Tech Lead

ABOUT THE ROLE Lead a small backend engineering team at a B2B communications software company, balancing hands-on technical work with people leadership. You will shape a product area's technical direction and help the team deliver reliable, customer-focused solutions. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Spend about half your time on architecture, development, code reviews, and key technical projects. - Lead a team of 3 to 4 engineers, supporting its effectiveness, technical quality, and delivery. - Partner with Product to understand customer problems, shape solutions, scope work, and set priorities. - Set technical direction while enabling engineers to own decisions and develop their judgment. - Hold regular 1:1s, provide actionable feedback, and support team members' development. - Remove blockers, manage dependencies, and identify delivery risks early. - Improve engineering practices and explore useful applications of AI across the software development lifecycle. - Support hiring with technical interviews, structured feedback, and candidate conversations. WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR - At least 3 years of Senior or Staff Engineer experience, with recent hands-on backend engineering work. - A backend engineering background and substantial experience with Java or another JVM language; Kotlin is a plus. - Experience leading engineers or technical projects, including architecture decisions and delivery for production systems. - A balance of hands-on software development and people leadership, with experience managing a small team. - Strong communication, product judgment, and a track record of pragmatic delivery; startup experience is helpful. - Experience with AWS and AI-assisted development is beneficial. - Fluent English and authorization to work in Germany without visa sponsorship. COMPENSATION & BENEFITS Salary and equity are offered. Visa sponsorship is not available. LOCATION Hybrid role based in Berlin, Germany, with in-office work 3 days per week.