The Acorn Group

Lead AI Engineer Acorn Insurance is hiring a Lead AI Engineer. This is a senior individual contributor role responsible for the engineering practice, platform and infrastructure underpinning our AI Services function. You will help delivery on the AI strategy at Acorn, pushing our technical direction, platform decisions, and bringing strong software engineering discipline to how AI gets built. The role spans the AI platform end to end: infrastructure, observability, governance, and the toolset that supports AI delivery across the business. You will work directly with the Head of AI Services on AI strategy and platform direction, with the Conversational AI workstream on integration work, and act as the technical escalation point for engineers across the AI function. The role is expected to set and uphold the engineering and governance standards that the AI function runs to. Job title: Lead AI Engineer Salary: up to £60,000 depending on experience Working hours: 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday Location: Liverpool City Centre on a hybrid working basis Responsibilities Help lead AI strategy at Acorn alongside the Head of AI Services: shape direction, roadmap and the engineering vision for the function. Own a substantial share of the AI platform infrastructure: Azure, AKS, Terraform, Helm, Azure Pipelines. Lead its evolution, reliability and operational health. Lead engineering practice across AI Services: code review, testing, source control hygiene, deployment patterns, observability. Set and uphold observability, performance and governance standards for AI solutions across the business: DPIAs, model documentation, audit trails, evaluation harnesses. Integrate APIs cleanly: REST and webhook patterns, OpenAPI, authentication, retry / backoff, contract testing. Partner with the Conversational AI workstream to integrate internal APIs with Chat and Voice tooling (Boost.ai, ElevenLabs, comparable platforms). Lead evaluation of new platforms, frameworks and AI tooling; drive adoption decisions for the function. Act as technical escalation point for AI engineers across the wider function. Run cross team forums to share patterns, new tooling and engineering practice. Lead expansion of AI capability into new business domains as the AI estate grows. Provide technical direction and mentorship to engineers across teams; raise the engineering bar. Operate within a regulated AI governance model: DPIAs, model documentation, observability, human in the loop where appropriate. Qualifications Strong production engineering track record - software, AI or ML at scale, in environments where reliability matters. Real software development practice, not just AI tinkering. Working knowledge of LLM application patterns: RAG, structured extraction, evals, prompt and context engineering, agentic workflows. Comfort integrating APIs cleanly - REST / webhook, OpenAPI, authentication patterns, retry / backoff, contract testing. You understand how production integrations actually fall over. Conversational AI awareness - familiarity with Boost.ai, ElevenLabs or comparable voice / chat platforms, and how to wire them up to internal systems sensibly. DevOps fluency: Azure (essential), AKS, Helm, Terraform, Azure Pipelines strongly preferred. You should be comfortable across the whole stack rather than purely application layer. Track record of putting observability, governance and audit story in place at scale. Awareness of the constraints of regulated environments: data residency, auditability, ZDR, model risk - design with them in mind from the start. Track record of mentoring engineers across teams and shaping engineering culture. Comfortable making and defending architecture / tooling calls; comfortable being challenged. Senior enough to operate as a credible technical co owner of the AI platform alongside the Head of AI Services. The technical seat in the AI function with the Group AI Team. You will support with owning the platform, set the bar for engineering practice, and shape how AI scales at Acorn across new domains and new use cases. Executive backing and a real mandate to do the engineering properly.

The Acorn Group is seeking a Business Analyst to join our Projects department in Liverpool City Centre. The successful candidate will lead requirement-gathering meetings, document business needs, and ensure effective stakeholder engagement across projects. We offer a collaborative environment where you will work with talented individuals, alongside benefits such as opportunities for professional development and a supportive workplace culture. Salary is up to £39,000 dependent on experience.

The Acorn Group is seeking an experienced Senior Business Analyst to lead strategic business improvements with hybrid working options available. You will mentor fellow analysts and collaborate across cross functional teams to enhance business operations and technology. The ideal candidate will have a solid background in insurance or financial services and possess excellent stakeholder management skills. The role offers competitive benefits, including 35 days holiday and mental health support services.

The Acorn Group in Liverpool seeks a Senior Frontend Developer who specializes in building high-quality user experiences. You will design responsive web applications using React, Next.js, and TypeScript, collaborating closely with designers and backend engineers. This hybrid role allows you to work in the office three days a week, fostering creativity and team collaboration. Ideal candidates have solid experience in frontend architecture and a passion for user-centered design. The position offers competitive pay between £65,000 and £75,000, career growth opportunities, and a culture of engineering excellence.

We're looking for a Senior Frontend Developer who loves building seamless, high-quality user experiences and has an eye for detail. You'll play a key role in creating the next generation of our digital products, shaping how thousands of customers interact with our services every day. You'll have the freedom to lead on technical decisions, the support to grow, and the chance to mentor others. We believe learning and sharing knowledge is what makes a team truly exceptional. We work together in our Liverpool HQ three days a week because collaboration, creativity and quick feedback make for better products and a stronger team. Role: Senior Frontend Developer Location: Liverpool City Centre HQ / Hybrid (3 days in office) Salary: £65,000-£75,000 depending on experience Responsibilities Design and develop modern, responsive web applications using React, Next.js and TypeScript Build scalable, reusable frontend components with clean, maintainable code Work closely with designers who are part of your squad to bring ideas from concept to polished experiences Optimise for performance, accessibility and security Use Sentry and PostHog to monitor, measure and improve frontend performance Collaborate with backend engineers and product owners in an agile environment Mentor other developers and help shape our frontend standards and practices Share feedback, suggest improvements and help the team continuously level up Frontend: React, Next.js, TypeScript Infrastructure: Nginx, Docker, Azure Monitoring and Analytics: Sentry, PostHog Tooling: Git, CI/CD pipelines, Agile methodologies Experience with React Native is a bonus as we continue expanding our digital products into mobile. We take craftsmanship seriously and believe great products start with great engineering. Testing, code reviews and maintainable architecture are part of our everyday practice Focus on performance, accessibility and clean design patterns Monitoring and observability with Sentry, PostHog and Grafana for insight into user experience and system health A culture of experimentation, learning and continuous improvement Qualifications Proven experience building production-ready frontend applications Strong expertise in React, Next.js and TypeScript A solid understanding of frontend architecture, performance and security best practices Experience with Docker and Azure deployments A collaborative mindset and strong communication skills A passion for creating user-focused, beautifully crafted digital experiences Experience mentoring others and helping teams improve their craft Nice to Have Knowledge of modern state management such as Redux or Zustand Understanding of accessibility standards and WCAG guidelines Familiarity with web performance optimisation and web vitals Benefits Modern tech stack and a strong culture of engineering excellence Work closely with designers and product owners to shape the user experience Career progression into technical leadership or architecture Supportive environment with clear standards and room to innovate Top tier tools and a workspace designed for creativity and collaboration Team & Culture You'll join a squad that genuinely enjoys working together. Designers, engineers and product thinkers sit side by side, sharing ideas and solving problems as a team. We believe in ownership, curiosity and craftsmanship. Everyone has a voice, and we encourage ideas from across the squad. We share knowledge, celebrate success and support each other every step of the way. If you care about building great products and growing as part of a collaborative, design led team, you'll fit right in.

We are seeking an analytical individual with effective communication skills to join our successful and established Projects department as a Business Analyst. You will introduce, facilitate & manage delivery of projects across the group, whilst ensuring that we keep appropriate stakeholders engaged. Role: Business Analyst Location: Liverpool City Centre/ Hybrid Salary: up to £39,000 dependent on experience Working hours: 37.5 hours, Monday to Friday from 9am to 5:30pm What you will be doing Lead requirement-gathering meetings with various stakeholders and clearly document business needs. Organise requirements using the MOSCOW technique where appropriate. Document any Risks, Actions, Issues or Decisions that are identified as part of the requirement gathering process. Document current "As Is" and future "To Be" processes. Identify problems, challenges and areas that can be improved upon. Is the primary Business Analyst work with a vertical squad or on a specific business project. Independently create user stories with Gherkin Methodologies and/or capture Business Requirements in an effective manner. Follow Agile process to support sprints. Work with product manager to ensure backlog items are refined and prepared in a timely manner. Provide detailed breakdown and explanation of requirements in refinement and sprint planning sessions. Appropriately relating any supporting documentation when necessary. Create Process Maps using Visio and BPMN 2.0 (certification required). Update management with weekly progress reports on current workload. Escalate complex issues when necessary. Ensure that appropriate and accurate documentation is created and maintained throughout the project lifecycle to support User Acceptance Testing and post implementation aftercare. What we're looking for A positive "can do" attitude. High level of accuracy and attention to detail. Strong interpersonal skills to deal with challenging issues and provide the right outcome for the business. Excellent organisational skills. Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Ability to work in a fast-paced environment. Ability to work multi-task. A flexible approach to meet evolving business needs, to help drive to our Vision, fulfill our Mission, and abide by our Organisations Values. Benefits Real autonomy to shape how your squad designs, builds and delivers software A modern, cloud-native architecture that encourages experimentation and ownership Work with talented developers, designers, testers and product professionals who care about what they build Influence technical decisions that shape the direction of our products and platforms Opportunities to grow into staff, principal or architecture-focused leadership roles A supportive, transparent culture where craftsmanship, curiosity and learning are celebrated Regular opportunities for professional development, conferences and innovation time Our Commitment to our colleagues Mindful Employer - championing mental health and wellbeing Disability Confident Level 1 & 2 - creating accessible, inclusive opportunities Menopause Friendly accredited - supporting every stage of life Armed Forces Covenant signatory - honouring those who serve Great Places to Work 2024/25 - fostering an engaging and positive workplace culture Best Place to Work for Development - proud to be investing in people's future Best Place to Work for Women - breaking down barriers to women's career progression

Senior Business Analyst Acorn Insurance is looking for an experienced Senior Business Analyst where you'll play a pivotal role in driving strategic business improvements and delivering high impact solutions across the organisation. You'll lead complex initiatives with autonomy, mentor junior analysts, and collaborate with cross functional teams to shape the future of our business operations and technology landscape. Working Hours: 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday Location: Liverpool City Centre, Hybrid working available Responsibilities Lead complex projects and initiatives, ensuring they align with business objectives. Develop business cases, conduct cost benefit analyses, and assess risks to support decision making. Provide guidance and mentorship to Business Analysts, supporting their professional development. Collaborate with cross functional teams to identify and implement efficiency improvements. Work independently with minimal oversight, taking ownership of deliverables and outcomes. Translate business requirements into clear, actionable solutions, including third party implementations. Research and propose new approaches to business opportunities, including supplier engagement where appropriate. Develop and apply a strong technical understanding of internal systems to provide best approach insights, enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions. Engage with development teams to shape solution design and ensure alignment with business needs. Deliver business analysis activities across various delivery frameworks, including Agile. Lead "As Is" and "To Be" process modelling with a technical focus. Analyse and document technical requirements to ensure clarity across technical and non technical stakeholders. Constructively challenge technical approaches to promote best practices and effective delivery. Use data analysis tools (e.g., SQL, Excel) to support decision making and process reviews. Produce and maintain high quality documentation throughout the project lifecycle, including technical specifications, system architecture, data flows, integration points, configuration settings, and custom developments. Qualifications Proven experience in a Senior Business Analyst role, ideally within insurance or financial services. Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP), PMI PBA, or equivalent (preferred). Agile or Scrum certification (e.g., Scrum Master, Agile Practitioner) highly desirable. Strong leadership and mentoring capabilities without direct line management. Excellent stakeholder management skills, both internal and external. Demonstrated success in delivering operational and technically complex business improvements. Proficiency in business analysis tools and techniques, including SQL and Excel. Ability to work independently with minimal guidance and high accountability. Exceptional communication and documentation skills, especially in technical contexts. Benefits 35 days holiday (including bank holidays) with additional buy/sell options. 24/7 mental health support and free counselling available. Flexible benefits, including early access to salary via our internal platform. Hybrid working options to support work life balance and individual needs.

Job Title Radar Developer Location Liverpool City Centre, hybrid working available Salary £Competitive, depending on experience Working Hours 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm What you will be doing Implementation of pricing structures and models. Aid in the direction on approach of pricing builds and implementation Building, updating and reviewing XML outputs within the rating models Conduct thorough testing before deploying new or updated pricing structures Identify conflicts within the pricing structures that would prevent them being implemented smoothly Maintaining awareness of practical implications of pricing changes Identify improvements to pricing structures Conduct peer reviews of team members builds and change to maintain a high level of accuracy Keep up to date documentation and audit trails of deployed pricing changes into the live system Maintain implementation schedules based on agreed prioritisation criteria Working closely with team members to refine and improve the system What we are looking for Experienced user of Radar and Radar Live Experience of working in the insurance industry Ability to understand complex rating structures Excellent planning and organisational skills Experience of managing and prioritising multiple priorities Good verbal and written communication skills, able to explain technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders Ability to analyse problems and challenges, and develop structured solutions Desire to offer new solutions in a proactive manner Suitable visa status: at least one year remaining on Graduate or Post-Study Work visa (no sponsorship available) Benefits Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package Professional development opportunities, with case studies and learning resources Collaborative and inclusive work environment Exciting projects with industry impact 35 days holiday including bank holidays, with additional buy/sell options 24/7 mental health support and free counselling Hybrid working options to support work-life balance and individual needs Flexible benefits, including early access to salary via internal platform

The Acorn Group in Liverpool City Centre is seeking a Radar Developer to implement and enhance pricing structures while working in a hybrid environment. The ideal candidate will have experience using Radar, proven skills in the insurance industry, and the ability to manage complex rating structures. This role invites professionals who thrive in a collaborative environment and are eager to contribute to exciting projects, with competitive salary and comprehensive benefits including 35 days holiday.