Software Engineering Manager

Urban Jungle; Greater London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 72,000; Full time

Job summary

A forward-thinking insurance startup in London is seeking a Software Engineering Manager to lead and collaborate with engineering teams. You will play a vital role by managing projects that deliver value, mentoring engineers, and contributing to the engineering strategy. The ideal candidate will have at least 3 years of experience in software engineering and a strong background in languages such as JavaScript and Python. The role offers competitive salaries and the chance for significant personal and professional growth.

Benefits

Competitive salary and share options

25 days paid annual leave

Rapid personal progression

Real impact on community and planet

Dedicated development budget and mentorship

Well-being support

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading engineering teams or project leadership.
• Experience with Front-End/UX design and prototyping.
• Comfortable working through ambiguous problems.

Responsibilities

• Lead groups of engineers and collaborate business-wide.
• Manage the day-to-day of a team of engineers.
• Develop engineering strategy with leadership group.

Skills

Fluent in Front-End Javascript frameworks

Python

Leadership in engineering teams

Education

3+ years experience as a software engineer

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

AWS

SQL

Job description

At Urban Jungle , we’re making insurance fair - to people, planet and wallets. We're 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 in 2022 and offsetting our carbon emissions every year.

So far, we’ve 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 2024 award for best startup to work for, and are in the top 10 of Deloitte’s Fast 50. We’ve raised over £43m in funding to date to help us with our mission.

We’re looking for people to join our team of kind, talented people on a mission to change the insurance industry for good.

About the role

Software Engineering Managers play a key role at Urban Jungle. You’ll lead groups of engineers 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’ll 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’ll 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’ll work closely with our Engineering Director, Ben , as well as getting lots of exposure to our senior leadership team - who’ve 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'll get up to:

• You’ll 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 be managing the day-to-day of a team of engineers, responsible for delivering one or more of our cross-functional projects - ensuring we are optimising for impact, and that we consistently get better at the way we do them.
• You’ll be a member of our engineering leadership group, working with them to develop our engineering strategy and refine our team-level approach.
• You will be responsible for managing multiple direct reports and will have opportunities to mentor and sponsor engineers across the team.
• Of course, as a startup we’ll also expect you to roll your sleeves up and get involved wherever the company needs you.

You've read this far! Here's what we're looking for from you:

• At least 3 years of professional experience working as a software engineer with proven experience leading engineering teams, either through direct line management or project leadership
• You’re fluent in and opinionated on one or more of:
  • Front-End Javascript frameworks (we work with Angular)
  • Python
• You’ve got experience with (or are at least excited to learn more about!):
  • Front-End/UX design and prototyping
  • Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, RabbitMQ, AWS, SQL
• You’ll be confident using your technical expertise to influence key decisions about how we design, build, and grow our products and systems.
• You're excited about supporting and growing a group of engineers, helping them become the best engineers they can be
• You’re 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.

About our offer

We’re 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 £60,000 - £72,000*,and share options that can increase alongside performance and growth.
• 25 days paid annual leave,plus public holidays.
• Rapid Progression.We’ll give you the opportunity to experience loads, and develop rapidly. You’ll get tons of responsibility from day one, and all the feedback, coaching and support you need to fuel your career growth.
• Real Impact.You’ll 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’ll 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’ll 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’re 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.

*If our advertised salary doesn’t suit your current expectations, just let us know.

About our commitment

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.