We’re Kanopi. Welcome.

Kanopi is a data-driven insurtech that pushes the boundaries of how insurance is delivered. Some of the world’s largest insurers come to us for reliable, flexible technology to create cover that protects and adapts to customers’ changing needs.

The role

As Head of Engineering at a startup, you need to build and lead a team of talented engineers to develop innovative products and services. With limited resources, you must set the technical vision and strategy to bring the company's ideas to life. Your responsibilities include planning projects, managing budgets and timelines, overseeing coding and testing, and coordinating with other departments. Success requires wearing many hats - architect, project manager, recruiter, mentor. You must balance perfectionism with pragmatism to launch new products quickly. An entrepreneurial spirit is essential to thrive in the high-risk, fast-paced, scrappy environment of a startup. Your technical leadership will shape the engineering culture and technology backbone that enables the business to grow.

Note: You must be based in Australia for this role.

What you get to do every day

Strategic and technical

• Work closely with the leadership team, including the CEO, to align technical initiatives with overall business objectives
• Architect and implement back-end and front-end solutions that deliver business outcomes
• Work with the Product team to develop roadmaps, and to define delivery goals and achieve them within agreed timeframes
• Contribute to wider architectural decisions surrounding our back-end and front-end implementation

Delivery

• Oversee the end-to-end software development lifecycle, and collaborate with cross-functional teams, including product and design, to drive successful product outcomes
• Help the engineering team, and the company, with the setting of ambitious but achievable technical goals
• Create a self-managing engineering team who deliver a high quality product, at a fast cadence

Leadership

• Provide and demonstrate strong leadership to direct reports, to drive excellence in delivery and alignment to Kanopi’s culture and values
• Lead the engineering team in the evolution of our agile processes, as well as assisting in backlog grooming, estimation, and task breakdown
• Continue the development of robust DevOps and infrastructure in conjunction with the team
• Proactively integrate the engineering team with the other company functions, in particular product and design
• Ensure that company-wide changes and initiatives are shared and understood by the engineering team
• Create a culture of mentorship amongst team members in back-end and front-end related technologies, and engineering principles in general
• Take a lead role in growing the engineering team, including hiring and team feedback processes
• Prepare and pro-actively participate in regular 1:1s as well as review cycles for direct reports

What you will bring to the role

Experience

• Proven experience in an Engineering leadership role, including people management, for a minimum of five years. Ideally some of that experience was in a B2B SaaS and/or startup environment
• Strong technical judgment and experience that allow you to make good decisions, even when there is little data available
• Demonstrated Agile methodology experience
• Experience in organisational information security is a bonus

Skills and knowledge

• Strong working knowledge of our tech stack: our frontend is React/Typescript, our backend is Python/Django, and our stack is deployed to AWS
• Thorough knowledge of software architecture
• Great people management skills, with the ability to motivate your team and align them to company goals

Attitude

• Leading from the front: we’re looking for someone who is always prepared to get their hands dirty and help debug problems as they arise
• Proactivity: we love people who are passionate and can make things happen; owners of their work and their goals
• Pragmatism: we love technology, but we are here to solve problems, and as a leader in the business you recognise that technology is your toolbelt, creativity your fuel, and business outcomes your objective
• Adaptability and resilience: thriving in a fast-paced startup environment, with the ability to adapt to changing priorities and challenges with a positive attitude.
• Social awareness: as a leader you’re not only technically capable, but have very strong communication skills, including the ability to give and receive feedback

Don't stop reading yet

If you’re excited about this role but aren’t sure if you tick all our boxes, please send in your application anyway. We know from research that women and other people from underrepresented, minority, or marginalised backgrounds often only apply if they think they meet all the criteria, but please don’t let that stop you from applying. We’d really love to hear from you and to see what unique skills and experience you’d bring to the role, even if it is not everything we have listed above.

Benefits

Things you might want to know about us:

• We offer a warm and collaborative work culture with big time vision. Our aim is to create an environment in which everyone is included in decisions and opportunities, regardless of your role, age, or how long you've been with the company. Everyone's opinion is welcome, and we're firm believers in discussions and radical candor.
• Equity package as a valued member of the company.
• We trust our people. This means we focus on outcomes and provide a truly flexible workplace. So if you need some time to go to the gym during quiet times, want to break up your day to look after your kids, or feel like going for a walk around that 3pm slump, it’s all fine. We have team members around the globe, so you may need to attend an early morning or early evening meeting occasionally.
• You will work alongside an experienced team who will challenge you everyday (and expect you to challenge them back).
• We’re big fans of learning new things, which is why we give you the support and professional development to help you achieve your career goals, learn and grow. We offer time and support to take courses, read books, or attend events, and we have a career development framework in place.
• We’re a remote-first team, so say goodbye to that commute. Our Melbourne-based team does like to get together occasionally, which we do at our office right in Melbourne CBD. And it’s fully equipped with an indoor golf simulator, arcade machine, ping pong table, and more!