Senior Software Engineer / Team Lead

The Family Chemist is one of the UK’s leading online pharmacies, delivering innovative healthcare services to patients across the UK. We combine clinical excellence with cutting-edge technology to improve access to healthcare through digital solutions.

As we continue to grow, we are investing heavily in our technology infrastructure, customer experience, automation capabilities and future product development. We are now seeking an exceptional Lead Full Stack Software Engineer to play a pivotal role in shaping and delivering our technology strategy.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role. We are looking for someone who enjoys solving complex problems, building scalable systems, and leading technical initiatives whilst remaining actively involved in software development.

The Opportunity

This role offers the opportunity to influence the future direction of our digital platforms.

You will oversee our existing technology ecosystem whilst helping us evaluate and build future solutions, including bespoke software platforms, mobile applications and AI-powered services.

You will work directly with senior leadership and act as a trusted technical advisor to the business., Software Engineering

• Design, develop and maintain high-quality software solutions across web and mobile platforms.
• Build and support enterprise-grade WordPress and WooCommerce environments.
• Evaluate and recommend when custom software solutions should be developed in place of existing platforms.
• Develop scalable APIs and backend services.
• Deliver secure, performant and maintainable code.
• Participate in all stages of the software development lifecycle.
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex production issues.
• Ensure all solutions are designed with scalability and future growth in mind.

Technical Leadership

• Provide technical leadership across the organisation.
• Mentor and support developers, contractors and external agencies.
• Conduct code reviews and ensure adherence to development standards.
• Define software engineering best practices and governance.
• Assist with the recruitment and development of future technical team members.
• Translate business requirements into technical solutions.
• Communicate technical concepts effectively to non-technical stakeholders.
• Influence the company’s long-term technology roadmap.

WordPress & E-Commerce

• Develop and maintain complex WordPress and WooCommerce implementations.
• Build custom plugins and themes where required.
• Optimise existing WordPress environments for performance, security and scalability.
• Manage integrations with third-party systems and APIs.
• Diagnose and resolve plugin conflicts and technical issues.
• Ensure e-commerce platforms provide an excellent customer experience.

Mobile Application Development

• Lead the design and development of mobile applications.
• Define mobile architecture and development approaches.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to develop new app features and products.
• Oversee mobile deployment processes for Apple App Store and Google Play.
• Ensure mobile solutions meet security, accessibility and performance standards.
• Drive innovation through mobile technology initiatives.

DevOps & Infrastructure

• Manage deployment pipelines and release processes.
• Develop and maintain CI/CD workflows.
• Oversee Linux-based environments.
• Implement containerisation solutions where appropriate.
• Design resilient, scalable infrastructure.
• Monitor production environments and proactively address risks.
• Maintain disaster recovery and backup procedures.
• Support infrastructure automation initiatives.

Cloudflare Management

The successful candidate will have experience working with Cloudflare technologies, including:

• DNS management.
• SSL/TLS configuration.
• Web Application Firewall (WAF).
• Bot Management.
• Rate Limiting.
• Cache Rules.
• Origin protection.
• Analytics and performance monitoring.
• Zero Trust solutions.
• DDoS mitigation strategies.
• Cloudflare Workers and Pages (desirable).

Networking & Infrastructure

• Support and advise on networking-related matters.
• Troubleshoot connectivity issues across environments.
• Maintain knowledge of networking principles and security best practices.
• Assist with VPN configurations and secure access solutions.
• Understand reverse proxies and traffic routing concepts.
• Support firewall and access control initiatives.

Cybersecurity

• Promote a security-first approach to software engineering.
• Ensure adherence to secure coding practices.
• Conduct vulnerability reviews and risk assessments.
• Implement measures to protect sensitive business and patient data.
• Support compliance with relevant regulatory obligations.
• Monitor emerging threats and recommend improvements to security posture.

Artificial Intelligence & Innovation

The Family Chemist embraces emerging technologies and actively utilises AI tools to improve productivity and enhance customer experiences.

You will be expected to:

• Champion the responsible use of AI technologies.
• Integrate AI capabilities into products and business processes where appropriate.
• Support teams using technologies such as OpenAI and Claude.
• Evaluate new AI tools and frameworks.
• Develop internal automations to improve efficiency.
• Identify opportunities to leverage AI for customer-facing services.
• Ensure appropriate governance and oversight of AI-assisted development.

Do you have experience in WordPress?, * Minimum 7 years’ commercial software development experience.

• Strong full stack development experience.
• Advanced PHP skills.
• Extensive WordPress and WooCommerce experience.
• Strong JavaScript knowledge.
• Experience working with APIs and third-party integrations.
• Proficiency with MySQL or MariaDB.
• Experience with Git and version control workflows.
• Experience designing scalable software architectures.

Front-End Technologies

• HTML5.
• CSS3.
• JavaScript (ES6+).
• TypeScript.
• Responsive design principles.
• Performance optimisation techniques.
• Understanding of accessibility standards.

Back-End Technologies

Experience with one or more of the following:

• PHP.
• Laravel.
• Node.js.
• REST APIs.
• Authentication and authorisation frameworks.
• Queue-based processing systems.

Mobile Technologies

Experience with one or more of:

• React Native.
• Flutter.
• Swift.
• Kotlin.
• Progressive Web Applications (PWAs).

DevOps Technologies

Experience with:

• Linux environments.
• Docker.
• CI/CD pipelines.
• Monitoring and logging solutions.
• Backup and disaster recovery planning.
• Infrastructure optimisation., * WAF.
• DNS management.
• SSL/TLS.
• Zero Trust.
• Rate Limiting.
• Bot Management.
• Caching strategies.

Networking Knowledge

Understanding of:

• DNS.
• TCP/IP.
• VPNs.
• Firewalls.
• Reverse proxies.
• SSL certificates.
• Routing principles.

AI Experience

Experience using or integrating:

• OpenAI technologies.
• Claude by Anthropic.
• AI-assisted development tools.
• Workflow automation technologies.

Desirable Experience

• Healthcare or regulated industry experience.
• High-volume e-commerce environments.
• Headless CMS architectures.
• Kubernetes.
• Redis.
• Elasticsearch.
• Infrastructure as Code.
• Cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure or Google Cloud.
• Figma and product design collaboration., * Takes ownership and accountability.
• Is commercially aware and solution-focused.
• Enjoys mentoring others.
• Thrives in a fast-paced environment.
• Has exceptional problem-solving skills.
• Is naturally curious and embraces innovation.
• Maintains high standards and attention to detail.
• Communicates effectively with both technical and non-technical audiences., * Web development: 5 years (required)

Pulled from the full job description

• Employee discount
• Free parking
• Company pension
• Private medical insurance
• Casual dress
• Health & wellbeing programme
• Cycle to work scheme, * Casual dress
• Company events
• Company pension
• Cycle to work scheme
• Employee discount
• Free flu jabs
• Free parking
• Health & wellbeing programme
• On-site parking
• Private medical insurance