Lead Python Developer in Manchester

Hippo is recruiting Lead Python Developers to join our Hippo Herd. Lead Python Developers work in multi-disciplinary teams that build, support & maintain User-Centred digital solutions that offer real value and work for everyone. Hippo’s Lead Python Developers are experts in their field. You will act as a lead consultant providing technical expertise in software engineering practices both internally and to our clients. You will be a leader of people and teams, managing projects, driving the team's technical deliverables, maintaining client relationships and be passionate about developing and upskilling others.

Our solutions empower our customers to build and support secure, scalable, and well-engineered systems beyond traditional boundaries. We leverage deep data insights and continuous innovation to deliver awesome platforms that allow our customers to understand and get the most from their data and digital services. The Lead Python Developer will be a key player and implementer in this mission.

Your role in a nutshell:

• Act as a technical SME within the squad to produce and ensure user-centred software is developed based on business requirements and following best practice.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues to explore, design and deliver solutions to client problems.
• Design and manage software development and deployment pipelines resolving issues and potential bottlenecks before they occur.
• Continuously review and prioritise the delivery team's workload and can anticipate the need for realignment with evolving operational priorities and complex work-streams and assignments.
• Be a strong communicator and presenter, presenting prototypes, solutions and progress to internal/external stakeholders in a clear concise manner.
• Build great relationships with your team and stakeholders, identifying and ensuring that challenges are overcome.
• Involved in the recruitment, onboarding and line management of other engineers, and support other consultants in their professional development.
• Promote Hippo’s Engineering Herd externally (for example through writing Blogs, Workshops, Seminars or Conferences).

Skills and experience that you need:

• Leading a delivery team to deliver high quality, robust solutions.
• Coaching and guiding others on the best way to achieve an optimal solution.
• Excellent verbal/written communication skills, able to articulate in both technical/non-technical terms depending on audience.
• The full development lifecycle delivering user-centred digital solutions.
• A full stack developer using Python, HTML, CSS & JavaScript.
• JavaScript library and framework experience is preferable – Node, React, Angular.
• Containerisation experience – Docker or Kubernetes or similar.
• Experience of Microservices design and architecture.
• Restful API Services experience.
• Working within agile methods and using techniques such as Scrum, Kanban and TDD.
• Skilled in designing and building native and web applications, across a variety of scales and platform environments.
• Infrastructure As Code – Cloudformation, Terraform or ARM or similar.
• Expertise in public cloud (AWS or Azure) and DevOps.
• CI/CD tools such as Jenkins, AWS CodeBuild, Azure DevOps and Atlassian.
• Previous experience of working on GOV/NHS projects would be highly desirable.

What makes us great:

• Contributory pension scheme (Hippo 6% with employee contributions of 2%).
• 25 days holiday plus UK public holidays.
• Perkbox access for a wide range of discounts.
• Critical illness cover.
• Life assurance and death in service cover.
• Volunteer days.
• Cycle-to-work scheme for the avid cyclists.
• Salary sacrifice electric vehicles scheme.
• Season ticket loans.
• Financial and general wellbeing sessions.
• Flexible benefits scheme with options of private health cover, private dental cover, additional company pension contributions, additional holidays (up to an extra 2 days), wellbeing contribution, charity contributions, tree planting.

Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at Hippo:

At Hippo, we’re dedicated to creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace that works for everyone. We understand that having a diverse team unlocks our capacity for innovation, creativity and problem solving. Only by building a community of diverse perspectives, cultures and socio-economic backgrounds can we create an environment where all can contribute and thrive. We actively encourage applications from underrepresented groups including women, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+, neurodivergent and people with disabilities. We are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruitment process that reflects our workplace culture. We are a registered Disability Confident Employer, Mindful Employer, Endometriosis Friendly Employer and a member of the Armed Forces Covenant. Hippo continually strives to remove barriers, provide accommodations and offer reasonable adjustments to ensure equity throughout our practices.

Hippo locations:

We are headquartered in Leeds and have offices across the UK in Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, London and Bristol. We're on the lookout for top talent nationwide but you need to be located within reasonable travelling distance from one of our offices which will be your contracted office location. Given the dynamic nature of a consulting business, you may be required to work on-site at a Hippo office or at an in/out of town client location for a number of days per week (client dependent) and therefore candidates will need to be open/flexible to travel. Plus, we offer a generous relocation support package of up to £8k (please ask for terms and conditions) to help make your move a smooth one.