ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY Join a leading technology company in the gaming industry as a Software Engineering Team Lead and take ownership of both technical excellence and people leadership.
This position offers the opportunity to lead and mentor a talented team of software engineers while contributing hands-on to the development of high-quality, high-traffic backend systems .
Enjoy 100% remote work from anywhere in Portugal.
This role uniquely combines technical expertise with people management - you'll not only provide architectural guidance and code reviews but also conduct 1:1s, set team objectives, manage performance evaluations, and foster a collaborative, high-performance work environment.
You'll be responsible for overseeing project execution from planning through delivery, ensuring engineering best practices are followed while actively developing the skills and careers of your team members.
The position is ideal for experienced senior engineers (with proven technical track record) who are ready to step into formal leadership, or existing tech leads looking to deepen their people management capabilities.
You'll work with a modern backend stack centered on .
NET Core, microservices, and event-driven architecture, solving complex technical challenges while building a strong engineering culture that values quality, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
PROJECT CONTEXT You'll be leading a team of software engineers developing high-volume backend systems built on a modern, distributed architecture using .
NET Core and microservices patterns .
The technical environment emphasizes both synchronous communication through REST APIs and asynchronous communication using RabbitMQ for event-driven workflows, requiring sophisticated understanding of distributed systems, eventual consistency, and system reliability at scale.
Your team will work on projects that power customer-facing applications serving millions of users, with backend services deployed on OpenShift (Kubernetes-based platform) and data persistence managed through Microsoft SQL Server .
The architecture demands careful consideration of scalability, performance, and maintainability - you'll contribute directly to architectural decisions while ensuring your team implements solutions that meet these high standards.
As Software Engineering Team Lead, your responsibilities span multiple dimensions.
On the technical side, you'll provide guidance, conduct thorough code reviews, contribute to system design and architecture, assist with complex problem-solving and troubleshooting, and ensure code quality through established standards and documentation practices.
You'll also drive process improvement, continuously evaluating and enhancing development processes, tools, and methodologies to boost team productivity.
On the people leadership side, you'll conduct regular 1:1 meetings with team members, define individual and team objectives aligned with organizational goals, perform performance evaluations, mentor engineers for skill development and career growth, and create an environment where your team can do their best work.
You'll manage project timelines, priorities, and resources to ensure on-time, on-budget delivery while identifying and mitigating risks proactively.
The role requires extensive collaboration with cross-functional teams including Product Managers, Designers, and QA to ensure alignment on project goals and requirements.
You'll be the bridge between technical implementation and business objectives, communicating effectively with different stakeholders at various levels.
Working within Agile methodologies, you'll facilitate team ceremonies, sprint planning, and retrospectives while maintaining focus on continuous delivery of value.
Core Tech Stack: .
NET Core, C#, Microservices Architecture, REST APIs Messaging Events: RabbitMQ for asynchronous, event-driven communication Data Storage: Microsoft SQL Server Platform: OpenShift (Kubernetes-based) for container orchestration Architecture Patterns: Microservices, sync/async communication, event-driven design Methodologies: Agile/Scrum, continuous delivery, engineering best practices WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR (Required) Software Engineering Experience: Proven track record as a software engineer with successful delivery of production-level software projects .
NET Expertise: Strong technical expertise in .
NET Core and C# with deep understanding of framework capabilities and modern development practices Microservices Architecture: Solid hands-on experience with microservices architecture - service design, boundaries, communication patterns, and distributed systems challenges Synchronous Asynchronous Communication: Experience implementing both REST APIs for synchronous communication and message broker patterns for asynchronous workflows Event-Driven Architecture: Strong background in event-driven architecture with understanding of messaging patterns, eventual consistency, and system resilience Testing Quality: Proven experience with comprehensive testing practices (unit, integration, e2e) and code review processes to maintain quality standards People Leadership: Demonstrated leadership experience guiding and motivating engineering teams, with ability to inspire and foster collaboration 1:1s Performance Management: Hands-on experience conducting regular 1:1 meetings, setting objectives, and performing performance evaluations for team members Team Delivery: Track record of delivering features collaboratively within team environments, managing dependencies and coordinating efforts Systems Analysis Architecture: Background in systems analysis and software architecture, with ability to contribute to architectural decisions considering scalability and maintainability Project Management: Experience managing project timelines, priorities, and resources to ensure on-time delivery within budget constraints Problem-Solving: Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills for complex technical challenges and architectural decisions Cross-Functional Collaboration: Proven ability to collaborate effectively with Product Managers, Designers, and QA teams, ensuring alignment on goals and requirements Stakeholder Communication: Excellent communication skills for engaging with different stakeholders - from engineers to executives - adapting communication style appropriately Agile Methodologies: Familiarity with Agile/Scrum methodologies with active participation in ceremonies and iterative delivery practices Mentoring Coaching: Genuine passion for mentoring team members, promoting skill development and career growth Process Improvement: Drive to continuously evaluate and improve development processes, tools, and methodologies for enhanced team productivity Risk Management: Ability to identify and mitigate project risks proactively, addressing challenges and bottlenecks before they impact delivery Design Patterns: Knowledge of software design patterns, architectural styles, and when to apply different approaches Version Control: Experience with version control systems (Git) including branching strategies, code review workflows, and collaboration practices Organizational Skills: Strong organizational abilities to manage multiple projects simultaneously while maintaining quality and meeting deadlines Code Quality Standards: Ability to set and enforce coding standards, ensuring code quality, maintainability, and proper documentation Language: B2+ English level (Upper Intermediate minimum) for team communication, stakeholder meetings, and documentation Location: Based in Portugal with availability for fully remote work NICE TO HAVE (Preferred) Advanced .
NET: Deep expertise with latest .
NET 6/7/8 features, minimal APIs, performance optimization, and memory management RabbitMQ Advanced: In-depth knowledge of RabbitMQ advanced patterns - routing, exchanges, dead letter queues, high availability configurations, and message durability OpenShift/Kubernetes: Hands-on experience with OpenShift or Kubernetes for deploying, scaling, and managing containerized microservices SQL Server Advanced: Advanced SQL Server skills - query optimization, indexing strategies, performance tuning, high availability (Always On, clustering) Multiple Message Brokers: Experience beyond RabbitMQ - Kafka, Azure Service Bus, or other enterprise message brokers Cloud Platforms: Experience with cloud services (Azure, AWS, GCP) and cloud-native development patterns CI/CD Expertise: Advanced knowledge of CI/CD pipelines (GitLab CI/CD, Azure DevOps, Jenkins) and deployment automation Containerization: Deep Docker knowledge and container optimization techniques Service Mesh: Understanding of service mesh technologies (Istio, Linkerd) for microservices communication Observability: Experience implementing comprehensive monitoring, logging, and distributed tracing (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK, Jaeger) API Gateway Patterns: Understanding of API gateway patterns, rate limiting, and request routing Database Alternatives: Experience with NoSQL databases (MongoDB, Redis, Cassandra) for appropriate use cases Resilience Patterns: Implementation of resilience patterns - circuit breakers, retry policies, bulkheads (Polly library) Domain-Driven Design: Application of DDD principles in complex business domains CQRS Event Sourcing: Understanding of CQRS and event sourcing patterns for scalable systems Security Practices: Deep understanding of application security, authentication/authorization (OAuth, OIDC), and secure coding practices Performance Engineering: Expertise in performance profiling, load testing, and capacity planning for high-traffic systems Gaming Industry: Previous experience in gaming, betting, or high-transaction real-time systems Team Scaling: Experience scaling engineering teams and establishing processes during growth phases Agile Leadership: Experience facilitating agile ceremonies, sprint planning, and retrospectives as a team lead Conflict Resolution: Skills in managing team conflicts and difficult conversations constructively Technical Hiring: Participation in recruitment processes, technical interviews, and candidate assessment Budget Management: Experience managing team budgets and resource allocation Technical Writing: Strong documentation skills for architectural decision records (ADRs), technical specifications, and team knowledge bases Coaching Certifications: Formal training in leadership, coaching, or people management (advantageous) Location: Portugal (100% Remote)