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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Software Engineer - **Company:** Understanding Recruitment - **Location:** Greater London, UK - **Salary:** £250,000.0 - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Microsoft Excel, Artificial Intelligence, C++ (Programming Language), Computer Programming, Continuous Integration, Cursor (Graphical User Interface Elements), Software Debugging, Microsoft PowerPoint, Software Product Management, Software Engineering, TypeScript, ReactJS, Large Language Models, Backend, Front End Software Development, Software Coding - **Published:** August 11, 2026 - **Apply:** https://www.understandingrecruitment.com/job/software-engineer-9180/ ## About the Role Do you have a track record of building exceptional software and want to work on a genuinely ambitious AI product? Are you excited by high ownership, cutting-edge AI tooling, deep technical challenges, and the opportunity to become a technical leader within a small, elite engineering team?, * Evidence of being a top-centile engineer * Exceptional problem-solving ability and strong software engineering fundamentals * High agency, determination and a genuine desire to take ownership * The ability to move quickly, learn new technologies and wear multiple hats * A strong interest in AI and experience using modern AI coding tools effectively * The ability to work across the stack rather than being restricted to one area * A genuine passion for building great products, not simply writing code 💻 Tech stack: * Rust (but they are open to any low-level language e.g. C++) * TypeScript * React * AI / LLM tooling * Backend infrastructure & DevOps 🎯 Bonus points for: * Competitive programming experience e.g. Olympiads or Programming Contests * Trading or financial technology background * AI Tech experience * Experience building AI agents 🔎 What they're looking for: * High agency - you see a problem and take ownership of solving it * Technical excellence - you care about performance, architecture and writing exceptional software * AI-native mindset - you understand that AI is now an essential part of the engineering workflow * Speed + quality - you can leverage AI to move incredibly quickly without becoming a "vibe coder" * Curiosity - you enjoy getting into unfamiliar areas and figuring things out * Product mindset - you care about how the software feels, not just whether it works * Leadership potential - over time, you'll have the opportunity to own significant parts of the product ## Description Do you have a track record of building exceptional software and want to work on a genuinely ambitious AI product? Are you excited by high ownership, cutting-edge AI tooling, deep technical challenges, and the opportunity to become a technical leader within a small, elite engineering team? 🚀 Software Engineer - AI x Financial Modelling 🚀 💰 Salary: Up to £250k DOE + equity 📍 Location: London - onsite 5 days per week 🌍 Will relocate and sponsor 🧠Experience: Exceptional engineers - high agency and strong technical fundamentals I'm excited to be working with a very ambitious AI startup reinventing how businesses make some of their biggest decisions. They're starting by building the best AI add-in for complex financial modelling in Excel - essentially Cursor for financial modelling. Financial models sit underneath huge decisions across M&A, private equity, investment, corporate strategy and consulting, yet the tooling behind them remains incredibly manual and outdated. They're building something fundamentally different. Long-term, their ambition is to create an AI operating system for the entire strategic decision lifecycle - spanning Excel, PowerPoint, email and meetings. They're tackling a potentially enormous new category at the intersection of AI, software engineering and financial decision-making. They're now looking for exceptional Software Engineers to join a small, extremely high-calibre engineering team and help build the product from the ground up. 💡 You'll work directly on: * Owning features end-to-end - from Rust services and backend infrastructure through to the frontend * Using the latest AI tools and models to ship high-quality software at exceptional speed * Building and improving AI agents, including their harness, tools and context optimisation * Writing highly performant software - removing allocations, optimising queries and caching aggressively * Owning and improving backend infrastructure and CI pipelines * Debugging low-level issues and continuously optimising system performance * Working closely with design to ensure every feature feels polished, beautiful and consistent * Taking increasing technical ownership as the company and product scale ✠They're particularly interested in engineers who have: * Evidence of being a top-centile engineer * Exceptional problem-solving ability and strong software engineering fundamentals * High agency, determination and a genuine desire to take ownership * The ability to move quickly, learn new technologies and wear multiple hats * A strong interest in AI and experience using modern AI coding tools effectively * The ability to work across the stack rather than being restricted to one area * A genuine passion for building great products, not simply writing code 💻 Tech stack: * Rust (but they are open to any low-level language e.g. C++) * TypeScript * React * AI / LLM tooling * Backend infrastructure & DevOps 🎯 Bonus points for: * Competitive programming experience e.g. Olympiads or Programming Contests * Trading or financial technology background * AI Tech experience * Experience building AI agents 🔎 What they're looking for: * High agency - you see a problem and take ownership of solving it * Technical excellence - you care about performance, architecture and writing exceptional software * AI-native mindset - you understand that AI is now an essential part of the engineering workflow * Speed + quality - you can leverage AI to move incredibly quickly without becoming a "vibe coder" * Curiosity - you enjoy getting into unfamiliar areas and figuring things out * Product mindset - you care about how the software feels, not just whether it works * Leadership potential - over time, you'll have the opportunity to own significant parts of the product 🚀 Why join? * Join a small, exceptionally strong engineering team with backgrounds including Cambridge and UCL, Jane Street and Bloomberg * Work on a genuinely ambitious AI product tackling a huge, under-served problem * Own features across the entire stack rather than being confined to one area * Work at the cutting edge of AI-native software development * Have significant influence over the technical direction and product * Opportunity to become a technical leader and own major parts of the product as the company scales * Build something from the ground up in a highly ambitious environment * Work closely with an exceptional designer and engineering team to create a product that is both technically excellent and beautiful If you're an exceptional engineer who wants to work at the intersection of AI, financial modelling and high-performance software, with the opportunity to have genuine ownership and impact from day one, this is a seriously exciting opportunity. Interested? Apply now 🚀 ## Related Videos - [Hiring AI Native Talents](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100268-hiring-ai-native-talents) - [Do TypeScript without TypeScript](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/327-do-typescript-without-typescript) - [Watch Tests Go Brrrr! : Getting Started with Cypress in ReactJS](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/282-watch-tests-go-brrrr-getting-started-with-cypress-in-reactjs) - [Developing the Backend with Stefan Lingler, CTO at Shpock](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100360-developing-the-backend-with-stefan-lingler-cto-at-shpock) - [Nest.js - TypeScript in the backend can also be clean](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1033-nest-js-typescript-in-the-backend-can-also-be-clean) - [Meet Your New BFF: Backend to Frontend without the Duct Tape](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/682-meet-your-new-bff-backend-to-frontend-without-the-duct-tape) ## Related Articles - [Navigating the AI Shift](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/629-navigating-the-ai-shift) - [How to Become an AI Engineer](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/331-how-to-become-an-ai-engineer) - [What is Software Engineering in the Age of AI?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/640-what-is-software-engineering-in-the-age-of-ai) - [What is Agentic Programming and Why Should Developers Care?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/625-what-is-agentic-programming-and-why-should-developers-care) - [Dev Digest 121 - AI goes offline](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/456-dev-digest-121-ai-goes-offline) - [Where To Find Software Engineering Jobs](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/396-where-to-find-software-engineering-jobs)