Head of Technology

Head of Technology

Specialty & Surplus Lines Insurance

Location: New York Metropolitan Area (hybrid)

 

THE OPPORTUNITY

 

Our client is the US market entry of a long-established global insurer with significant international scale and centuries of continuous operating history. The new US platform is focused on specialty and surplus lines business through a combination of direct underwriting and MGA program partnerships.

The Head of Technology will be a founding member of the leadership team, responsible for bringing to life a technology platform deliberately designed to be AI-embedded from day one. Every workflow, data flow, and integration point is being architected with intelligence built in from the start — not bolted onto legacy systems later. This role reports directly to the COO, who brings deep technology and architecture experience and has defined the platform vision and technical direction. The Head of Technology serves as the COO’s right hand in executing that vision: translating architecture into working systems, building the team, managing vendors, and ensuring delivery. The COO values strong opinions and candid input, but strategic direction and architectural decisions are set — the Head of Technology’s job is to make them real. This person will have meaningful hiring authority. There is no inherited team. The Head of Technology will handpick every member of the technology organization, with budget allocated to hire aggressively in year one.

 

PLATFORM SPECIFICATIONS

 

The platform is built on two principles: data is the core asset, and integration makes it useful. The architecture is event-driven and decoupled, with submission intake, rating, policy administration, claims, and finance operating independently. Every transaction and state change streams in real time to a centralized, cloud-native data platform — the single source of truth.

 

The platform is API-first and AI-embedded from day one. Brokers, MGAs, and partners connect through modern APIs, while AI supports submission triage, underwriting, portfolio monitoring, claims detection, and operational analytics. The rating engine is fully decoupled from policy administration, enabling rapid product development and flexible pricing.

Vendor selection is underway across core systems and data infrastructure. Architectural direction is set; this role will influence remaining decisions and lead execution.

 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

 

Platform Delivery and Engineering

• Lead delivery of the platform from architecture to production to support first programs binding.
• Implement core systems across submission intake, rating, policy administration, claims, and finance within an event-driven architecture.
• Build the event bus and integration layer, deliver broker and partner APIs, and own the technology roadmap in partnership with the COO.

Data and AI

• Build and operate the cloud-native data platform as the analytics hub.
• Implement AI across submission triage, underwriting support, loss ratio monitoring, claims detection, and portfolio analytics.
• Develop automated bordereaux ingestion and reconciliation.
• Deliver reporting and dashboards for executive, actuarial, finance, and operational stakeholders.

Team Building and Vendor Management

• Hire and build the technology team from scratch, supplemented by vendor resources where needed.
• Manage platform, integration, cloud, and security partners.
• Establish development standards, security controls, and change management for a regulated insurance environment.

IT Operations and Parent Company Navigation

• Own infrastructure, identity, endpoints, and business continuity for the US operation.
• Support regulatory and compliance technology requirements, including filings and statutory reporting.
• Coordinate with global parent technology leadership, balancing US autonomy with enterprise governance.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

 

Senior technology leader with deep insurance expertise and a track record of delivering greenfield platforms in specialty, E&S, or MGA environments. 

MUST-HAVE QUALIFICATIONS

 

• 15+ years in technology roles, primarily in insurance or financial services
• Experience delivering a greenfield platform or major technology transformation
• Strong knowledge of policy administration, claims, bordereaux, regulatory reporting, and reinsurance accounting
• Experience evaluating and implementing modern insurance platforms, with understanding of legacy constraints
• Fluency in cloud infrastructure, event-driven architecture, API-first design, and cloud-native data platforms
• Track record building and leading teams in startup or high-growth environments 

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

 

• Early career in technology consulting across multiple platforms and architectures
• Operating role at a carrier, MGA, reinsurer, or insurance platform with delivery ownership
• Specialty or E&S experience preferred
• Familiarity with MGA/program business models and data exchange requirements
• Experience working with a large international parent organization 

LEADERSHIP QUALIFICATIONS

 

This role requires both technical depth and strong leadership. The right candidate moves between strategy and execution, presenting to parent leadership, troubleshooting integrations, hiring engineers, and managing vendors. They lead with empathy, operate with urgency, and deliver results.

We are open to candidates ready to step into this scope. Capability, judgment, and execution matter more than title.

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Our client is a global insurance, retirement, and investment group with centuries of operating history and significant international scale. The US operation is being built as a standalone specialty and surplus lines platform, backed by the capital and credibility of the parent organization — a rare opportunity to join a founding team building from zero inside an established global insurer.