Principal Software Developer

Job title: Principal Software Developer

Office location with Hybrid working: Open to North, Midlands, Bristol or London locations

About the role and the Team:

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Principal Software Engineer to join our Software Engineering team. This role is critical in driving the technical vision, development, and operation of our software systems. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in event-driven architecture (EDA) with Kafka, and proficiency in Python and/or Java. A strong background in distributed systems at scale and telecoms is highly advantageous. This role focuses on technical expertise, thought leadership, and prototyping, without management responsibilities.

What will you be doing?

Technical Leadership

• Serve as a technical leader and mentor within the Software Engineering team
• Drive the design, development, and maintenance of scalable, secure, and reliable software system
• Implement best practices for software development using Python, Java, and PHP
• Champion the adoption of event-driven architectures using Kafka.

Software Development

• Architect and develop robust, high-performance, and scalable distributed systems
• Ensure the implementation of clean, maintainable, and efficient code
• Optimize software applications for performance and scalability

Event-Driven Architecture

• Implement and manage event-driven architectures using Kafka.
• Ensure robust data streaming and processing capabilities to support various business functions.

Prototyping and Innovation

• Develop prototypes and proof-of-concepts to validate new technologies and approaches.
• Lead technical exploration and experimentation to drive innovation within the software systems.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and industry trends to continuously improve software capabilities.

Collaboration and Communication

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure alignment and integration of software services.
• Communicate technical initiatives and progress to stakeholders.

Continuous Improvement

• Stay abreast of emerging technologies and industry trends.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance software reliability, performance, and scalability.
• Implement monitoring, logging, and alerting systems to proactively identify and resolve issues.

What we are looking for:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field
• Proficiency in Python and Java
• Experience in software engineering or a related field
• Deep expertise in event-driven architecture and Kafka
• Telecoms experience and/or experience in a start-up or PE environment
• Ability to think strategically, provide practical solutions, and make sound decisions in complex and evolving product and customer journey environments
• Strong leadership abilities, including the capacity to build and motivate teams, manage change, hold people to account and drive a culture of customer and product focus.

Why work for us?

We're in our customer's corner and our vision is to be the UK's most loved and desired broadband provider, that shows the way broadband is done!

Awarded Broadband Provider of the Year 2023 Uswitch Telecoms Awards, as voted for by 20,000 customers, plus Fair Terms Gold Award 2023. We're also very proud to have been awarded Great Place to Work Certification (2022-23) and UK's Best Workplaces for Wellbeing (2022)

Some of our key Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Global Remote working for up to 2 week per year for those who are able to work remotely
• 25 days' paid holiday increasing each year, to a max of 35
• Extra days off for your birthday, moving home, wedding/civil partnership and to volunteer
• Private medical Insurance provided by AXA health
• Life assurance giving you cover of 4 times your base salary
• Partnership with the Kings Trust
• Our pension scheme matches your contributions up to 4%
• Retail offers — discounts from hundreds of recognisable brands
• Free Hyperoptic broadband if you live in a Hyperoptic area
• Enhanced pay for new parents

We're committed to providing equal opportunities to all applicants and employees. In fact, this is at the heart of our culture and values. We welcome applications from candidates from all walks of life.

What happens next?

1. You apply
2. We carefully review your application
3. We'll get back to you — even if it's a no (for now)