Principal Back End Engineer, iwoca
Core Systems
£100-140k
Online loans for small businesses
Job no longer available
Online loans for small businesses
201-500 employees
Job no longer available
£100-140k
201-500 employees
Company mission
To fund one million small businesses.
Role
Who you are
- Expertise with a variety of back end technologies. We primarily work with Python, SQL, Bash, and Rust, but we value your breadth of problem-solving abilities with various languages such as Go (Golang), Elixir, C++, Java, or similar
- Experience designing, building, and managing data systems, preferably with Kubernetes, Postgres, Kafka, and Snowflake
- A track record of leading large-scale technical transformation projects, such as migrating from monolith to microservices (or vice versa) or modernising system architecture
Desirable
- A strong numerical or technical background, ideally with a degree in maths, physics, computer science, engineering, or a related field
- Active participation in tech or open-source communities, with a passion for sharing knowledge and inspiring others
- An open mind and the flexibility to approach challenges from different perspectives
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to translate complex business needs into effective technical solutions
What the job involves
- As the Principal Back-End Engineer, you'll shape our tech strategy, inspire the adoption of new technologies, and ensure technical initiatives align with company goals
- This role combines vision and leadership with hands-on coding to push the organisation towards smarter and more efficient ways of working
- You’ll identify and lead a range of strategic technology projects, driving improvements across our systems, platforms, and infrastructure to support innovation, efficiency, and growth, such as:
- Modelling Platform Enhancements: Lead the evolution of our platform to make it simpler for teams to define, discover, and manage model features. You will improve data transformation and visualisation capabilities, enabling more intuitive use of data
- Data Warehouse Optimisation: Drive enhancements to our data warehouse, making it a more effective resource for the business, ensuring teams can access and leverage data more easily
- Python Codebase Improvements: Spearhead initiatives such as adding static typing to our Python codebase, increasing its reliability, security, and maintainability
- Accelerating Deployment Speed: Work with the back-end team to increase the deployment speed of our Django monolith. This may involve breaking the monolith into microservices or implementing other innovative approaches to improve efficiency
- Systematic Upgrades: Proactively identify weaknesses in our infrastructure and systems. You will lead efforts to strengthen and optimise our technology stack, ensuring it is scalable, secure, and future-proof
- Emerging Technology Research: Stay ahead of the curve by researching emerging trends and tools. You will recommend and lead the adoption of new technologies that provide a competitive edge and improve operations across the business
- You’ll join the Core Systems team, responsible for driving innovation across the business by optimising development, building data systems, and continuously improving iwoca products
- We follow Agile-inspired processes, using continuous integration and delivery, so features go live in days or weeks, not months or years
Salary benchmarks
Our take
UK SMEs are the backbone of a complex economy that is constantly changing, so the need for fast and responsive access to finance is becoming more and more important to ensure their success and growth. iwoca allows SMEs access to business loans in less than a minute, with its API and business marketplace partnerships.
With offerings like iwoca's, gone are the days where waiting up to eight weeks for a loan decision was viable. Its simplified business loans of £1,000 - £500,000 come with no fees attached, and applying online takes no more than five minutes. The ready availability of iwoca loans gives business owners a level of certainty, so that they can make instant decisions to help their business grow.
iwoca has made a number of partnerships with other players in the business finance space, including an impressive industry-first invoice checkout integration with QuickBooks. Funding raised by the company, which is now operating at net profitability, will enable it to meet a recent surge in demand for corporate loans and offer more to larger SMB businesses. And the company has made several billion in funding available to over 100,000 businesses since launching, positioning itself as a leading European fintech.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Company
Employee endorsements
Opportunities to learn
"Great opportunities available to learn from both individuals through shadowing, and teams through presentations and even secondment opportunities -..."
Funding (last 2 of 7 rounds)
Aug 2019
$13.3m
GRANT
Feb 2019
$26.6m
SERIES D
Total funding: $96.6m
Company benefits
- Work where you work best: Twice a year we rent houses in places like Sicily and the French Alps where each team can work together for a week poolside. We champion flexible working in all our teams
- Invest in iwoca: We want people to be invested in iwoca's success so after six months you'll be awarded share options
- Keep yourself healthy: We offer comprehensive health insurance and cash plans. You'll also get gym discounts and we host yoga classes in the office every week
- Start (and end) your day right: Each floor of iwoca HQ has a fully stocked fridge for breakfast and every Friday we unwind with beers and wine
- Life-work balance: We know your life outside of work comes first. We offer enhanced maternity and paternity leave for new parents plus a nursery benefit. We also have unlimited unpaid leave
- Learning and development: Whether you want to learn to code, experiment with motion design, or beat cognitive biases, you'll have time and budget to invest in your professional development
Company values
- Motivated: Going to work shouldn't feel like a slog, so we want everyone in the team to personally care about what they're working on. We stay motivated by celebrating our wins, learning from our mistakes, and always looking for new gaps to step into
- Smart: At iwoca being smart isn't about what you know, it's about how you think. Smart thinking means looking at each problem by asking ‘why’ first, then figuring out ‘how’
- Humble: We know all ideas are flawed, all code has bugs, and everyone makes mistakes - it’s how we learn. For us, being humble means you question yourself first, rather than your team
- Growth Mindset: We think there's always a better way to solve a problem. So we never let ourselves get comfortable with being good enough
Company HQ
Fitzrovia, London, UK
Articles
Leadership
Christoph Rieche
(Co-Founder & CEO)Previously spent 7 years at Goldman Sachs as a Vice President before co-founding iwoca in 2011.
Joost Versteeg
(CMO)Joost initially joined iwoca in 2017 as an Intern. Since then, they have held a number of roles, from Growth Analyst to Head of Commercial Strategy and became CMO in 2024.
People progressing
Serita joined as a Customer Onboarder, before moving into the Broker Team. Most recently they have been promoted to Partnership Manager.
Leo joined in 2018 as a Client Onboarder. Since then, they have worked in a number of roles and now serve as the Product Manager.
Jenny originally joined the Client Onboarding team and now leads the Customer Success department for the German business.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at iwoca
- We work hard to make iwoca a place where everyone feels welcome, where you can confidently be yourself. We understand that diversity isn't an optional add-on, it's the core ingredient of what makes us great.
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