Database Platform Engineer

Who are we?

Howden is a global insurance group with employee ownership at its heart. Together, we have pushed the boundaries of insurance. We are united by a shared passion and no-limits mindset, and our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of 24,000 employees spanning over 56 countries.

People join Howden for many different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. It’s what sets us apart, and the reason our employees have been turning down headhunters for years. Whatever your priorities – work / life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering – you’ll find like-minded people driving change at Howden.

We are looking for a Senior Database Platform Engineer to own the reliability, performance, security and evolution of our database platforms.

This is not a traditional ticket-driven DBA role. While you'll be responsible for keeping our SQL Server and Azure SQL estate healthy, secure and performant, you'll also help modernise our data platforms and support our transition towards PostgreSQL, cloud-native database services and modern lakehouse architectures.

This is a hands-on engineering role. You'll be troubleshooting performance issues, validating recovery strategies, automating operational processes, improving observability and helping shape the future of our database estate.

You will act as the team's database SME, working closely with Platform Engineers, Data Engineers and Operations teams to ensure critical data services remain resilient, scalable and fit for future needs.

Database Engineering & Operations (40%)

Resilience, Recovery & Reliability (25%)

Database Modernisation (15%)

Data Platform Integration (10%)

Security, Governance & Compliance (10%)

What We Need From You

Required

What Actually Matters

Actual flexibility: Remote-first with occasional travel to London for planning sessions, workshops and team events. We care about outcomes, not attendance.

Real learning budget: Support for training, certifications and conferences that improve both your expertise and our platforms.

Interesting technical challenges: Opportunities to work across SQL Server, Azure SQL, PostgreSQL, Databricks, modern data platforms and emerging AI-enabled services.

Grown-up engineering culture:

Add the usual stuff here: How to apply, interview process.

A career that you define. At Howden, we value diversity – there is no one Howden type. Instead, we’re looking for individuals who share the same values as us:

Reasonable adjustments

We're committed to providing reasonable accommodations at Howden to ensure that our positions align well with your needs. Besides the usual adjustments such as software, IT, and office setups, we can also accommodate other changes such as flexible hours* or hybrid working*.

If you're excited by this role but have some doubts about whether it’s the right fit for you, send us your application – if your profile fits the role’s criteria, we will be in touch to assist in helping to get you set up with any reasonable adjustments you may require.

Permanent