to 60 minutes.
• First technical stage with engineers, either by video or in person, lasting about 90 minutes.
• Second technical stage with engineers, either by video or in person, lasting up to 2 hours.
• Final discussion with the Head of Engineering and VP of Engineering, either by video or in person, lasting around 60 minutes.

Fresha aims to complete the full interview process and share feedback within four weeks. Applications are reviewed manually by the talent team, and while the company aims to assess candidates within seven days, high application volume may sometimes extend that timeframe.

Inclusion and accessibility

Fresha says it is building an inclusive workplace where people from all backgrounds feel welcome and able to contribute fully. All applicants are considered fairly, without discrimination on the basis of protected characteristics relevant to the location of the role.

If a candidate has accessibility needs that would make the interview process or the start of employment more comfortable, Fresha invites them to share those requirements so support can be arranged.

Application notes

Applications can be submitted through the job posting. Fresha also notes that it uses AI tools in parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications and analysing resumes or responses, but final hiring decisions are made by people.

Degree Requirement: Not Specified

Visa Sponsorship May be