Founding Engineering Lead at Reli

AI can produce code. It cannot own architecture, engineering judgement or release confidence. That is the purpose of this role.

Why Reli

We are setting a new standard in commercial fleet insurance by pricing and mitigating risks proactively, and making safer fleets better business for everyone. Trusted by market leaders. Powered by extraordinary talent and technology.

Reli is an insurance MGA, co-founded with the world's largest logistics company and built to solve the real problems and needs of commercial fleet operators and the wider insurance ecosystem. We combine insurance expertise with technology across fleet risk, loss prevention, pricing, underwriting, claims and operations. Technology helps us improve everything we do as an MGA, remove low-value work and be more present for clients, brokers and partners.

Why this role matters

Own technical execution and release confidence for priority product areas, keeping architecture, security and maintainability strong while using AI-assisted development for high throughput.

You will own technical execution and release confidence for priority product areas while remaining close to the code. In a tight partnership with Product and the CTO, you will turn product intent into pragmatic architecture, reliable implementation and a high-throughput engineering system that uses coding agents without outsourcing accountability.

What you will make happen

• Deliver priority product increments hands-on: Turn product intent into sound architecture, implementation and reliable releases while remaining close to code and user value.
• Protect technical quality and release confidence: Set and enforce practical standards for module boundaries, code, testing, security, observability, data and maintainability.
• Create a strong product-engineering interface: Make feasibility, sequencing, implementation contracts and trade-offs explicit early; jointly own release readiness with Product.
• Build a reliable AI-assisted engineering system: Design agent instructions, review patterns, automation and reusable components that increase throughput without weakening human accountability.
• Build scalable engineering capability: Share knowledge, mentor contributors, manage technical debt visibly and identify when architecture, tooling or human capacity is the real constraint.

What you will own

Technical architecture, decomposition, engineering standards and technical readiness; approve release jointly with Product; escalate material security, architecture, investment or capacity decisions and challenge unsafe scope. You will work closely with founding Product Lead; CTO; product-area users; developers, contractors and coding agents; security, data and operating stakeholders.

What you bring

• Full-stack software engineering and deep code review
• Systems architecture, APIs and data models
• Testing, security, observability and cloud reliability
• AI coding-agent workflows and developer productivity
• Technical roadmapping, mentoring and pragmatic trade-offs
• How you work: Hands-on ownership of technical outcomes; pragmatic architecture rather than over-engineering
• How you work: Direct challenge and joint commitment; automation and leverage with engineering judgement

We care more about evidence of outcomes, judgement and learning than a perfectly linear career or identical previous title. You do not need to match every line to apply.

The working reality

This is not a classic people-management role. You will review code deeply, make trade-offs with incomplete information and protect security, testing, data and maintainability while shipping quickly. Sometimes the constraint will be capacity; often it will be clarity, architecture, tooling or review quality.

This is unlikely to suit someone who no longer wants to be hands-on, prefers large established engineering organisations or treats AI-generated output as trustworthy without rigorous review.

High trust. High care. High output. We give capable people meaningful freedom and context, and expect them to own outcomes. Care means supporting colleagues, clients, brokers and partners, giving direct feedback and addressing problems early. Output means solving the right problems fast to a high standard.

Join as a co-owner

We are looking for people who want to join in and act as co-owners - taking responsibility for the whole company, improving what sits beyond their immediate remit and helping others succeed. The package includes a competitive fixed salary, participation in Reli's company-wide bonus structure and participation in our stock option programme (VSOP). The VSOP gives team members the opportunity to participate in potential long-term value they help create.

Apply

Start with the role-specific application form and complete our "Reality Check". The "Reality Check" is part of the application and gives you an honest view of the situations, expectations and choices you may meet at Reli. Are we the right fit for you?

Application and "Reality Check": Careers at Reli

The remaining process is: introductory phone conversation - Culture Fit Interview - Function Fit Interview - references - final decision and offer. Reli welcomes different backgrounds and career paths. We will make reasonable adjustments to help candidates participate fully in the process.