Software Engineer, Backend Developer

Software Engineer - Contract (6 months)
Who are we?
We are CEM Benchmarking, a global data and insights firm for institutional investors including pension funds, insurance companies, endowments, foundations, family offices and sovereign wealth funds.

Our blue‑chip corporate and government clients represent $14 trillion in assets under management and over 50 million members. We provide them with objective insights to maximize value for money in both investments and pension administration. This helps our clients better understand where they stand and how to improve their performance. By improving our clients' performance, we, in turn, improve the financial well‑being of pensioners globally.

How do we provide unique and actionable insight? By coupling the most extensive global database in the pension arena with unrivalled industry knowledge. All of this comes from experience – we have been at this since 1992. We were founded in Toronto, Canada and expanded to the UK more than a decade ago.

We work together in a small company ambiance where your contributions will be appreciated and your progress will be directly related to your ability and effort. Working at CEM, you will stretch your creative and analytical abilities while participating in the growth of a headline‑making business.

About the Role
We are looking for a  Software Engineer (mid‑level)  to join a small, high‑leverage engineering team responsible for building and maintaining the systems that power CEM’s products, analytics, and internal operations.  This is a contract role with exciting potential for extension or a transition into a permanent position.  This role is ideal for someone who enjoys  owning problems end‑to‑end , simplifying complex systems, and building  clean, durable solutions .

You will work across both  customer‑facing platforms and internal systems , with meaningful opportunities to refactor legacy code and design net‑new systems from the ground up.

We value engineers who think clearly, communicate directly, and take responsibility for making sure important work doesn’t fall through the cracks.

Why Join CEM's Engineering Team

Real problems, real data, real impact

A small team where your work is visible and meaningful

Opportunity to build new systems rather than endlessly maintain old ones

A culture that values clarity, craftsmanship, and thoughtful reinvention

Room to experiment, refactor, and improve things properly

How We Work

Small team of 6 engineers supporting multiple platforms

Shared ownership — no silos, no “that’s not my system”

Scrum methodology with Jira

Git Hub for version control and collaboration

High trust, low bureaucracy

Emphasis on thoughtful refactoring and reinvention, not patchwork fixes

Strong bias toward simple, elegant solutions

What You'll Do

Design, build, and maintain software across multiple platforms and systems

Take ownership of features and systems from concept through production

Refactor and modernize existing systems with a focus on simplicity and correctness

Build net‑new services and tools where existing systems no longer serve the business

Collaborate closely with other engineers using Jira and Scrum‑based workflows

Communicate clearly about progress, risks, and tradeoffs

Use AI coding agents (including Claude Code Pro) as a core part of your development workflow

Support and improve internal company systems in the absence of a separate IT team

Contribute to architectural decisions and long‑term system direction

Accountability matters here. When something needs attention, we expect engineers to  step in, own it, and follow through  — with transparency and collaboration.

Qualifications

Experience building production systems as a software engineer

Proficiency in one or more of the following:

C#

Python

Node.js / Type Script

Ruby (limited use, but helpful)

Strong understanding of software design, maintainability, and refactoring

Comfort working across unfamiliar codebases and systems

Ability to communicate clearly with both technical and non‑technical stakeholders

Experience working in agile or Scrum‑based teams

We care far more about  how you think and build  than the exact number of years on your résumé.

AI‑First Development
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