Head of Software Engineering

Head of Software Engineering – London Market

Location: London (Hybrid)

Reporting to: Chief Technology Officer

Bateman Collins are partnering with a leading specialist insurance provider in the London Market to appoint a Head of Software Engineering. This organisation operates across complex commercial and specialty risks and is widely regarded as a high-performing and forward-thinking market participant. With strong executive sponsorship and significant investment in modern technology, the business is focused on delivering innovative, scalable and resilient digital solutions to support continued growth.

The Opportunity

This is a senior leadership role within a value-driven and collaborative technology function. As Head of Software Engineering, you will lead the evolution of the software engineering capability, driving best practice, innovation and delivery across a portfolio of critical business platforms and integrations. You will work closely with senior stakeholders across technology, product and the wider business to deliver measurable commercial value and improve operational efficiency.

You will be responsible for shaping the future direction of the engineering function, including organisational design, hiring strategy, capability development and budget ownership. The role will involve leading and developing a growing, distributed team of engineers across multiple locations, fostering a high-performance culture and supporting ongoing transformation initiatives.

This role will suit a strategic yet hands-on technology leader who is passionate about modern engineering practices, continuous improvement and enabling teams to deliver high-quality, customer-focused outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and technical leadership across the software engineering function, ensuring high-quality and reliable delivery
• Contribute to the broader technology and business strategy as a member of the leadership team
• Partner with Product and Business leaders to align engineering capability with business priorities and value streams
• Own organisational design, hiring, retention and development of engineering talent
• Line manage senior engineering leaders and drive performance, engagement and succession planning
• Establish and embed engineering standards, governance and best practices aligned to industry trends
• Support modernisation initiatives, including cloud adoption and legacy platform transformation
• Promote innovation and the use of emerging technologies, including AI and automation
• Oversee the controlled and risk-aware deployment of change into production
• Manage key technology vendors and delivery partners
• Ensure appropriate risk, security and operational resilience frameworks are in place
• Represent the function within senior governance forums and leadership groups

Skills & Experience

• Proven experience leading high-performing software engineering teams within complex, regulated environments
• Strong technical background across modern software development, cloud architecture and DevSecOps
• Experience delivering large-scale transformation programmes with measurable business impact
• Track record of building engineering capability, culture and organisational structure
• Experience operating in agile, product-led environments
• Ability to communicate effectively with both technical teams and senior business stakeholders
• Experience managing legacy systems and leading modernisation initiatives
• Commercial awareness and strong stakeholder management
• Knowledge of the insurance sector or London Market is advantageous but not essential

Personal Attributes

• Strategic thinker with a pragmatic, delivery-focused mindset
• Confident and articulate communicator
• Collaborative and empowering leadership style
• High emotional intelligence and strong interpersonal skills
• Passion for innovation, continuous improvement and team development
• Comfortable operating in fast-paced, evolving environments

This is an excellent opportunity to join a well-established and growing organisation at a pivotal stage of its technology journey, with significant scope to shape engineering strategy and build a high-performing function.