No need for apologies; I’m not offended. By leading with “I’m a software engineer” you must admit the last thing one would expect a software engineer to carp about is getting “hands dirty” with a script … unless, perhaps, you’re actually a software architect 
Historically, everything in Home Assistant has been configured via text files (using YAML). The same scripting syntax is used in an automation’s action or in the body of a standalone script. UI-based editors were eventually introduced (for composing automations and scripts) but have always been slightly behind the curve. They don’t allow one to use everything that’s available in scripting thereby they produce results that are, to be polite, limited.
I was under the impression you already knew it was now possible (as of 0.113) to create actions/scripts containing loops and you were only displeased with the inability to create them with the Automation/Script Editors. Eventually the editors will be enhanced but, for now, you’ll have to dust off your favorite text editor and manually compose loops (using repeat).
If you use VS Code, there’s an extension called Home Assistant Config Helper that performs validation, text completion, etc (helps avoid making common syntax errors).
FWIW, the name “hassio” was discarded many months ago and recently got a second name change to “Home Assistant OS”. For future reference, here’s a table comparing the feature sets of the four official installation methods.