Principal Software Engineer (Golang)

Tempcover; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

10% discretionary yearly bonus

22 days 'work from anywhere'

Employer matching pension contributions

£300 work from home budget

25 days holiday increasing to 30

Private medical cover

Learning and training budget

Job summary

Tempcover, located in Greater London, is looking for a Principal Engineer to join their Engineering Department. The role entails leading the modernization of technology and setting standards for system architecture. Key responsibilities include designing high-quality code and mentoring senior engineers. Candidates should be proficient in Golang, AWS, and other modern languages. The position offers a hybrid working model, performance-based bonuses, and extensive benefits including private medical cover and generous holiday allowance.

Qualifications

• Proficiency in designing and developing highly observable applications.
• Experience with AWS products like Lambdas, DynamoDB, etc.
• Knowledge of Terraform, Pulumi, and SST for containerization.

Responsibilities

• Set the standard for large-scale system architecture.
• Lead by example in designing and delivering high-quality code.
• Mentor and pair with senior and staff engineers.

Skills

Proficiency in Golang

Deep understanding of AWS

Knowledge of containerization and IaC

Experience in modernization initiatives

Experience with Cloudflare

Understanding of development methodologies

Proficiency in C# ASP.NET/ .Net Core

Familiarity with React, TypeScript

Job description

About Tempcover

Tempcover is at the forefront of the fast‑growing world of short‑term insurance. Our mission is to make car insurance flexible, quick, and easy for drivers. We’ve sold millions of policies that have helped drivers get where they need to go, but we’re not finished there. We’re growing our team to help us continue in that mission. If you are extraordinary at what you do and want to be a part of a rapidly growing business at the cutting edge of the Insurtech industry, we would love to hear from you! We’re part of RVU, a group of online brands that include: Confused, Uswitch, money.co.uk, and Mojo Mortgages.

Engineering Department

Department: Engineering

Location

London

Working Arrangements

Hybrid: 2 days per week in our Tower Bridge office and 1 time per month to our Fleet office.

About the Role

Tempcover is investing heavily in modernising our technology to power the next growth phase of our business. We are looking for a Principal Engineer who can bring a depth and breadth of experience to help shape this journey, working in a role with a high level of ownership, empowerment, impact, and mentorship.

Each engineer plays an integral role in the development, delivery, maintenance, and support of our insurance‑based systems, both public‑facing and internal. We are looking for a Principal Engineer to serve as the technical anchor for our organization. In this high‑impact role, you will move beyond individual contribution to shape the future of our technology. You will unify multiple teams towards a technical strategy together with our long‑term company vision.

What You’ll Be Doing

You will set the new standard for large‑scale system architecture. You will lead by example, personally designing and delivering high quality code which builds systems that are resilient, scalable, and observable, ensuring they can handle our next phase of growth.

You will lead the evolution of our platform and will act as the bridge between technical estate and business requirements, ensuring stakeholders understand the “why” behind technical decisions and tradeoffs, and helping engineers understand how we can get there.

Teams will look to you for guidance and you will serve as the escalation point for the most complex technical decisions. You will be mentoring and pairing with senior and staff engineers, helping them grow into technical leaders and foster a culture of technical excellence and continuous learning.

What We’re Looking For

• Highest level of proficiency designing, developing, operating and improving highly observable applications using Golang and other modern languages
• Deep understanding of AWS and AWS products like Lambdas, DynamoDB, etc but also comfortable or with tracked experience in Azure and Azure DevOps
• Knowledge of containerisation and IaC (Terraform, Pulumi, SST)
• Experience of having worked on, and led, modernisation initiatives, using techniques like the Strangler Fig
• Experience with technologies like Cloudflare or similar
• A solid understanding of development methodologies and design patterns
• Proficiency with C# ASP.NET, .Net Core are a plus (future work will be written in Golang/TypeScript though)
• React, Typescript, Astro, NodeJS are also a nice‑to‑have.

You don’t need to tick off everything on this list – so don’t let that hold you back from applying. We want to make sure you’re learning plenty during your time with us!

Our Commitment to You

We are dedicated to developing valuable, inclusive, and user‑friendly products and services that deliver positive outcomes for all of our customers. To achieve this, it’s essential that our teams reflect the diverse range of people in our community. We believe in being the change we wish to see in the world, by embracing our differences and holding ourselves accountable to being open and inclusive teammates and wider community members.

What We Offer

• 10% discretionary yearly bonus and yearly pay reviews (based on RVU and personal performance)
• A hybrid working approach with 2 in‑office days per week and up to 22 working days per year to “work from anywhere”
• Employer matching pension contributions up to 7.5%
• A one‑off £300 “work from home” budget to help contribute towards a great work environment at home
• Excellent maternity, paternity, shared parental and adoption leave policy, for those key moments in your life
• 25 days holiday (increasing with years of employment to 30 days) + 2 days “my time” per year
• Private medical cover, critical illness cover, and employee assistance programme
• A healthy learning and training budget
• Electric vehicle and cycle to work schemes
• Regular events—from team socials to company‑wide events with insightful external speakers, we want to make sure our colleagues continue to feel connected.