Principal Software Consultant

Full Time Leeds, United Kingdom Consulting

Audacia is an award‑winning technology consultancy specialising in software engineering, data, AI and cloud. We have established a reputation as thought‑leaders and innovators, working as a trusted partner to deliver complex large‑scale technology solutions with clients including global agriculture companies, regulatory bodies, multinational energy providers and international automotive manufacturers.

We’re looking for a Principal Software Consultant to join our growing consultancy team in Leeds City Centre, based out of our waterfront office on The Calls.

As a Principal Software Consultant, you will shape, validate, and define technology solutions across engineering, data, AI and cloud. You will engage early with clients to understand their challenges, run discovery activities, define solution approaches, and provide strategic technical direction throughout the project lifecycle.

You’ll work within an internal consultancy team made up of Business Analysts, Data Scientists and fellow Consultants. We trust our teams, so you’ll be given autonomy and ownership over your work, supported with the tools, people and culture you need to thrive. We operate collaboratively and transparently, both with colleagues and with clients. You’ll also benefit from regular progression reviews and opportunities to lead teams or move into management roles.

You’ll be part of a community here, with people who are passionate about technology and who enjoy spending time together inside and outside of work.

• Wider business contribution opportunities

As a Principal Software Consultant, you'll engage with clients from the earliest stages - leading presales conversations, understanding their needs, validating feasibility, and shaping viable technical and strategic solutions. You’ll help clients navigate complex technology decisions, balancing business value, technical direction, and delivery constraints.

On engineering projects, you’ll lead discovery processes, define functional and non‑functional requirements, and design scalable, secure solution architectures. You will review approaches, identify risks, and create artefacts that support successful delivery. You will act as a strategic advisor, setting solution direction and ensuring architectures align with client operating models.

On AI projects, you’ll run exploratory workshops, develop adoption roadmaps, and deliver proof‑of‑concepts to evaluate feasibility and impact. Principal Consultants are also commonly involved in exploring advanced analytics and AI opportunities to guide client decision‑making.

On data projects, you’ll support clients in shaping modern data strategies, evaluating technical approaches, and validating integration or analytics potential through PoCs.

Across all domains, you will operate as a senior advisor - communicating trade‑offs clearly and ensuring solutions are technically coherent and commercially viable. Principal Consultants frequently translate complex technical concepts into clear business language to support strategic decisions.

You’ll also undertake technical due diligence, assess existing systems and SDLC maturity, and provide recommendations for improvement.

• Work to deadlines and provide progress updates throughout all projects.
• Build a deep understanding of client business processes and objectives.
• Make confident, evidence‑based recommendations on tools, technologies and approaches.
• Produce proposals including recommendations on commercial and costing decisions.
• Build and maintain strategic relationships across all levels of client organisations, positioning Audacia as a long‑term partner.
• Lead presales engagements, validating early‑stage ideas and shaping feasible solutions.
• Conduct full discovery processes, capturing functional, non‑functional and technical requirements.
• Design and document solution architectures, including PoCs and feasibility assessments.
• Deliver technical due diligence assessments on systems, development processes and engineering practices.
• Recommend improvements to SDLCs, including Dev Ops, QA and security standards.
• Lead AI strategy and adoption…