Principal Software Engineer

About The Role

Hippo is a rapidly growing digital consultancy passionate about building and delivering transformative digital solutions for a diverse range of Public and Private sector clients. We are recruiting for a Principal Software Engineer to support our mission. We work at the intersection of strategy, design, and technology to solve complex problems and create lasting value. Our collaborative and agile culture empowers our teams to make a genuine impact.

As a Principal Software Engineer
, you will be a strategic technical leader and a hands‑on practitioner. Your scope extends beyond individual features; you will be responsible for shaping the engineering vision, defining technical standards, and driving the delivery of high‑quality, scalable software. You will mentor and guide senior engineers, lead our technical thought leadership, and act as a key contributor to business growth. You will influence C‑suite level stakeholders and drive our technical direction in a high‑impact, influential capacity.

Our solutions empower our customers to build and support secure, scalable, and well‑engineered systems. We leverage deep data insights and continuous innovation to deliver platforms that allow our customers to get the most from their digital services. The Principal Software Engineer is a key player and implementer in this mission, bridging the gap between high‑level architecture and robust, production‑ready code.

• Define and evangelise engineering standards, coding best practices, and CI/CD maturity across the entire Hippo Digital delivery practice.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to senior client stakeholders, including C‑level executives, guiding their long‑term technical roadmap and digital transformation initiatives.
• Lead the most complex and strategic engineering engagements, providing oversight on system design, code quality, and performance optimisation.
• Coach and mentor our team of senior engineers and developers, fostering a culture of continuous learning and technical mastery.
• Drive pre‑sales activities by leading technical responses to bids, conducting technical due diligence, and shaping new opportunities with potential clients.
• Represent Hippo Digital in the wider tech community through public speaking, blogging, and contributing to open‑source or community initiatives.
• Act as the final point of escalation for complex technical decisions, ensuring our solutions are secure, sustainable, and scalable.

• Extensive experience in software development with a deep, expert‑level command of at least two of the following:
  Python, Node or Java.
• A proven track record of leading large‑scale, enterprise‑level engineering projects and digital transformations.
• Demonstrated experience building and deploying applications on major public cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP), with a deep understanding of cloud‑native patterns.
• Hands‑on experience with containerisation (Docker, Kubernetes) and designing advanced CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Git Lab CI/CD, Git Hub Actions).
• Strong proficiency in Infrastructure‑as‑Code (IaC), specifically using Terraform for complex, repeatable deployments.
• Proven ability to communicate complex technical concepts effectively to C‑suite and executive‑level stakeholders.
• Experience in a consultancy environment, including contributing to pre‑sales, proposals, and project scoping.
• Expert‑level knowledge of application security, distributed systems, and performance tuning in a cloud context.
• Experience building, scaling, and managing high‑performing engineering teams, with a focus on fostering an inclusive culture and driving delivery excellence.

• Proven expertise in implementing robust identity solutions, including deep knowledge of OAuth2, OIDC, SAML, and integrating modern CIAM providers (e.g. Auth0, Forge Rock, or Azure AD).

As well as a competitive salary which we’re transparent about from the outset, you can also expect a range of benefits:

• Contributory pension scheme (Hippo 6% with employee contributions of 2%)
• 25 days holiday plus UK public holidays
• Perkbox access for a wide…