Platform Engineer in London

Platform Engineer in London

London Freelance 60000 - 80000 £ / year (est.) Home office (partial)
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At a Glance

  • Tasks: Build and maintain back-end systems and dashboards for our internal platform.
  • Company: Join Howard Financial, a tech-forward company revolutionising back-office solutions.
  • Benefits: Competitive pay, flexible work environment, and opportunities to grow your skills.
  • Other info: Collaborate directly with operators and founders in a dynamic, innovative setting.
  • Why this job: Tackle real engineering challenges and make a direct impact on our business.
  • Qualifications: Experience with AI tools, full-stack development, and RESTful APIs.

The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 £ per year.

Howard Financial is a full-service back-office solution for companies and entities with bookkeeping, payroll, and bespoke reporting needs that require accuracy, timeliness, and institutional-quality reporting without the burden of full-time staff. Founded in 2023, our team of more than 100 professionals supports clients across a diverse range of industries. We are tech-forward and focused on working smarter to better service our clients and deliver industry-leading solutions.

The Role

We are hiring a Platform Engineer on a contract basis to join the team building Howard's internal platform. You'll work alongside operators, leadership, and other engineers to ship the back-end systems, dashboards, and automations that run our business: practice management, internal reporting, team operations, and the connective tissue between them. We expect this role to be solutions-oriented and leverage the latest technology (Claude Code, etc.) to ship quickly.

What You'll Do

  • Internal Platform Development
    • Build and maintain the back-end services that power Howard's internal applications
    • Develop dashboards and operational tools used by leadership, controllers, and the broader team
    • Ensure performance and reliability across large datasets (thousands of records, recurring jobs, scheduled syncs)
    • Contribute to a centralized internal platform that consolidates workflows across teams
  • Internal Systems Integration
    • Build middleware and API integrations between Howard's internal systems
    • Replace manual workarounds and spreadsheet bridges with automated, event-driven data flows
    • Maintain a clean source of truth across the systems our team uses every day
  • Automated Workflow Development
    • Engineer event-triggered automations that move data and actions across our internal stack without human intervention
    • Build the backend logic that ties operational events to downstream effects across other internal systems
  • Data Normalization & Schema Mapping
    • Build migration and sync logic that handles inconsistent data and maps it into a standardized internal schema
    • Own the data engineering layer that makes our internal platforms speak to each other cleanly
  • Custom Auth & Permissions
    • Build authentication and authorization layers for internal tools, with granular permissioning so sensitive data is cordoned off by department, role, or user level
    • Use HRIS data (e.g., Rippling) as a schema to drive internal permissions and team-level views

Required Skills

  • Fluent using AI tools (Claude, Cursor, similar) as a core part of your workflow
  • Strong full-stack background with emphasis on backend and infrastructure
  • Deep experience with RESTful APIs and custom middleware development
  • Track record handling dirty data migrations and schema normalization
  • Comfortable with serverless and modern cloud architecture
  • Frontend competence (React/HTML/JS/CSS) sufficient to ship full features when needed

System Ecosystem (Fluency Expected)

  • You should be able to read API docs and reason about the data model for the kinds of platforms we operate on:
  • Practice management and workflow tools (Notion, internal task systems)
  • HRIS and identity platforms (Rippling and similar)
  • Database and serverless platforms (Supabase, Postgres, similar)

The Engineer Profile

  • Operational empathy. You can sit with a business process and translate it directly into automation logic
  • Ambiguity tolerance. Comfortable when the spec evolves based on what the business is learning
  • Lean middleware mindset. You build the right-sized pipe, not the cathedral

Why Howard

  • Real engineering problems with real business impact
  • Direct collaboration with operators and founders, no layers
  • A working environment where AI tooling is encouraged

Platform Engineer in London employer: Howard

Howard Financial is an exceptional employer that fosters a tech-forward work culture, encouraging innovation and collaboration among its team of over 100 professionals. As a Platform Engineer, you'll have the opportunity to tackle real engineering challenges with significant business impact while working directly with operators and founders in a supportive environment that values AI tooling and employee growth. Located in a dynamic industry, Howard offers a unique chance to contribute to meaningful projects that streamline operations and enhance client services.
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Contact Detail:

Howard Recruiting Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫

We think this is how you could land Platform Engineer in London

✨Tip Number 1

Network like a pro! Reach out to folks in your industry on LinkedIn or at meetups. A friendly chat can lead to opportunities that aren’t even advertised yet.

✨Tip Number 2

Show off your skills! Create a portfolio or GitHub repo showcasing your projects, especially those related to backend systems and automation. This gives potential employers a taste of what you can do.

✨Tip Number 3

Prepare for interviews by practising common technical questions and scenarios relevant to platform engineering. We recommend doing mock interviews with friends or using online platforms to get comfortable.

✨Tip Number 4

Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, we love seeing candidates who are proactive about their job search.

We think you need these skills to ace Platform Engineer in London

AI Tools Proficiency (Claude, Cursor)
Full-Stack Development
Backend Development
Infrastructure Management
RESTful API Development
Middleware Development
Data Migration
Schema Normalization
Serverless Architecture
Cloud Architecture
Frontend Development (React, HTML, JS, CSS)
Operational Empathy
Ambiguity Tolerance
Lean Middleware Mindset

Some tips for your application 🫡

Show Off Your Skills: When you're writing your application, make sure to highlight your experience with backend systems and APIs. We want to see how you've tackled similar challenges in the past, so don’t hold back on those details!

Tailor Your Application: Make your application stand out by tailoring it to our job description. Use the same language we do and connect your skills directly to what we're looking for in a Platform Engineer. It shows us you really get what we're about!

Be Solutions-Oriented: We love candidates who think like problem solvers! In your application, share examples of how you've approached complex issues and delivered effective solutions. This will resonate well with our focus on building efficient internal platforms.

Apply Through Our Website: Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way for us to keep track of your application and ensures you’re considered for the role. Plus, it gives you a chance to explore more about Howard Financial while you’re at it!

How to prepare for a job interview at Howard

✨Know Your Tech Stack

Make sure you’re well-versed in the technologies mentioned in the job description, especially AI tools like Claude and Cursor. Brush up on your full-stack knowledge, particularly backend systems and RESTful APIs, as these will be crucial in your role.

✨Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills

Prepare to discuss specific examples where you've tackled real engineering problems. Think about how you've handled dirty data migrations or built middleware solutions in the past. This will demonstrate your operational empathy and ability to translate business processes into automation.

✨Understand Howard's Business Model

Familiarise yourself with Howard Financial’s services and how they operate. Knowing their back-office solutions and the importance of accuracy and timeliness will help you align your answers with their business needs during the interview.

✨Be Ready for Ambiguity

Expect questions that assess your comfort with evolving specifications. Share experiences where you adapted to changes in project requirements and how you maintained productivity despite ambiguity. This will show that you can thrive in a dynamic environment.

Platform Engineer in London
Howard
Location: London

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