At a Glance
- Tasks: Join our team to develop innovative software solutions that simplify renting.
- Company: Dynamic InsurTech startup focused on making renting easier and fairer.
- Benefits: Enjoy flexible working, 25 days leave, and a MacBook to boost your productivity.
- Other info: Great opportunities for growth in a fun, agile environment.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in a supportive team while working with cutting-edge technology.
- Qualifications: Solid Python and Django skills, plus a passion for learning and quality code.
The predicted salary is between 40000 - 50000 £ per year.
About Zero Deposit
Renting a home is stressful and expensive, and the security deposit is one of the biggest pain points. Tenants can pay thousands up front, often before their previous deposit comes back. We give them another option: instead of a cash deposit, they buy our Guarantee for a low fee, while landlords get more protection than a traditional deposit. Everyone wins. We’re an InsurTech business on a mission to make renting easier, faster and fairer. By building a great product and hiring an exceptional team, we’re growing fast. Our new product, Guarantor+, is already doing well, and we have ambitions to build more.
Engineering at Zero Deposit
We’re looking for a Python engineer to join our Engineering team. We’re a friendly, supportive team that works closely with the rest of the business to ship real improvements to our product. Recent examples include building an API and security platform for our partners to integrate with, and a "reference reader" that uses AI to read data straight from uploaded documents—removing manual work and reducing errors. There’s plenty more of this kind of work ahead. You’ll work across a mix of product features and system improvements: building new products, evolving our APIs and core workflows, and improving reliability, performance and security in production. We operate what we build. Over time you’ll take ownership of your services end‑to‑end—deployment, monitoring and debugging across the stack—supported by the team as you grow into it. This role is fully remote. We’re a UK-based company, so you’ll need to be comfortable working UK office hours.
Our tech stack
We value stability and continuity, but we stay open-minded about new technology. Today we build with Python (Django), Celery and PostgreSQL. We have a robust test suite using pytest and deploy via CircleCI, and we use AWS for parts of our infrastructure. We’re planning to move more of our stack onto AWS and are starting to explore infrastructure as code, so there’s some interesting platform work ahead.
How we use AI
AI is a core part of how we build and is an area we’re actively investing in. Our engineers currently use tools like Cursor, Antigravity, Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini, picking whatever suits the task best. We treat AI as a way to move faster and spend more time on interesting problems—not as a replacement for engineering judgment. You own what you ship, and our standards for code quality, review and testing apply just as much to AI‑assisted work as to anything else. Experience using these tools in a real development workflow is a strong advantage. It isn’t a requirement, though: if you’re curious and keen to learn, we’ll help you get up to speed.
What we’re looking for
We’ve had great success hiring for aptitude and attitude rather than years on a CV. This role suits someone with around two years’ experience who is keen to grow. If you’re missing a few of the nice‑to‑haves but you’re a fast learner who cares about doing things well, we’d still love to hear from you.
- Core Experience
- Solid Python and Django experience
- Some experience building or working with APIs
- A working understanding of relational databases (PostgreSQL)
- A genuine appetite to learn, and care for code quality and testing
- Nice to have, or things you’ll learn here
- Experience using AI tools in a development workflow
- Comfort working across application and infrastructure boundaries
- Exposure to AWS (e.g. RDS, IAM, basic networking concepts)
- Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and deployment workflows
- Confidence debugging production issues
- Awareness of security in application and system design
Why join us
We have a strong, agile engineering culture, and we care about good planning, code quality and testing. Working in a startup means everything you do has an impact—you’ll make a real contribution to our product and our business from day one. We have a genuine focus on helping people develop and succeed. We push ourselves to do our best work while supporting each other, and we keep it a fun place to be. We have big ambitions for our products, and you’ll help shape and deliver functionality that changes the business.
Benefits
- 25 days' annual leave + bank holidays, plus an extra day off on your birthday
- An additional day of leave for each year you’re with us
- Genuine flexibility— we care about what you achieve, not when or where you do it. Work from the office, from home, or even another country
- A MacBook as standard, or whatever device helps you do your best work
- A package of benefits, depending on location
- Referral, wellness and volunteering programmes
Python Engineer in Hitchin employer: Zero Deposit
At Zero Deposit, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer that fosters a supportive and agile engineering culture. Our fully remote team offers genuine flexibility, allowing you to work from anywhere while making a meaningful impact on our innovative InsurTech products. With a strong focus on employee growth, we provide ample opportunities for learning and development, ensuring that every team member can thrive in their career while contributing to our mission of making renting easier and fairer.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Python Engineer in Hitchin
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at Zero Deposit or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to Zero Deposit.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like Zero Deposit.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like Zero Deposit that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Python Engineer in Hitchin
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at Zero Deposit.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Zero Deposit and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at Zero Deposit
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If Zero Deposit uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
