Lead Backend engineer

Please note that working within this project means availability for meetings in PT timezone (mainly till 21:00, usually no later than 18:00 CEST ) and fluent English.

Core Responsibilities

The Insurance Product Configuration Engineer Lead owns configuration delivery quality across new product onboarding and updates to existing insurance products on the Carrier Platform. This role remains hands-on with complex configuration work while coordinating assignments, reviewing quality, supporting UAT, and escalating tooling blockers when needed.
• New product onboarding: Lead configuration for new insurance products on the Carrier Platform.
• Configuration updates: Manage changes to existing products, including rule updates, form changes, rater updates, and product definition updates.
• Clarify requirements with the Implementation Manager before work begins and during implementation.
• Assign work to mid-level configuration engineers based on complexity, bandwidth, and development needs.
• Maintain assignment accountability by monitoring progress, identifying blockers, and reassigning work when needed.
Configuration Execution
• Perform configuration work directly as needed.
• Model quality standards and a structured troubleshooting approach for the team.
• Deliver configurations that function end-to-end and meet agreed requirements.
Quality Assurance (Pre-UAT)
• Review configurations before they move to UAT.
• Validate configuration work against requirements, acceptance criteria, and the quality checklist.
• Identify configuration errors, logic gaps, and data mismatches before UAT begins.
• Create a feedback loop by coaching configuration engineers through rework when issues are found.
• Quality gate: Configurations should not move to UAT until the lead has reviewed and signed off.
UAT Partnership (with Implementation Manager)
• Execute UAT in partnership with the Implementation Manager.
• Validate that configurations behave as expected in real client scenarios.
• Troubleshoot UAT failures to determine whether the issue is related to configuration, data setup, or tooling.
• Own the configuration side of UAT outcomes by clearly identifying whether the configuration is correct or requires adjustment.
• Coordinate fixes when UAT identifies configuration issues, either by resolving them directly or assigning them to an engineer for completion and review.
Requirement Clarification
• Partner with the Implementation Manager to translate client and business needs into technical configuration requirements.
• Ask the tech lead targeted implementation questions, such as whether a rule requires one configuration option or another.
• Identify underspecified requirements early so work does not begin with unresolved assumptions

Required Skill Set
Programming/Technical Foundation
• Backend engineer background (NestJS/TypeScript preferred, but transferable)
• Read code, understand integrations, debug via logs
• Know when something is a tool bug vs. config mistake vs. data issue
• Independent troubleshooting: Perform baseline investigation before engaging the tech lead.
Insurance Configuration Knowledge
• Learn through hands-on work; prior insurance experience is helpful but not required if the lead can own the learning curve.
Operational / Coordination Skills
• Comfortable with ticket lifecycle: triage; assign; review; validate; UAT; handoff.
• Communicate clearly with the Implementation Manager on requirements and with the tech lead on tooling or platform issues.
• Proactive about identifying blockers early
• Be transparent about scope and tooling gaps, especially when a requirement cannot be met with current platform capabilities.
• UAT mindset: Translate client feedback into configuration fixes and distinguish between client expectations and actual system behavior.
Quality Mindset
• Cares about getting it right the first time (not shipping and fixing)
• Systematic troubleshooting (can articulate; I checked X, then Y, then Z;)
• Attention to detail across multiple dimensions: rules, forms, data, integrations
• Knows what a complete; and correct; configuration looks like before it hits UAT

This is a delivery lead role. The lead owns the configuration quality gate before and during UAT, ensuring work is complete, correct, and aligned to requirements before the Implementation Manager signs off. The goal is to prevent configuration issues from surfacing late in UAT/production by catching them through structured pre-UAT review, hands-on troubleshooting, and clear escalation of confirmed tooling blockers.