Principal Software Engineer

Job Description

Principal Software Engineer

Salary up to £90,000

Hybrid working - 2 days per week in a Liverpool city centre office

Opportunity to shape a brand-new platform and influence engineering strategy

Work within a senior, AI-first engineering environment

• Principal-level position with significant technical ownership
• Leading the design and development of a modern platform rebuild
• Strong focus on Node.js, Type Script, React and cloud technologies
• Opportunity to shape engineering standards, architecture and AI adoption

We're supporting an established, technology-driven organisation that is investing heavily in the future of its engineering function. Following continued growth and a major platform transformation programme, they are looking to appoint a Principal Software Engineer to play a key role in defining both the technical direction and engineering culture of the business. This is an opportunity to join at a pivotal stage, working within a highly experienced team that values innovation, collaboration and modern software engineering practices.

This is a highly influential technical leadership role where you'll help shape the future of a modern, large-scale platform whilst remaining hands‑on with development. You'll lead the design and delivery of scalable backend services, APIs, integrations and data flows, whilst providing architectural guidance across the wider engineering team. Although the role is backend-focused, you'll also maintain strong involvement across the full stack, working with modern frontend technologies and cloud infrastructure.

Working closely with senior stakeholders, product teams and fellow engineers, you'll help establish engineering standards, drive adoption of AI-assisted development practices, and mentor other engineers as the team continues to grow. This role offers genuine autonomy, giving you the opportunity to influence technology decisions, engineering processes and long-term platform strategy.

• Strong commercial experience with Node.js and Type Script
• Experience with React and Next.js
• Proven track record designing and delivering scalable software architectures
• Cloud experience across Azure, AWS or GCP
• Strong understanding of API design, integrations and distributed systems
• Experience mentoring engineers and providing technical leadership
• Passion for modern engineering practices and AI-assisted development
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills

• Hybrid working model with two office days per week
• Annual training and conference budget
• Private healthcare
• Company bonus scheme
• Investment in modern tooling and AI-powered development platforms
• Opportunity to influence technical strategy at a senior level
• Clear progression and long-term career development