Job Description

About SchemeServe

SchemeServe is insurance software like no other.

Hosted in the cloud for MGAs, brokers and insurers, the SchemeServe platform boasts unique flexibility, unstoppable innovation and truly Obsessive Support.

Started in 2000 by our CEO, Adam, SchemeServe has grown from strength to strength, never having taken outside investment. We are proud of how far we’ve come and how loyal we've stayed to our Core Values.

We are a fully remote company (even before the pandemic!); however, we do meet twice a year for a Team Retreat (one in March, one in September). These are used as a time to relax, share ideas and get to know each other better.

We absolutely prize self-development and encourage staff to continue learning and set new challenges for themselves. Free books? Mentoring? Professional Development? You got it.

We also offer flexible working, paid days to do charity work, a warm and friendly working environment, a fantastic, relaxed and open company culture and free biscuits through the post.

We genuinely believe this is the best place you could ever work.

If you're excited, good! So are we.

We'd love to hear from you if you're:

• A curious person who thrives on challenge.

• Self-motivated and thorough.

• Daring and happy to go against the grain.

• Passionate about engineering excellence.

• Excited by helping others grow and succeed.

Come and join the Insurtech revolution!

Principal Backend Engineer

We're looking for an exceptional Principal Backend Engineer based in the UK to help define and elevate backend engineering across SchemeServe.

This role will become the CTO's primary technical partner for backend engineering, helping define how we build, operate and evolve software across the organisation.

This is not primarily a feature delivery role. While you'll remain technically hands-on enough to review designs, assess implementations and understand architectural challenges, your primary focus will be enabling other engineers and teams to deliver exceptional software.

There will be occasions where you'll need to roll up your sleeves and contribute directly to implementation work, help unblock teams or help critical initiatives reach the finish line. However, your success will be measured by the impact you have across the engineering organisation rather than the volume of features you personally deliver.

Working closely with our CTO, you'll be responsible for helping define backend engineering standards, driving consistency across teams, improving security and reliability practices, and helping shape the long-term evolution of our platform.

You'll act as a technical leader and trusted advisor across the business, ensuring that our backend systems remain maintainable, scalable and secure as we continue to grow.

Our platform currently spans a mature C# .NET Framework 4.7 monolith alongside an expanding ecosystem of modern C# .NET 10 and TypeScript services hosted on Azure and supported by Cloudflare.

While these technologies form our current platform, we're pragmatic rather than dogmatic. We expect our Principal Backend Engineer to help evaluate new technologies, patterns and approaches where they provide clear business value.

Success in this role comes from influence rather than authority. You'll work across multiple engineering teams, building alignment around best practices, architectural direction and engineering quality, helping every backend engineer produce better software than they could alone.

Our Current Technology

Our current backend estate includes:

• NET Framework 4.7 monolith

• Newer services built on C# .NET 10 and TypeScript

• Various databases, including Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Reddis and other supporting technologies

• Azure cloud infrastructure

• Cloudflare platform services

• API-first architecture

• Git-based development workflows

As part of our ongoing evolution, we're continuing to modernise our platform and invest heavily in engineering quality, scalability and operational excellence.

Responsibilities

• Partner with the CTO to define and evolve SchemeServe's backend engineering strategy.

• Establish and maintain backend engineering standards, principles and best practices.

• Drive consistency across multiple engineering teams in architecture, implementation patterns and operational practices.

• Champion secure software development practices and help embed security throughout the software development lifecycle.

• Define and improve code quality standards, review processes and engineering governance.

• Provide architectural guidance for new systems, services and platform initiatives.

• Help shape and guide the ongoing transformation of our .NET Framework monolith into a modern service-based, API-first platform.

• Provide technical leadership across both C# and TypeScript backend ecosystems.

• Act as a technical mentor and coach for backend engineers across the organisation.

• Review significant technical proposals, designs and architectural decisions.

• Drive improvements in observability, resilience, performance and operational excellence.

• Identify technical risks and help teams navigate them successfully.

• Help teams make pragmatic technology decisions, balancing innovation, risk and long-term maintainability.

• Evaluate emerging technologies and engineering practices, identifying opportunities that provide genuine business value.

• Foster a culture of engineering excellence, continuous learning and constructive technical challenge.

• Occasionally, contribute directly to implementation work when strategic initiatives or business priorities require it.

• Represent backend engineering interests in strategic technical discussions.

• Build strong relationships across Engineering, Product and Leadership teams.

• Be a generally awesome person.

Essential Experience

• Commercial experience building and operating large-scale backend systems.

• Deep expertise in modern backend engineering practices.

• Strong experience with C#/.NET and TypeScript, with the ability to work effectively across multiple backend technologies.

• Strong understanding of software architecture, distributed systems and API design.

• Experience working with both legacy applications and modern service-oriented architectures.

• Proven experience defining engineering standards across multiple teams or departments.

• Strong knowledge of secure software development practices and application security principles.

• Deep understanding of code quality, maintainability and software craftsmanship.

• Strong knowledge of Azure cloud services and cloud-native architecture.

• Excellent understanding of modern databases and data modelling principles.

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.

• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.

• Proven ability to influence technical direction through expertise, collaboration and communication.

• Experience mentoring engineers and raising technical standards across teams.

• Strong understanding of CI/CD, testing strategies and modern software delivery practices.

• Excellent Git knowledge and development workflow practices.

• Ability to balance long-term technical strategy with short-term business priorities.

Nice To Have

• Experience in modernising large monolithic applications.

• Experience with Cloudflare services and edge technologies.

• Experience building and operating SaaS platforms at scale.

• Experience within financial services, insurance or other regulated industries.

• Knowledge of observability tooling, platform engineering and site reliability practices.

• Experience with AI-assisted software development workflows and engineering productivity tooling.

What Success Looks Like

Within your first year, you will have:

• Established yourself as a trusted technical partner to the CTO.

• Further evolved and embedded backend engineering standards across the organisation.

• Improved consistency in architecture, coding practices and operational processes across multiple teams.

• Raised awareness and adoption of secure software development practices.

• Supported engineers through mentoring, coaching and technical leadership.

• Influenced key platform modernisation initiatives.

• Helped create a clear technical vision for the future evolution of SchemeServe's backend platform.

• Helped shape the future direction of backend engineering at SchemeServe.

• Made a lasting positive impact on the quality, security and maintainability of our platform.

Why Join SchemeServe?

• Fully remote UK-based role.

• Twice-yearly company retreats.

• Flexible working arrangements.

• Dedicated professional development support.

• Paid charity days.

• Friendly, supportive and highly collaborative culture.

• Opportunity to shape the technical future of a successful, independent software company.

• Work directly alongside the CTO on engineering strategy and innovation.

• Monthly biscuit deliveries.

Note for Recruiters

We are not currently accepting applications from recruitment companies that we already have a working relationship with.

You are welcome to send an email if you really want to, but it will probably be ignored. 🙂