Principal Software Engineer

Principal Java Engineer | Hybrid in Nottingham (2 days p/w in the office) | Up to £110k + Package The Opportunity

We’re working with a UK-based SaaS organisation to hire a Principal Java Engineer for a senior, hands-on individual contributor role. This position sits within a core engineering function, where you’ll focus on solving the most complex and technically challenging problems across a large-scale, enterprise SaaS platform.

You’ll work at the sharp end of engineering, shaping technical direction, influencing architecture, and setting high engineering standards, while remaining deeply involved in design and delivery on the platform’s most critical initiatives.

This is a high-impact role for an experienced Java engineer who enjoys balancing hands-on delivery with technical leadership. You’ll collaborate across engineering, platform, and delivery teams to design, build, and evolve scalable software systems.

• Provide technical leadership across a modern Java codebase
• Work closely with cross-functional teams to align delivery with quality and performance goals
• Contribute hands-on to architecture, design, and development
• Produce proof of concepts to validate technical approaches and reduce delivery risk
• Champion clean code, automation, and strong test coverage
• Support planning, design reviews, and incident management
• Influence engineering best practices and technology choices

• Strong commercial experience with Java (Jakarta EE / J2EE)
• Solid experience working with SQL databases
• Proven experience building microservices and RESTful APIs
• Cloud experience (Azure preferred, others considered)
• Experience in Agile environments with TDD and CI/CD pipelines
• Strong understanding of clean code principles, SOLID, and design patterns
• Exposure to Docker / containerisation is beneficial
• Excellent problem-solving skills and a collaborative mindset

• Up to £110k and benefits package
• Opportunity to influence technical direction on a large-scale SaaS platform
• Clear progression within a senior engineering / technical leadership track
• Supportive, collaborative engineering culture
• Hybrid working (2 days p/w in the office)