Principal Engineer

RM plc; Abingdon; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading education technology company in England is seeking a Principal Engineer to ensure top-quality code and guide engineering teams. You'll shape the future of education tech, collaborate with Product Owners and Architects, and lead the development of scalable applications. The ideal candidate has substantial experience with .NET C#, technical leadership skills, and a commitment to high standards in coding and software delivery. This role offers competitive compensation, hybrid working options, and a comprehensive benefits package.

Benefits

Private medical healthcare

Life assurance

Group Personal Pension Plan

Performance-related bonus

Voluntary benefits

Cycle-to-work scheme

Qualifications

• Substantial experience with .NET C#.
• Experience in a technical leadership role.
• Proficiency in developing scalable software for large codebases.

Responsibilities

• Own the quality of the codebase.
• Collaborate with Product Owners and Architects.
• Lead engineering teams to uphold coding standards.

Skills

Experience with .NET C#

Technical leadership

Develop scalable software

Relational databases

Test-Driven Development

Cloud provider knowledge

CI/CD pipelines

Security and Networking

Docker proficiency

Clean code architecture

Tools

PostgreSQL

MySQL

Job description

Overview

Would you like to help enrich the lives of learners around the world?

At RM, we’ve been pioneers of education technology since . We provide technology and resources to the education sector, supporting over 10 million students worldwide. We work with over28, schools, nurseries, and education trusts in countries to deliver customer‑centric solutions that improve education outcomes.

What we do helps learners at all stages of their lives, from preschool to higher education and professional qualification; we partner with schools, examination boards, central governments and other professional institutions to enrich the lives of learners.

RM Group operates through three businesses: Technology (Managed Services, Software and Infrastructure for Schools), Assessment (Software and Services) and TTS (Educational Resources).

Within the assessment market we are experts in providing solutions for online exam testing and marking and the management and analysis of educational data. We work with government ministries, exam boards and professional awarding bodies for high‑stakes assessment such as GCSEs, ALevels, and professional qualifications. Each year, our software is used globally to conduct hundreds of thousands of on‑screen tests and to mark millions of paper‑based scripts. For over a decade we have been partnering with the world’s leading awarding bodies to deliver intuitive, secure, and reliable e‑marking solutions.

Visit our website to find out more :

Responsibilities

Joining us means becoming an integral part of an exciting new team, set to make waves in the education sector!

As a Principal Engineer, you'll take on the crucial responsibility of owning the quality of our codebase. Ensuring absolutely highest standards, consistent patterns, and a Test‑Driven Development (TDD) approach will be second nature to you. Your keen eye for scale and knack for spotting issues ahead of time will be invaluable. Moreover, you'll play a pivotal role in helping engineers skill up, fostering a culture of continuous improvement within our team.

Your role will not just be about executing tasks; it will be about shaping the future of education technology alongside Product Owners, Architects, and Development teams. Together, you will craft innovative solution designs, ensuring they align seamlessly with our overarching vision.

You will also be a key collaborator with our Product Architects, challenging their decisions and working hand‑in‑hand to optimize technical designs. Your insights and expertise will be instrumental in translating conceptual designs into tangible technical deliverables, driving our mission forward with each line of code.

Your problem‑solving skills and innovative mindset drive you to lead in building highly scalable and reliable applications, effortlessly adapting to new technologies. You take ownership and initiative, proactively identifying and implementing improvements.

As an adept leader and communicator, you guide engineering teams to uphold coding standards, implement best practices, and maintain high code quality. Collaborating seamlessly, you design and deploy scalable applications, ensuring system stability while prioritizing iterative development.

Your insights drive effective resource allocation, while your technical expertise allows you to architect robust solutions. Your track‑record of delivering complex projects on time and within budget speaks to your leadership and mentorship capabilities.

Experience

Requirements

• Substantial professional experience with .NET C#
• Prior experience in a technical leadership role or similar capacity
• Proficiency in developing scalable software for large codebases
• Strong knowledge of relational databases, including PostgreSQL and MySQL
• Demonstrated commitment to Test‑Driven Development (TDD)
• Deep knowledge of at least one major cloud provider
• Experience in designing, understanding, and troubleshooting complex distributed systems
• Familiarity with CI / CD pipelines
• Solid understanding of Security, Networking, and Database concepts
• Familiarity with standard project lifecycle processes
• Proactive and inquisitive nature, willing to undertake various responsibilities
• Proficiency in Docker
• Highly skilled in clean code architecture, application and systems architecture, and other principles/methodologies such as SOLID and DDD
• Upholds high standards for code quality, testing, and iterative, continuous delivery
• Excellent collaboration skills for pair programming and code reviews
• Experience owning a feature from concept to production, including proposal, discussion, and execution
• Experience with monitoring, alerting, and debugging high‑volume production systems

What’s in it for you?

At RM we have My Work Blend @RM which provides office‑based colleagues with multi‑location and hybrid working options. As well as your office base, you can spend a proportion of your time working at other locations that suit your role and your life, including home, other offices, customer sites, distribution centres or on the move. We encourage you to discuss arrangements for this role with your potential line manager during the recruitment process.

As well as a competitive salary and our core benefits package which includes private medical healthcare, life assurance and a Group Personal Pension Plan with higher contribution levels available, some roles are also eligible for a performance‑related bonus. There are lots of voluntary benefits too. You could buy additional annual leave, join our dental plan, sign up for a health assessment, or take part in our cycle‑to‑work scheme. You could even earn yourself an extra bonus for successfully recommending a friend or family member for a position within RM.

To better reflect the society that we serve, we’re committed to building a diverse workforce and creating an inclusive and welcoming environment for all. To achieve this, we create teams of talented people from different backgrounds and experiences and strive to be a business where our people can bring their whole selves to work, we also want to make the recruitment process as inclusive as possible for everyone. Should you require additional support with your application or through the interview process, please contact us at .

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role.