Forward-Deployed Principal Engineer

xdesign; City of Edinburgh; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

xdesign is seeking a Principal Engineer for a Forward Deployed role in the UK, based in Edinburgh or London. You will work directly with client teams to turn emerging technology into production-ready outcomes, staying hands-on and close to the problem while mentoring others and driving practical delivery.

You'll combine broad engineering capability with deep expertise, acting as a trusted technical partner who can transfer knowledge, challenge assumptions, and guide teams through AI-enabled

Qualifications

• Broad engineering capability across full stack with deep expertise in at least one area.
• Hands-on approach: you still build, review and get into the detail.
• Excellent communication and consulting skills with engineers and stakeholders.
• Strong awareness of modern AI capabilities and practical outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Work directly with teams to understand required outcomes.
• Identify where technology can create leverage and turn ideas into working solutions.
• Build and demonstrate capabilities, often ahead of wider adoption.
• Transfer knowledge to teams so they can continue independently.
• Feed patterns and improvements back into the wider engineering team.
• Act as a trusted technical partner, challenging assumptions and making pragmatic decisions.
• Help teams use AI and emerging tech without compromising quality.

Skills

T-shaped engineer

Architectural judgement

Hands-on engineering

AI capabilities awareness

Communication skills

Job description

xdesign is seeking a Principal Engineer for a Forward Deployed role in the UK, based in Edinburgh or London. You will work directly with client teams to turn emerging technology into production-ready outcomes, staying hands-on and close to the problem while mentoring others and driving practical delivery.

You'll combine broad engineering capability with deep expertise, acting as a trusted technical partner who can transfer knowledge, challenge assumptions, and guide teams through AI-enabled