Technical Lead

Brightway Insurance; Northern (KY); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Brightway Insurance is seeking a Technical Lead to design, develop, and maintain production-grade software powering a broad agent/advisor/customer platform. You will guide architecture decisions, align with business stakeholders, and mentor engineers in a fast-moving, autonomous environment that embraces AI-enabled tooling.

You will lead cross-functional collaboration, own critical technical direction, and ensure high-quality, scalable delivery while continually improving code quality and

Qualifications

• Proven experience designing, developing, and delivering high-quality, production-grade software solutions.
• Proficiency in one or more programming languages and multiple web development frameworks; comfortable owning architecture and design decisions.
• Strong knowledge of software development methodologies, agile development, and software testing practices; familiarity with Infrastructure as Code.
• Experience with distributed systems, microservices, and cloud computing platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP.
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills; comfortable scoping a solution directly with stakeholders and iterating until it's right.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills.
• 2–3 years of experience formally leading or mentoring other engineers — guiding technical decisions and helping others grow, without necessarily being a formal people manager.
• Experience with an enterprise CRM (Salesforce and/or Dynamics 365) is a strong plus.
• Prior experience at a startup, small team, or high-growth company strongly preferred; insurance tech or fintech experience is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain production-grade software systems that power Brightway's platform for agents, advisors, and customers
• Lead the breakdown of business problems into technical plans, helping the team move quickly even when a formal roadmap doesn't exist yet
• Provide technical leadership across projects — setting direction, removing roadblocks, and helping the team stay unblocked and moving
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional partners to define, design, and ship features quickly and reliably
• Write high-quality, well-tested, and maintainable code
• Stay current with modern engineering practices and AI-enabled tooling, and help bring the team along with you
• Take ownership of ambiguous problems — when there isn't an established process yet, build one (sometimes with code, sometimes with off-the-shelf tools, often a mix of both)
• Debug, troubleshoot, and resolve production issues, taking ownership of the systems you help build and support
• Continuously improve software quality by identifying and addressing technical debt
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to other engineers — helping set direction, reviewing approaches, and growing the team's skills
• Work in a highly autonomous, fast-paced environment with real visibility — this team ships to production the same day
• Deliver solutions in a highly iterative manner, incorporating feedback along the way

Skills

Leadership experience

Backend development

APIs

Agile methodologies

AI tooling

Problem solving

Communication & collaboration

Mentoring engineers

CRM systems (Salesforce/Dynamics)

Startup/High-growth experience

Education

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, or related field

Job description

Established in 2008, Brightway is proud to be one of the fastest-growing insurance agency systems in the United States. With over 350 franchises spanning 35+ states and an impressive $1.3 billion in annual premiums, we rank among the nation’s largest privately owned property and casualty insurance distribution companies. We support our agency owners with comprehensive back-office services, marketing resources, and continuous learning and development.

We are embarking on the next stage of our customer-centric growth, driven by innovation from our talented associates and the application of cutting-edge technologies. This growth has opened doors for creative thinkers who thrive in a diverse and collaborative culture. As a Brightway team member, you'll engage in exciting projects that are reshaping the industry, working alongside a dedicated team committed to delivering exceptional customer service and safeguarding our clients' most valuable assets.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scope

As a Technical Lead, you will be responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining production software systems using the latest technologies and frameworks, while also helping guide the team's technical direction. You will work closely with cross-functional teams to define, design, and ship new features, and write high-quality, well-tested, and maintainable code. You will work with business stakeholders to understand business problems and propose and implement technology solutions, and should have a desire to help others — both on the team and across the business — be more effective through your technical guidance.

The ideal candidate should have a proven track record of designing, developing, and delivering high-quality software solutions, along with experience helping guide or mentor other engineers. You should have a strong knowledge of software development methodologies, agile development, and software testing practices. You should be proficient in one or more programming languages, with an emphasis on back end web development (creating and calling APIs and services), and comfortable owning architecture decisions.

As a Technical Lead, you should also have excellent problem-solving and analytical skills, strong communication and collaboration skills, and real comfort operating without a fully built-out process — this is a fast-moving, highly autonomous environment where code often ships to production the same day, and where you'll be trusted to build structure where it doesn't exist yet. We're also leaning into AI-enabled tools across the team, so an interest in applying them to real production work is a big plus.

Job Responsibilities

Design, build, and maintain production-grade software systems that power Brightway's platform for agents, advisors, and customers

Lead the breakdown of business problems into technical plans, helping the team move quickly even when a formal roadmap doesn't exist yet

Provide technical leadership across projects — setting direction, removing roadblocks, and helping the team stay unblocked and moving

Collaborate closely with cross-functional partners to define, design, and ship features quickly and reliably

Write high-quality, well-tested, and maintainable code

Stay current with modern engineering practices and AI-enabled tooling, and help bring the team along with you

Take ownership of ambiguous problems — when there isn't an established process yet, build one (sometimes with code, sometimes with off-the-shelf tools, often a mix of both)

Debug, troubleshoot, and resolve production issues, taking ownership of the systems you help build and support

Continuously improve software quality by identifying and addressing technical debt

Provide technical leadership and mentorship to other engineers — helping set direction, reviewing approaches, and growing the team's skills

Work in a highly autonomous, fast-paced environment with real visibility — this team ships to production the same day

Deliver solutions in a highly iterative manner, incorporating feedback along the way

Skills, Licenses, Certifications

Proven experience designing, developing, and delivering high-quality, production-grade software solutions

Proficiency in one or more programming languages and multiple web development frameworks; comfortable owning architecture and design decisions

Strong knowledge of software development methodologies, agile development, and software testing practices; familiarity with Infrastructure as Code

Experience with distributed systems, microservices, and cloud computing platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP

Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills; comfortable scoping a solution directly with stakeholders and iterating until it's right

Strong communication and collaboration skills

2–3 years of experience formally leading or mentoring other engineers — guiding technical decisions and helping others grow, without necessarily being a formal people manager

Experience with an enterprise CRM (Salesforce and/or Dynamics 365) is a strong plus

Prior experience at a startup, small team, or high-growth company strongly preferred; insurance tech or fintech experience is a plus

Education and Experience

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, or a related field.

7–10 years of total professional experience in software engineering, including 2–3 years in a technical leadership or mentoring capacity

Experience leading projects from planning and breakdown to successful delivery