Principal Engineer

Principal Engineer Southampton 50/50 Hybrid £74 – 87k + Benefits About the role This is a rare and high-impact opportunity for an exceptional Principal Engineer to operate as the senior technical authority within Business Systems. You won’t just contribute to engineering decisions — you will set the direction You will: • Lead on our most complex and business-critical engineering challenges • Shape and influence technology strategy across the organisation • Define engineering standards, architecture and best practice at scale • Provide technical assurance across platforms, integrations and systems • Elevate capability by mentoring and inspiring engineers across multiple teams Working at the intersection of technology, strategy, and delivery, you’ll partner with senior leaders, architects and product teams to ensure my client continues to build secure, scalable and future-ready systems. Alongside leading 3 direct reports, you’ll operate as a technical leader across a wider network of c.20 engineers — influencing design decisions, embedding best practice, and driving engineering excellence across multiple teams. This is a role for someone who thrives on influence, ownership and technical depth — and wants to leave a legacy. What we’re looking for You are a recognised technical leader with the ability to operate at both strategic and hands-on levels, bringing clarity to complexity and driving meaningful change. Essential: • Deep, broad technical expertise across software engineering, system design, integrations, Azure and enterprise platforms (e.g. CRM, Finance systems, APIs) • Proven track record leading large-scale engineering or architectural transformation • Strong ability to shape technical strategy and influence at senior level • Experience providing technical governance and assurance across complex environments • Excellent stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to translate complexity into clear direction • A passion for coaching, mentoring and raising engineering standards • Ability to balance long-term strategic thinking with pragmatic delivery focus Desirable: • Experience in product-aligned or service-led operating models • Strong understanding of modern engineering practices (Agile, DevOps, CI/CD) • Knowledge of cloud-native architectures and modern platforms • Experience improving engineering capability across multiple teams or domains The Rewards We want you to love what you do and feel supported to do your best work. Our benefits include: • Competitive salary and pension - contribute up to 12.07% • Performance-related bonus (where applicable) • 28 days annual leave plus bank holidays (increasing with service) • Enhanced family leave, including paid partner leave • Hybrid and flexible working options • Learning and development support, coaching and mentoring