Technical Lead

We’re looking for a Tech Lead to guide a talented, cross-functional squad as they design, build and deliver products that make a real difference for our customers.
You’ll lead a team made up of backend and frontend developers, QA and automation testers, designers, product managers and business analysts. Together, you’ll create and evolve high-quality software using modern engineering practices and a microservice architecture built on Azure.
As Tech Lead, you’ll be hands-on with the code while supporting others to grow. You’ll set technical direction, drive standards and help shape how your squad works, with real autonomy and trust. You’ll collaborate closely with the Architecture Team to ensure your services fit seamlessly into our broader platform and long-term technical strategy.
We work together in our Liverpool HQ three days a week because collaboration, quick feedback and creative problem-solving are key to how we deliver.
**Job Title**: Tech Lead
**Working hours**: 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday
**Location**: Liverpool City Centre HQ / Hybrid (3 days in office)**
**Salary**: £70,000-£85,000 depending on experience
Your Impact
The systems you’ll design, and lead will power key parts of our products, used by thousands of customers every day. Your technical decisions will directly influence product quality, performance and customer experience. You’ll help your team deliver features that are reliable, scalable and genuinely improve how people interact with our services.
What You’ll Do
- Lead a multidisciplinary squad to deliver high-quality, production-ready software
- Design and build scalable microservices in.NET and Azure
- Contribute to the evolution of our microservice architecture and integration patterns
- Collaborate with frontend developers working in React and Next.js to deliver seamless user experiences
- Partner with product managers, BAs and designers to translate customer needs into clear technical plans
- Work closely with QA and automation testers to ensure quality and reliability are built in from the start
- Stay hands-on with code while mentoring developers and promoting best practices
- Drive technical discussions, champion clean architecture and improve our engineering standards
- Contribute to wider engineering initiatives, including developer experience and shared tooling

Our Tech Stack
**Backend**: C#,.NET 8.0, Redis, MongoDb, SQL Server, Entity Framework, MassTransit, Mediator
**Frontend**: React, Next.js, TypeScript
**Infrastructure**: Azure, Docker, Kubernetes (AKS), Nginx, RabbitMQ
**Architecture**: Microservices, Event-driven patterns, Clean Architecture
**Observability and Monitoring**: Grafana, Loki, Sentry, PostHog
**Tooling and Practices**: Git, CI/CD pipelines, Agile methodologies
What We’re Looking For
- Proven experience leading software delivery within a microservice-based environment
- Strong technical background in.NET and Azure
- Comfortable working across the stack, with deeper expertise in backend systems
- Experience mentoring and guiding developers in a collaborative, agile setup
- Product-focused mindset with an understanding of trade-offs between speed, scalability and user experience
- Excellent communicator who brings clarity and empathy to technical discussions
- Passion for clean, maintainable code and continuous improvement
- Curious and proactive, always looking for better ways to build, measure and deliver

Why Join Us
- Real autonomy to shape how your squad designs, builds and delivers software
- A modern, cloud-native architecture that encourages experimentation and ownership
- Work with talented developers, designers, testers and product professionals who care about what they build
- Influence technical decisions that shape the direction of our products and platforms
- Opportunities to grow into staff, principal or architecture-focused leadership roles
- A supportive, transparent culture where craftsmanship, curiosity and learning are celebrated
- Regular opportunities for professional development, conferences and innovation time

Team and Culture
You’ll join a highly skilled, cross-functional squad where engineers, testers, designers and product specialists work side by side to deliver meaningful outcomes.
We believe in ownership, openness and trust. Our squads have the autonomy to make decisions, experiment and continuously improve. We support one another, share knowledge freely and take pride in the quality of what we deliver.
You’ll thrive here if you value autonomy, enjoy collaboration and believe that great products are built by great teams.
If you love technology, mentoring others and shaping how teams deliver impactful products, this is a place where you’ll have the freedom and support to make a real difference.
Grow with Acorn
At Acorn Insurance, we’re proud of our Liverpool roots — and even prouder of how far we’ve come. As part of the Acorn Group, we bring over 40 years of specialist insurance expertise to the table. From humble be