Lead Developer (Javascript SaaS)

Urban Intelligence is looking for an experienced Lead Developer who will improve and build on an advanced user centred design-led MVP that is being widely adopted by high profile enterprise clients in the property sector and government.

If you have experience taking an advanced MVP and successfully scaling it to the next level, if you are excited to roll up your sleeves and take ownership of the product and make it amazing, and if you are passionate about solving the Housing Crisis and building better public services through the smarter use of data, this job is for you.

Who are we?

Urban Intelligence is a Proptech / Tech-for-good business with a passion to create innovative tech solutions to meet the town planning needs of communities in a socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable way. Our award-winning, innovative software and services are used by leading organisations in the public and private sectors including Transport for London, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), and a growing number of Local Planning Authorities nationwide from Cornwall to Newcastle. We also work closely with charity organisations such as Crisis UK to bring our expertise to wider social issues.

Our vision is to harness data and the power of technology to understand communities and plan for a better world. This is a rare opportunity to take a leading role in the generational change of planning, helping to implement exciting solutions to help meet the Government’s emerging planning reform agenda. Our team has grown the business from startup to profitable company over the last few years and we are looking for talented people to join us in tackling the new challenges as we continue to scale.

What you’ll be doing

Urban Intelligence is a technology business with a focus on digitising the planning system. We’ve developed several first-of-a-kind solutions that have received wide acclaim across the sector. We’re keen to attract progressive individuals that want to push the boundaries of the current system even further. Our clients include leading local authorities across the country including Birmingham City Council, Cornwall Council and Newcastle City Council. Other public sector bodies include Transport for London and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

As the Lead Developer, you will be responsible for our unique platform’s architecture and development, together with the team’s other technical staff - including our Lead Data Scientist and Lead Product Designer. You will be actively involved in helping us to develop on our existing multi-award winning software product - PlaceMaker. You will work closely with the company’s highly talented and close-knit team, be at the forefront of an industry-wide digital revolution, and use your technical skills to help us extend our product's capabilities further than before. The role will involve problem-solving on all levels, from project management to writing code.

We are proud to work with a high-quality and responsive outsourced development team based in Ukraine with whom we have an excellent relationship. Initially you will act as the key point of contact with the offshore team, but you will have the opportunity to shape our options for development approaches going forward, based on the Company's technical requirements, sensible resource management and sustainability.

This role will be hybrid based primarily in our Bristol office. You will be expected to be co-located and collaborate closely with other interdisciplinary colleagues several days per week. Our decision to make this role hybrid has been considered based on our ambition to grow our knowledge, capabilities and culture collectively as a team and we are keen to identify individuals that share that desire to work with other great people face-to-face.

You are a full-stack developer with 4+ years of commercial Backend application experience using Node.js. You have experience developing on top of Frontend frameworks using HTML/CSS/JS preferably using React.js.

More specifically, you must have a solid grasp of:

• Native or fluent level of English
• Proven experience in architecting or developing a SaaS product in the cloud
• Backend application development experience using Node.js with Express
• Frontend application development using HTML/CSS/Javascript || TypeScript, React and UI/UX
• Experience with PostgreSQL
• Developing RESTful APIs
• Experience with microservices or serverless architecture and their best practices
• Experience with Google Cloud Services including DevOps and Networking
• Knowledge of Docker
• Experience with Git workflows such as feature branching, pull requests, merging, and rebasing
• Familiarity with Git hosting services such as GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket
• Proven expert knowledge and skills in software engineering and industry best practices (e.g. clean code, CI/CD, TDD and BDD)
• Outstanding communication skills that deliver effectively to both tech and non-tech team members

It would be nice if you had:

• Experience in using a range of SQL databases
• Experience in developing data pipelines
• Experience with geospatial data and server integration
• Experience in DevOps
• Strong awareness of cyber security best practice
• Commercial savviness and experience to deeply engage with our business questions and provide advice on technical solutions
• An interest in property, economics, cities, society and/or the environment

We can offer:

You will play a key role in our growing team and design and develop our core technology. You will come to work every day driven by the mission to clear up the UK’s opaque and messy planning system and ensure that developments go to the most (economically, socially and environmentally) sustainable locations. You will take full advantage of the chance to build a first-of-its-kind solution to disrupt a massive, important industry that is only just waking up to the digital revolution. If you have a passion for problem-solving, you will never run out of interesting technical challenges here at Urban Intelligence.

In addition, we offer the following:

• Up to £80,000 salary (depending on experience)
• Future access to our Employee Share Options Plan
• Relocation package would be considered for the right candidate
• Modern office environment with top-notch equipment based on your needs
• Flexible working available
• Pension with 3% employer contribution
• 28 annual days holiday excluding bank holidays
• Annual personal training allowance for continued skills development
• A friendly, highly motivated and passionate team to collaborate with 
• Comprehensive private healthcare through Vitality
• Cycle to work / Electric Vehicle (EV) scheme

Candidates should note that the use of AI tools in the preparation of applications will lead to automatic disqualification unless you openly specify where they have been used. This is a direct hire, software development agencies or recruiters need not contact us in relation to this role and will be ignored.