Technical Lead - Creative Design Software (C++ / Qt) | Remote-First | £95k + Bonus

Looking for a genuinely interesting technical lead role that blends strong hands-on C++ work with real influence over architecture, delivery, and team culture?

We're supporting a creative software company (well-established, but fresh off a merger) that's looking for someone to step in and lead a highly capable but currently leaderless dev team. The tools you'll be building are used worldwide by designers in fashion, textiles, interiors, and more — helping creatives bring their ideas to life in this technical lead role.

What's the role all about?

As a technical lead you'll be leading a cross-functional dev team (currently 4 strong devs across the US and Romania) building desktop creative tools in C++ and Qt, used on both Mac and Windows. You will provide technical direction, introduce best practices, and guide delivery for this team.

It's a 50/50 split between hands-on coding and leadership. You won't be a glorified project manager — you'll still be in the code, but also shaping how the team works, modern architecture, and helping senior devs adopt better habits.

The Tech Stack

* C++ (core language) — you'll need solid experience here

* Qt — cross-platform development on Mac and Windows

* MFC — legacy knowledge (not essential, but useful)

* CI/CD — they use Azure DevOps, but open to other tooling

* Adobe plugin experience (Illustrator/Photoshop) is a nice-to-have

What they're really looking for

* C++ background - ideally 5+ years in modern C++

* Qt experience previously

* 2+ years leading teams - not just mentoring, but leading (setting direction, coaching, challenging)

* Agile mindset - knows how to shift teams towards better practices (unit testing, clean code, structured delivery)

* Collaborative leadership - someone who can help develop those around them

* Based in the UK - this helps bridge the US/Romania time zones, but flexibility is built-in

The culture (and why people love working here)

* Remote-first, with flexible hours — allows for flexibility

* Your output matters more than your login time — one of the leads balances work around the school run

* Global team, but mindful of time zones — they avoid meetings outside of reasonable hours

* It's a grown-up environment — “treat people like adults and they'll act like it” is the philosophy

Interested?

Drop me a message and I'll send over the full brief. Happy to have a no-pressure chat if you're curious — especially if you've helped modernise a team before and want to do it again in a supportive, forward-thinking environment