Principal Software Engineer

A well-established organisation operating in a specialist, high-security sector is looking to bring on board an experienced software engineer at principal level. This is a permanent, full-time position with flexibility to work across two office locations in England, supported by a hybrid working arrangement.

The position suits someone who thrives in technically complex environments and wants the freedom to shape how software is built. Depending on your preference, the role can be shaped around hands-on engineering, or balanced with coaching and developing less experienced members of the team. You'll sit within a mature, collaborative engineering function and play a meaningful part in delivering software that genuinely matters.

Security clearance is a condition of employment. Applicants should currently hold SC level clearance and must be open to sponsorship through to a higher clearance tier.

What you'll be doing

• Taking ownership of software design and delivery, maintaining high engineering standards throughout
• Acting as a trusted voice on technical decisions within your team
• Building relationships across disciplines - working closely with non-engineering stakeholders as well as fellow developers
• Playing an active role in how the team works, not just what it delivers
• Supporting the growth of colleagues where applicable

• Solid full-stack capability - you'll be comfortable working across the front and back end, with exposure to modern JavaScript ecosystems, TypeScript, Python, and/or Java
• Experience building and consuming RESTful APIs
• Familiarity with at least one major cloud provider
• Hands-on experience with containerised environments and orchestration
• Exposure to infrastructure-as-code practices
• Comfortable working with relational databases
• Experience with search technologies
• A considered approach to testing - you write tests as a matter of course, not as an afterthought
• CANDIDATES MUST HAVE DV CLEARANCE

A strong candidate won't necessarily tick every box. If your background is solid across most of these areas, we'd encourage you to apply - there is genuine appetite to invest in the right