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 to 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
• GitHub 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 / TypeScript

• 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 We explicitly embrace AI-first development .

You Are Expected To

• Use AI coding agents as part of your daily workflow
• Leverage tools like Claude Code Pro to explore solutions, accelerate development, and improve code quality
• Apply judgment — AI is a multiplier, not a replacement for engineering thinking

If you’re excited about working with AI rather than around it, you’ll fit well here.

What Success Looks Like

• You independently own systems and features with minimal oversight
• You proactively simplify and improve existing codebases
• You help prevent issues through clear thinking and communication
• You contribute ideas and direction, not just implementations
• You help raise the bar for how the team builds and maintains software

Growth & Opportunity This Role Offers Meaningful Opportunity To

• Shape architecture and long-term system direction
• Influence how engineering is done at CEM
• Grow into senior technical roles through impact and ownership

Titles matter less here than trust, responsibility, and results .

If You Seek

• The entrepreneurialism of a smaller venture married with the stability of an established firm.
• Opportunities to work with complex dataset to draw elegant insights.
• A hybrid work environment with both in-office and at-home flexibility.
• A curiosity-driven culture founded on a desire to improve lives.
• A team that is stronger for its gender, cultural and intellectual diversity.
• Camaraderie, collaboration, open communication and a high-trust environment.

Then we want to hear from you!