Principal Engineer

West Midlands, England, United Kingdom

1/15/2025

About the team:

As the Modernisation Programme continues to prepare OSB Group for the future we are building our capabilities in house and looking for 3 technically experienced Principal Engineers across Savings, Lending and Accounts & Payments streams. These are brand new roles, reporting into the Group Head of Technical Delivery. You will lead and grow a team of skilled and experienced engineers, whilst still being in the detail and having a 'hands on' approach, driving the development and execution of engineering products through innovation, collaboration and continuous improvement.

Our team at OSB Group is a cohesive blend of diverse talents and expertise, united by a shared commitment to excellence. With a collaborative spirit and an agile mindset, we thrive in an inclusive environment where every voice is valued, and innovation is encouraged. Supported by strong leadership and a culture of continuous learning, we work together to deliver high-quality solutions that drive innovation and enable our organization to leverage the power of data and technology effectively.

The role can be based from our Chatham or Wolverhampton office.

About us:

The OSB Group is a FTSE 250 specialist mortgage lender, primarily focused on carefully selected segments of the mortgage market.

Our specialist lending is supported by our Kent Reliance and Charter Savings Bank retail savings franchises. Diversification of funding is provided by sophisticated securitisation platforms. OSB's unique cost-efficient operating model is supported by our wholly-owned subsidiary OSBIndia.

Alongside passion for our products and customers, we're passionate about our people and want to continue building a collaborative and engaging environment. Being dedicated to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, we encourage differences and recognise that individuals from diverse backgrounds and experiences can bring valuable insights and enhance the way we work. This is supported by our Diversity, Community and Environment Employee Engagement Networks and our commitment to the Women in Finance Charter and Women in Leadership Programme.

What you will be doing:

As Principal Engineer, you will deep technical expertise and practical hands-on experience to lead and deliver complex engineering projects in the Savings, Lending, or Payments domains.

With a background in retail banking and Azure you will lead end-to-end change delivery, including defining the process and governance around change management, to ensure successful implementation of required technical solutions.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Build Scalable Architectures: Design and implement scalable, secure, and high-performing cloud-native solutions, leveraging modern technologies.
• Hands-On Coding: Actively contribute to the codebase by developing and reviewing critical components of software applications using technologies like Java, Python, or C# for backend systems, and modern front-end frameworks for user interfaces.
• API Development and Integration: Design and build secure RESTful and GraphQL APIs, ensuring seamless integration with core banking systems (e.g., Mambu) and external services like Open Banking platforms.
• Data Engineering and Analytics: Work closely with data teams to define robust data pipelines and scalable cloud-based data platforms using tools like Apache Kafka, Snowflake, or Databricks.
• Monitoring and Performance Tuning: Implement advanced monitoring and observability solutions using tools like Prometheus, Grafana, or Datadog to proactively identify and resolve performance bottlenecks.
• Technical Leadership in Payments: Bring domain expertise in the Payments space, including Faster Payments, BACS, CHAPS, and Open Banking, ensuring solutions adhere to industry standards and regulatory requirements.
• Code and System Optimization: Proactively analyse and optimize existing systems for improved performance, scalability, and maintainability.

With a number of exciting opportunities in this role, you will be part of the transformation project which will create a new operating platform for the business. As the company and team grows, so should you!

In return for your commitment:

We offer a base salary dependent on location and experience between £80,000 - £95,000 and a competitive benefits package including:

• Discretionary annual bonus opportunity of up to 25%.
• 30 days annual leave plus bank holidays.
• Contributory pension (8% employer 5% employee).
• Life Assurance (4x salary) plus Group Income Protection.
• Access to Private Medical Insurance and Medical Cash Plan.
• Maternity & Adoption Leave - Occupational Maternity/Adoption Pay provided at 100% of salary for the first 26 weeks.
• Paternity Leave - 8 weeks of paid leave to be taken within 12 months of birth or adoption.
• Additional benefits such as Hybrid working, Cycle Purchase scheme, Technology Purchase scheme, Season Ticket Loan, Holiday purchase / sell schemes, Employee Perk Portals, Payroll giving and Save as you Earn scheme.

Could you be the one?

We are looking for talented individuals who have the experience and knowledge set out below:

• Significant experience within retail banking in a technical engineering role to develop and review critical components of software applications with confidence to code in Java, Python, or C#
• Strong track of building, scaling and optimising payments platforms with a focus on security compliance and performance.
• Extensive experience with banking systems, payments domain and core banking platforms
• Strong technical skills and expertise in relevant technologies, such as cloud computing, microservices architecture, APIs, and data management
• Relevant certifications in Cloud Computing (e.g., AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Google Professional Cloud Architect, or Azure Solutions Architect)
• Demonstrable experience of managing, leading and coaching a technical team
• Specifically Payments role - additional experience with real time payments, card payments, BACS, mobile wallets and APIs (Payments role)

We also believe that your career and how you progress is as unique as your individual personality. We continually support our people so they can become the best version of themselves.

What to do next

If this sounds like you, please apply now! For internal applications please visit the internal careers page to apply.

If shortlisted from your initial application we operate a personalised recruitment process. Interviews are a two way street, we aim for them to be relevant and conversational to get the best out of you!

OSB Group are dedicated to diversity in the workplace and committed to treating all our employees and job applicants equally. We embrace equal opportunities and are opposed to discrimination on any grounds.

As part of our public commitment to the Women in Finance Charter, we have introduced our own initiatives to attract, develop and advance senior women in our sector. We don't stop there though, we have broadened our approach to encourage diversity and inclusion at all levels and in all roles. Our leadership and Executive Committee are right behind us, to the extent that our Diversity Champions sit at Board level and on a monthly basis receive updates on our progress.

Whilst we are an organisation that values face-to-face interaction to build and nourish our culture, we also acknowledge that people are not just productive in an office and tied to the 9 to 5. Flexible-working opportunities are important for establishing a healthy work-life balance so if you see a role of interest we are happy to be asked about flexibility and explore together if we can make it work.

All applicants must have rights to work in the UK and be willing to undertake the relevant pre-employment screening checks should your application be successful.

Desired Skills and Experience

Engineer, JAVA, banking, payments, savings, Lending, modernisation, transformation, Azure, retail banking, Pytho, c#, API development, core banking, Mambu, Open banking, data engineering, python,