Lead Software Engineer

Lead Python Engineer | Up to £110k | 3 days a week in London

We've partnered with a well-established, data-driven insurance business to find a Technical Lead who's just as happy reviewing a pull request as setting technical direction for a team.

Our client operates in a specialist, fast-evolving corner of the insurance market, using technology and data science to modernise how risk is assessed and underwritten. This is a genuinely global business with real scale, but one that still moves with pace and autonomy.

This is a rare hybrid role, real leadership impact, without stepping away from the code. You'll formally lead and line-manage a small team of engineers, sprint planning, code reviews, mentoring, and technical direction, while staying genuinely hands-on in the codebase. You'll help shape how the platform is designed and scaled, and be trusted to make the calls on architecture, quality, and delivery.

Tech stack:

Languages: Python (FastAPI), SQL

Databases: PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Databricks (open to Snowflake)

Cloud & Infra: Azure (Container Apps, Service Bus, Key Vault), Terraform, Azure DevOps

Tooling: Git, bash/zsh, vim (or similar CLI-first workflow)

CI/CD & automation: Building and maturing pipelines, automated testing, and deployment tooling

Practices: Code review, testing culture, technical debt management, DevEx improvement

What you'll be doing:

Providing hands-on technical leadership across the full lifecycle — from concept to production

Formally leading and mentoring a team of engineers, building a high-performing, collaborative culture

Tackling technical debt, managing risk, and driving continuous improvement in tooling, automation, and CI/CD

Writing and optimising complex SQL across Postgres, SQL Server, and Databricks

Setting the standard for clean code, strong testing, and engineering craft

Lead Python Engineer | Up to £110k | 3 days a week in London