Head of Platform: Traded

Job Type:

Build a brilliant future with Hiscox
 

Head of Platform: Traded

Location: Boston, MA | Hybrid: 3 days/week in office

The Role:

This is a senior leadership role responsible for owning engineering quality, delivery, and platform evolution across Hiscox US’s traded policy portfolio. Reporting to the US Chief Technology Officer, this individual will lead the modernization of the traded application ecosystem and build a high-performing engineering organization that supports underwriters, data professionals, and operations teams. Based in Boston, this role is

critical to enabling scalable, efficient, and digitally enabled growth across the traded book.

Key Responsibility Areas:

Platform Strategy & Modernization:

• Define and execute a multi-year strategy to modernize the traded application suite, reducing technical debt and increasing platform agility.

• Drive the evolution toward cloud-native, API-first, and event-driven architectures aligned with enterprise standards.

• Establish a clear platform roadmap that supports product scalability, regulatory compliance, and speed-to-market for underwriting capabilities.

• Partner with enterprise architecture and data teams to ensure alignment with broader Hiscox technology strategy.

• Evaluate and rationalize legacy systems, identifying opportunities for consolidation, replacement, or re-platforming.

Engineering Quality & Delivery Excellence:

• Own end-to-end engineering delivery across the traded portfolio, ensuring predictable, high-quality outcomes.

• Implement best-in-class software engineering practices including CI/CD,

automated testing, and DevSecOps.

• Establish and enforce engineering standards, code quality metrics, and

performance benchmarks.

• Drive continuous improvement in delivery velocity, stability, and operational resilience.

• Ensure strong governance over releases, dependencies, and production support models.

Team Leadership & Capability Build-Out:

• Build, lead, and inspire a high-performing engineering organization across platform, QA, and delivery functions.

• Attract, develop, and retain top technical talent aligned with Hiscox values and engineering culture.

• Establish clear roles, career paths, and performance expectations across the team.

• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous learning.

• Scale the team appropriately to support the growing needs of the traded business.

Business Partnership & Value Delivery:

• Partner closely with underwriting, operations, and data teams to deliver technology solutions that directly enable business outcomes.

• Translate business priorities into actionable engineering plans and deliverables.

• Ensure platforms effectively support policy lifecycle management, pricing, and distribution needs for traded products.

• Drive stakeholder alignment and transparency through clear communication of progress, risks, and outcomes.

• Act as a trusted advisor to business leadership on technology capabilities and trade-offs.

Vendor Management & Strategic Partnerships:

• Establish and manage relationships with key technology vendors, ensuring alignment with Hiscox’s strategic objectives for the traded platform.

• Oversee vendor performance against SLAs, KPIs, and contractual commitments, driving accountability and continuous improvement.

• Lead vendor selection, contract negotiations, and onboarding for platform modernization, tooling, and delivery partners.

• Optimize vendor footprint by rationalizing overlapping capabilities and maximizing value from existing partnerships.

• Ensure third-party solutions meet security, regulatory, and compliance

requirements relevant to P&C insurance.

• Collaborate with procurement and legal teams to structure agreements that balance cost, flexibility, and innovation.

Financial Management & Performance:

• Own the financial performance of the traded platform portfolio, including budgeting, forecasting, and cost management.

• Develop and track key financial and operational KPIs (e.g., cost to serve, unit cost per policy, engineering efficiency, vendor spend).

• Ensure disciplined financial governance across programs, proactively identifying and mitigating risks of budget overruns.

• Partner with finance leadership to align investment strategies with business priorities and measurable outcomes.

• Drive transparency through regular reporting on spend, ROI, and value realization for technology investments.

• Optimize allocation of internal and external resources to maximize delivery impact while maintaining cost efficiency.

Risk, Compliance & Operational Resilience:

• Ensure all platforms meet regulatory, security, and compliance requirements relevant to P&C insurance.

• Embed strong operational controls, monitoring, and incident management practices.

• Drive resilience through robust disaster recovery, business continuity, and performance engineering.

• Manage third-party technology vendors where applicable, ensuring accountability and performance.

Qualifications:

• 10+ years of experience in software engineering, with at least 5+ years in a senior leadership role overseeing large-scale platforms.

• Proven experience modernizing complex, legacy application environments into cloud-native or hybrid architectures.

• Strong background in Property & Casualty insurance, preferably within traded or delegated authority business models.

• Demonstrated success leading engineering teams responsible for QA, platform delivery, and application support.

• Deep understanding of modern engineering practices including DevOps, CI/CD, automated testing, and microservices architecture.

• Experience partnering with underwriting, operations, and data teams within an insurance carrier.

• Previous experience with Insurity, QuikSolver4, or BrightCore is highly desirable.

• Strong leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (Master’s preferred).

• Experience working within agile frameworks and scaled delivery models (e.g., SAFe) is a plus.

What We Offer:

• 401(k) with competitive company matching 

• Comprehensive health insurance, vision, dental and FSA plans (medical, limited purpose, and dependent care)  

• Company paid group term life, short- term disability and long-term disability coverage 

• 24 Paid time off days plus 2 Hiscox days,10 paid holidays plus 1 paid floating holiday, and ability to purchase up to 5 PTO days 

• Paid parental leave 

• 4-week paid sabbatical after every 5 years of service 

• Financial Adoption Assistance and Medical Travel Reimbursement Programs 

• Annual reimbursement up to $600 for health club membership or fees associated with any fitness program 

• Company paid subscription to Headspace to support employees’ mental health and wellbeing 

• 2024 Gold level recipient of Cigna’s Healthy Workforce Designation for having a best-in-class health and wellness program 

• Dynamic, creative, and values-driven culture 

• Modern and open office spaces, complimentary drinks 

• Spirit of volunteerism, social responsibility, and community involvement, including matching charitable donations for qualifying non-profits via our sister non-profit company, the Hiscox USA Foundation 

Salary Range: $190-$230k

The actual salary for this position will be determined by a number of factors, including the scope, complexity and location of the role; the skills, education, training, credentials and experience of the candidate; and other conditions of employment.

About Hiscox:

As an international specialist insurer, we are far removed from the world of mass market insurance products. Instead, we are selective and focus on our key areas of expertise and strength - all of which is underpinned by a culture that encourages us to challenge convention and always look for a better way of doing things.

We insure the unique and the interesting. And we search for the same when it comes to talented people. Hiscox is full of smart, reliable human beings that look out for customers and each other. We believe in doing the right thing, making good and rebuilding when things go wrong. Everyone is encouraged to think creatively, challenge the status quo and look for solutions.

Scratch beneath the surface and you will find a business that is solid, but slightly contrary. We like to do things differently and constantly seek to evolve. We might have been around for a long time (our roots go back to 1901), but we are young in many ways, ambitious and going places.

Some people might say insurance is dull, but life at Hiscox is anything but. If that sounds good to you, get in touch.

About Hiscox USA:

Hiscox USA was established in 2006 to focus primarily on the needs of small and middle market commercial clients, via both the broker and direct distribution channels and is today the fastest-growing business unit within the Hiscox Group.

Today, Hiscox USA has a talent force of about 500 employees mostly operating out of 6 major cities - New York, Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles and Scottsdale. Hiscox USA offers a broad portfolio of commercial products, including technology, cyber & data risk, multiple professional liability lines, media, entertainment, management liability, crime, kidnap & ransom, and terrorism.

You can follow Hiscox on LinkedIn, Glassdoor and Instagram (@HiscoxInsurance)

#LI-RM1

Work with amazing people and be part of a unique culture