Engineering Lead - HCM (East Coast, Remote)

About IRIS

IRIS Software Group is one of the UK's largest privately held software companies, trusted by 100,000+ businesses, schools and accountancy firms to keep their operations running. Our software pays 1 in 6 UK employees, supports over 12,000 schools, and is relied on by 91 of the top 100 UK accountancy firms.

We're a Great Place to Work® certified employer, recognised for our commitment to well-being, inclusion and development - and we're growing fast.

About this role

We are looking to hire an Engineering lead for our HCM product. This is a hybrid leadership role that combines technical leadership, agile delivery ownership and people-management. You will lead an autonomous engineering team building modern full stack web applications using the latest UI frameworks, .NET core backends and cloud-native technologies.across multiple jurisdictions.

Responsibilities

Delivery Management

Scope, prioritise, and deliver against quarterly OKRs, weighing statutory/tax-year deadlines against the feature roadmap

Drive predictability and quality through agile practice and continuous improvement

Own stakeholder communication on progress, risk, and dependencies - including any risk to statutory deadlines

Balance workload, staffing, and hiring to sustain delivery while planning for growth

Technical Leadership & Contribution

Own architecture for high-volume, time-critical pay-run processing - correctness, idempotency, and full audit trail on every calculation

Guide integration architecture with tax engines, ACH/e-filing, and third-party HCM/benefits providers

Set data governance and security standards for employee PII, compensation, and banking data (SOC 2, GDPR/CCPA)

Translate payroll and tax legislation changes into engineering requirements with Compliance and Legal

Drive quality culture - TDD/BDD, testing standards, code review - with extra rigour on calculation logic

Set responsible-AI standards for the team and delegate execution while holding technical accountability

People Management

Line manage, coach, and run career development and performance reviews for direct reports

Build an inclusive team environment, removing blockers and resourcing for success

Requirements

Technical Skills

Frontend Strategy: Strategic understanding of modern UI frameworks (e.g. Angular, React, Vue.js, Blazor)

Backend Leadership: Strong understanding of .NET Core, C#, ASP.NET Core Web APIs, REST, application architectures, and distributed systems

Data Architecture: Strategic knowledge of SQL, NoSQL and data architecture decisions

AI-Assisted Software Engineering: Experience with integrating AI tools (Cursor, Copilot, Devin, Claude Code, etc.) in engineering practices to accelerate design, development, testing and debugging. Using them critically and responsibly to improve quality, productivity and decision-making.

Experience

6+ years in software engineering, with 1+ year formal people management or 2+ years technical leadership

Track record delivering complex Agile projects, ideally in a regulated or compliance-driven domain

Experience establishing code review standards and balancing technical excellence against delivery and statutory deadlines

Desirable - Direct experience in payroll, HCM, HRIS, or benefits administration software

Desirable - Multi-jurisdiction payroll/tax familiarity (UK PAYE, US federal/state/local, or equivalent)

Location

Remote (US) - this role requires East Coast location and Eastern Time working hours.

Why You’ll Love Working Here

Impact: Your work will influence millions globally.

Growth: Continuous learning and career development opportunities.

Belonging: A culture that celebrates diversity and empowers every individual.

Ready to Apply?

Click Apply - we’re excited to learn about your unique perspective and experience. If you need adjustments during the process, let us know. We’re committed to making this opportunity accessible to everyone.

What to expect from our hiring process

Our process is designed to be fair, transparent and straightforward. Stages vary depending on the role — more senior positions may involve additional steps, and some areas include role-specific assessments such as a technical test or case study — but typically you can expect:

Application review — we assess your experience and potential

Initial call — a short conversation to learn about you and share more about the role

Skills assessment — tailored to the position, e.g. case study, coding challenge or portfolio review

Final interview — meet the team and explore how you'll make an IMPACT at IRIS

We'll always walk you through the specific stages at the start of the process so you can prepare with confidence.

If you need any adjustments or accommodations during the process, let us know, we’re committed to making this experience accessible for everyone.