Job Summary:

We are seeking an experienced Team Lead to own technical quality and lead our development team. This is a player-coach role – you will spend approximately 40-50% of your time as an individual contributor (coding, architecture, code reviews) while dedicating the remainder to technical leadership, mentoring, and team coordination.

You will lead a team of three developers (with potential to expand), establish engineering best practices, and drive technical decisions for our product suite including ERP systems, case management platforms, and AI-powered legal assistance tools.

Key Responsibilities:

Technical Leadership (50-60%)

• Own system architecture and technical design decisions across all products

• Lead architectural reviews and ensure scalable, maintainable code patterns

• Establish and enforce coding standards, code review processes, and engineering best practices

• Drive AI-first development approaches – evaluate and integrate LLMs, embeddings, and ML capabilities

• Conduct code reviews and provide constructive feedback to improve team capabilities

• Make build vs. buy decisions and evaluate third-party tools and frameworks

Hands-On Development (40-50%)

• Write production code for complex features and critical system components

• Implement clean architecture patterns and demonstrate best practices through code

• Build and maintain AI/ML integrations (RAG pipelines, chatbot backends, voice AI)

• Debug complex production issues and lead incident response

• Prototype new features and proof-of-concepts for stakeholder validation

Team Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of 3+ developers

• Conduct regular 1:1s, provide career guidance, and support professional growth

• Collaborate with PM on sprint planning, estimation, and capacity management

• Remove technical blockers and ensure team velocity remains predictable

• Foster a culture of ownership, continuous improvement, and technical excellence

Required Qualifications:

Experience

• 5+ years of software development experience with at least 2 years in a technical lead or senior developer role

• Proven experience leading and mentoring development teams (3+ direct reports)

• Track record of architecting and delivering production systems at scale

• Experience with code review processes and establishing engineering standards

Technical Skills

• Strong proficiency in Python (primary) – FastAPI, Django, or similar frameworks

• Working knowledge of PHP/Laravel (secondary) – our existing systems use this stack

• Frontend experience with React/JavaScript

• Expertise in clean architecture, SOLID principles, and design patterns

• Database design and optimization (PostgreSQL, MySQL)

• API design (REST, GraphQL) and system integration

• Git workflows, CI/CD pipelines, and DevOps fundamentals

AI-First Mindset (Essential)

• Hands-on experience with LLM APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, or similar)

• Understanding of RAG architectures, embeddings, and vector databases

• Ability to evaluate AI capabilities and integrate them pragmatically into products

• Curiosity and enthusiasm for applying AI to solve real-world problems

Good to Have:

• Experience with ERP systems or case management platforms

• Data engineering awareness – ETL, data warehousing, BI infrastructure

• Voice AI and conversational interface experience

• Cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP) and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes)

• Experience in non-profit, social impact, or legal tech sectors

What We Offer

• Opportunity to build technology that directly impacts millions of vulnerable Pakistanis

• Leadership role in a growing, mission-driven organization

• Work with cutting-edge AI technologies (OpenAI partnership, voice AI)

• Competitive salary commensurate with experience

• Flexible hybrid working arrangement

• Professional development and learning opportunities

EEO & Non-Discrimination Statement:

Integrated into our shared values is LAS’s commitment to diversity and equal employment opportunity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment regardless of sex, age, race, colour, creed, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristics or conduct protected by law. LAS is committed to being an inclusive organization where all people are treated fairly, recognized for their individuality, promoted based on performance and encouraged to strive to reach their full potential. We believe in understanding and respecting differences among all people. Every individual at LAS has an ongoing responsibility to respect and support a diverse environment.

Safeguarding & PSEA Commitment:

Legal Aid Society (LAS) is committed to the prevention and protection from all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA). LAS explicitly prohibits its

staff, associates, partners, consultants, or any other representatives associated with the delivery of its work from:

• Engaging in any form of sexual exploitation or abuse;
• Sexual activity with children (persons below the age of (18) irrespective of a mistaken belief of the age of the child which shall not amount to a defense);
• Exchange of money, employment, goods or services for sex, including sexual favors or other forms of humiliating, degrading or exploitative behavior, is prohibited. This includes any exchange of assistance that is due to beneficiaries of assistance;
• Sexual relationships between LAS staff and beneficiaries of assistance, since they are based on inherently unequal power dynamics, undermine the credibility and integrity of the work of LAS and are strongly discouraged.