Technical Lead

Who we areForty Eight Point One is a brand-first digital agency based in Shoreditch, London. The name comes from the 48.1% who voted to remain. A belief that a global outlook beats an island mentality, and that when different worlds meet, the best work gets made. Some studios build brand worlds. Some build digital worlds. We work in the seam between the two: brand built with the digital world in mind, digital built with the brand at heart. Strategy, design, language and technology treated as one system, pointed at our clients’ most critical commercial ambitions. We work with founder-led brands with substance, soul and vision. Dishoom, Gozney, Hakkasan, GymBox, Burger & Lobster, Franco Manca, MOMA Foods and Mr Lyan among them.About the roleThe digital side of our studio is growing. Bigger builds, more ambitious platforms, more projects running concurrently for global brands including Dishoom, Gozney, Hakkasan and MOMA Foods.Until now, that leadership has lived solely with our CTO. Translating client direction into buildable instructions, unblocking developers, making the architectural and data modelling calls and being the technical voice in client and internal meetings. That role has now grown into a full-time job in its own right. And that’s where you come in. We’re looking for a Tech Lead to own the day-to-day technical leadership of our engineering team, working alongside a CTO who’s focused on strategy, architecture sign-off and where the studio goes next. This is a hands-on leadership role. You’ll be close to the code, close to the team, and close to the client-facing technical conversations. Real ownership across all of it, with a strong technical partner above you.What you’ll ownTechnical translation and direction• Turn client and strategic direction from the CTO and MD into clear, buildable instructions for the dev team• Own the day-to-day technical direction on active projects. The CTO signs off architecture at kickoff; you own how it’s applied and how it evolves as projects runTeam support and problem-solving• Be the first person developers come to when they hit a technical problem• Support the UX and design team on design-for-development questions and feasibility• Brief developers on new features and scope changes• Own data modelling decisions on live projects• Run the daily stand-ups, keeping the team aligned, unblocked and movingClient and internal communication• Present and explain technical solutions in project meetings, to the team and to clients• Run digital discovery calls with prospective clients• Join workshops as the technical subject matter expert on standard engagementsDesign and UX partnership• Partner directly with senior design and UX on design-for-development, asset prep and general UX sense-checkingArchitecture and quality• Prepare architectural recommendations for CTO sign-off at project start• Review architecture on live projects day to day, not just at kickoff• Act as the escalation point for firefighting issues developers can’t resolve first-line, before they reach the CTO• Review and approve pull requests, keeping the bar high and the feedback constructive• Own code consistency and standards across the studioWhat success looks like• The CTO is no longer the default translator between client direction and the dev team• Developers have a clear, consistently available technical escalation point that isn’t the CTO• Technical solutions are explained clearly and confidently to clients without the CTO in the room• Architectural quality holds steady across live projects, not just at kickoff• The design-to-dev handoff runs smoothly with minimal CTO involvementAbout you• Strong hands-on experience building web applications. You can credibly review architecture and data models yourself, rather than only managing people who do• Comfortable in front of clients: explaining technical decisions, running discovery calls, joining sales conversations when technical trust matters• Experience working closely with design and UX teams, ideally in an agency or studio environment• Naturally the person developers go to when they’re stuck. Patient, clear and hands-on rather than purely directive• Able to operate with real autonomy. You’ll be trusted to make day-to-day technical calls without CTO sign-off on everything• Comfortable with ambiguity and switching between technical depth and client-facing conversations. Though this role is specifically designed to make that switching sustainable, rather than constantNice to have• Previous experience as a Tech Lead, Lead Developer or similar in an agency or studio setting• Experience mentoring or upskilling developers informally, even without a formal manager titleWhy this role existsThis is a newly created role, born from growth. The scale and ambition of our digital work has reached the point where it deserves two kinds of technical leadership. A CTO focused on strategy, architecture and R&D, and a Tech Lead running the day-to-day with real ownership. You’ll be taking on the second of those properly, as a leader in your own right, with the trust and autonomy to match.The practical bitsThe salary above is base only. If you’re good but sitting outside the bracket, talk to us anyway. If you’re the person developers already come to, the one who can explain a data model to a client without losing them, we’d love to hear from you.How to ApplyPlease send your portfolio and a short introduction to careers@fortyeight.one, along with your availability and confirmation that you would be able to start immediately.