Head Of Software Engineering in England

At Urban Jungle, we are making insurance fair - to people, planet and wallets. We are one of the fastest-growing businesses in the UK, working to fix one of the biggest industries in the world. We put customers at the heart of everything we do, using data and technology to make insurance simple, flexible, and affordable. We care about our impact on the planet, becoming a B Corp and offsetting our carbon emissions every year. So far, we have helped 300,000 customers get better insurance and become one of the top-rated home insurance providers in the UK. We placed 1st in Tempo's award for best startup to work for, and are in the top 10 of Deloitte's Fast 50. We have raised over £43m in funding to date to help us with our mission. We are looking for people to join our team of kind, talented people on a mission to change the insurance industry for good.

As a Head of Software Engineering at Urban Jungle, you will play a leading role in our 16 strong engineering team whilst collaborating across the business to ensure we continue to build products that delight our customers, working on everything from shipping new commercial partnerships to improving our claims experience, to building a world-class technology platform. You will hit the ground running, embedding with one of our existing teams so you can build key relationships across the business, get up to speed with our tech stack quickly, and start shipping valuable features within your first few weeks. We will start you off in areas where you have the most experience and then gradually give you exposure to the rest of our services to build out your expertise.

In this role, you will work closely with our Engineering Director, as well as getting lots of exposure to our senior leadership team - who have previously led some of the world’s fastest-growing businesses - as you play a pivotal role in achieving our company’s growth plans.

Here’s what you will get up to:

• You will be a key member of our engineering leadership group, working with them to develop our engineering strategy and refine our team-level approach.
• As part of this, you will be responsible for managing the day-to-day of a large team of engineers as well as overseeing some of our core processes and areas of our technology.
• You will collaborate with teams across the business to build real value and shape the future of the company - think product launches, partner integrations, and platform-wide improvements.
• You will play a key role in the delivery of our cross-functional projects; ensuring they run smoothly, and that we are consistently getting better at the way we deliver them.
• You will make the case for prioritising work in the areas that you own and for making amendments to our strategy where you think appropriate, working with stakeholders across the business to ensure you can have maximum impact.
• You will be responsible for managing multiple direct reports and will play an increasingly large role in mentoring newer managers as they make the transition into line management.
• Of course, as a startup we will also expect you to roll your sleeves up and get involved wherever the company needs you.

Here’s what we’re looking for from you:

• At least 4 years of professional experience working as a software engineer with at least 2 years of leadership and management experience.
• You are fluent in and opinionated on one or more of: Front-End Javascript frameworks (we work with Angular), Python.
• You have experience with (or are at least excited to learn more about): Front-End/UX design and prototyping, Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, RabbitMQ, AWS, SQL.
• You will be confident using your technical expertise to influence key decisions about how we design, build, and grow our products and systems.
• You are comfortable working through ambiguous problems with a high degree of autonomy.
• You treat everyone with integrity, respect and kindness - whether it’s your colleagues, our customers, or our partners.

These requirements are a guide as to what we’re looking for, but if you don’t have all of the skills listed above, that’s okay. Please don’t let that hold you back from applying if the role excites you.

We are taking an office-centric approach to work (with lots of flexibility built-in) and the team is based in Oval, London. In addition to our positive, open working environment, you can expect the following benefits of working at Urban Jungle:

• A starting salary of between £75,000 - £100,000, and share options that can increase alongside performance and growth.
• 25 days paid annual leave, plus public holidays.
• Rapid Progression. We will give you the opportunity to experience loads, and develop rapidly. You will get tons of responsibility from day one, and all the feedback, coaching and support you need to fuel your career growth.
• Real Impact. You will work on big, interesting problems that will challenge you, and do so in a way that has a positive impact on people’s lives, the planet and our community.
• A Clear Plan. We will give you the clarity on what we want to achieve, with the freedom and autonomy for you to decide how we get there.
• The Best People. You will be surrounded by teammates who are exceptional at what they do, whilst being kind, honest people who champion our values.
• A dedicated development budget, access to a senior mentor, and training on whatever you need to do your job well.
• Well-being support. We are committed to supporting both physical and mental well-being through access to therapy, weekly onsite yoga, and subsidised sports clubs.
• Enhanced parental leave, and support for parents returning to work.
• All. The. Fun. We regularly organise awesome socials and have some vibrant team communities such as book club and foodies.

Urban Jungle is an equal opportunity employer and fairness and respect are at the heart of who we are and how we work. We do not discriminate based on race, age, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability. We know that in order to build a truly successful business, we need a team of diverse individuals who can offer a variety of skills, experiences and perspectives.