Senior Engineer

Hastings Direct; Bexhill-on-Sea; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible hybrid working

Annual performance bonus

Life assurance & pension contributions

Job summary

Hastings Direct is seeking a Senior Engineer to lead software initiatives in a hybrid role requiring weekly on‑site attendance at Bexhill or Leicester offices and participation in quarterly events. The role supports our CIO‑led tech strategy and AI‑enabled projects across multiple services and platforms.

We value practical experience delivering enterprise applications, strong engineering fundamentals, and a passion for continuous learning.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading enterprise‑level customer and employee‑facing applications.
• Experience delivering end‑to‑end solutions across front‑end, services, and integration layers.
• Strong fundamentals in object‑oriented design, design patterns, problem solving, reviews, unit testing, and TDD.
• Proficiency with one or more modern programming languages and the ability to learn new tech quickly.
• Experience designing, integrating, or supporting AI‑enabled solutions with testing, governance, and assurance.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership and manage stakeholder expectations.
• Design, build, modify, and support complex software systems per engineering standards.
• Deliver end‑to‑end solutions across multiple services, platforms, and integrations, including AI components.
• Estimate engineering tasks, mentor peers, and support professional development.
• Debug, test, and optimise code for performance, quality and reliability.
• Utilise AI tools to accelerate development, testing, maintenance and documentation while promoting responsible AI practices.
• Contribute to AI‑enabled solutions with governance, security, privacy, and cost considerations.

Skills

Technical leadership

Software engineering fundamentals

APIs & integration patterns

AI-enabled solutions

CI/CD / DevOps

RESTful / JWT / JSON / XML

Mentoring peers

Job description

Senior Engineer

This is a hybrid role, requiring attendance at our Bexhill or Leicester office at least once per week and at quarterly departmental events. As such, applicants must be located within a 90-minute commuting distance of one of these offices. We're a digital insurance provider with ambitious plans to become The Best and Biggest in the UK market. Over the past few years, we've made significant investments in our data and tech capabilities, particularly within our CIO function. Our CIO team is at the forefront of driving innovation and ensuring our technology infrastructure supports our ambitious goals. We've nurtured our 4Cs culture, fostering collaboration, creativity, and continuous improvement. We're proud of the journey we're on as a company and know that our continued success will rely on the contribution of our talented colleagues. The CIO team plays a crucial role in this journey, working on cutting‑edge projects that turn many of our business ambitions into reality. We provide insurance to over four million customers, but we know there's even bigger opportunity out there. The fact you're now reading this job advert means we've tempted you to find out more about #lifeatHD - we really hope you like what you see, and you'll join us to share in the success of the exciting chapter that lies ahead. We understand some people may not apply for jobs unless they feel they tick every box. If you are excited about joining us and think you have some of what we are looking for, even if you're not 100% sure, we would love to hear from you. Our CIO team is always looking for passionate individuals who are eager to make a difference and contribute to our success.

What does the role involve?

• Providing technical leadership, making informed decisions, and effectively managing stakeholder expectations.
• Designing, building, modifying, and supporting complex software systems in line with agreed standards and engineering best practices.
• Delivering end-to-end solutions across multiple services, platforms, and integrations, including AI-enabled components where appropriate.
• Estimating engineering tasks, guiding peers, and mentoring team members to support effective delivery and professional development.
• Debugging, testing, and optimising complex code to ensure performance, quality, and reliability.
• Using AI tools to accelerate the development, testing, maintenance, and documentation of software, while promoting effective human-led AI practices.
• Creating effective prompts, critically evaluating AI-generated outputs, and supporting colleagues in the responsible adoption of AI technologies.
• Contributing to AI-enabled solutions, ensuring compliance with security, privacy, governance, and cost requirements, while driving continuous improvement through the evaluation of emerging tools, technologies, and ways of working.

Skills we would love you to have:

• We’re looking for someone with strong technical expertise, a curious mindset and a passion for building high quality, user-centric solutions. We care more about breadth, judgement and the ability to learn than about any single technology, so if you have most of the below we’d like to hear from you.
• Extensive hands-on experience supporting and developing enterprise-level customer and employee-facing applications.
• Experience delivering end-to-end solutions across front-end, services, and integration layers.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals, including object-oriented design, design patterns, problem solving, peer reviews, unit testing, and test-driven development.
• Proficiency in one or more modern programming languages, with the ability to learn and apply new technologies as needed.
• Strong understanding of APIs and integration patterns, including RESTful services, token-based authentication (e.g., JWT), JSON, and XML, alongside experience with CI/CD pipelines, DevOps practices, source control, and automated testing frameworks.
• Experience designing, integrating, or supporting AI-enabled solutions, with an understanding of testing, assurance, and governance requirements.
• Practical experience using AI-assisted engineering tools for code, testing, and documentation, including prompt creation and critical review of AI-generated outputs.
• A passion for continuous learning, exploring emerging technologies and AI capabilities, and sharing knowledge to drive engineering best practice.

As a Disability Confident employer, we’re committed to ensuring our recruitment processes are fully inclusive - what this means to you is if you’re applying for a job with us, you’ll have fair access to support and adjustments throughout your recruitment journey. We also welcome applications through the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS). For more information on the DCS, please visit our inclusive business page on our career's website Regrettably, we're not in a position to offer visa sponsorship for these roles, either now or in the foreseeable future.

Benefits:

• Flexible working - we champion a flexible hybrid working approach - please speak to your recruiter to discuss in more detail
• Competitive bonus scheme - all colleagues are eligible for our annual 4Cs performance bonus
• Financial wellbeing - as well as providing you with 4x your salary with our life assurance cover, income protection at no extra cost, and matched pension contributions up to 10%, we are proud to provide you with an award-winning package which includes - discounts, cashback, free independent mortgage advice and free access to financial wellbeing support
• Mental wellbeing programme - we have the thrive mental health app, our colleague assistance programme available 24/7, our own in-house mental health first aiders, support groups and a dedicated team to make sure we are covering your needs
• There's more! - 25 days annual leave + bank holidays, with the option to buy or sell one of your weeks, access to our health care cash back plans, dental plans, discounted health assessments, Cycle to work and tech schemes, discounted and free onsite facilities, social events throughout the year and much more …

Join us and you'll find a different way of doing things. We call it the 4Cs. We focus on getting it right for our colleagues, customers, company and community. As one of our colleagues, you'll be helping to drive our growth, so in return, we'll give you all the support, training and development you need.

Our 4Cs principles are simple: we believe by creating the right culture for our colleagues and giving them the right tools to do their job, we'll deliver good outcomes for every customer, helping us to grow the company profitably and sustainably and allowing us to invest in the communities we serve.

Hastings Group is an equal opportunities employer which means we treat people fairly. We welcome applications from all suitably skilled persons regardless of their gender, age, race, disability, ethnic background, religion/belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or marital/family status.

Please also note that we have a thorough referencing process, which includes credit and criminal record checks. At Hastings Direct, we're committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, we encourage you to be open with us. Our recruitment team is here to provide the support you need to ensure a fair and accessible experience for all.

Hastings Direct is a fast growing, agile, digitally focused general insurance provider of products and services to over 4 million customers in the UK, employing over 4,600 colleagues. Our vision - to be the best and biggest digital insurance provider in the market. It's our attitude and the way we run our business that makes us different. We focus on getting it right for our colleagues, customers, company and community. It's a dynamic, flexible, fun and constantly changing environment. You'll enjoy the scope to make a real difference for our customers, influence our company, benefit the communities we work in and have fun along the way.