Principal Platform Engineer

JR United Kingdom; Belfast; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A scaling tech company in Belfast is seeking a Principal Platform Engineer to lead their Developer Experience (DevEx) initiative. This pivotal role involves designing tools and infrastructure that enhance the developer workflow while mentoring engineering teams. Join them to make a significant impact by creating internal tools and strategies that drive developer efficiency and satisfaction.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of software engineering experience, with recent platform or DevEx leadership.
• Strong experience in Go and TypeScript or similar languages.
• Expertise in AWS, Kubernetes, and Infrastructure as Code (preferred Terraform).

Responsibilities

• Lead DevEx strategy to improve usability and velocity for engineers.
• Architect scalable, cloud-native systems and drive improvements in CI/CD.
• Mentor engineers and enhance platform reliability and observability.

Skills

Go

TypeScript

CI/CD practices

AWS

Kubernetes

Infrastructure as Code

User-centric mindset

Technical leadership

Job description

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Location: Belfast – Hybrid (2 days onsite)

Salary: Up to £90,000 + Bonus & Benefits

We’re hiring exclusively for a scaling tech company with a clear mission: to empower engineers by investing heavily in Developer Experience (DevEx). They’re now seeking a Principal Platform Engineer to lead that mission — designing the tools, environments, and infrastructure that make engineering smoother, faster, and more reliable across the entire organisation.

This is a standout role for an engineer who understands that great platforms don’t just run code — they elevate the people writing it. If you're passionate about internal tooling, streamlined workflows, and removing friction for developers, this is your chance to make DevEx a first-class product.

The Impact You’ll Make

• Lead DevEx strategy and vision, improving usability, velocity, and autonomy for engineers.
• Build internal tools using Go and TypeScript to streamline infrastructure, automation, and CI/CD.
• Architect scalable, cloud-native systems across AWS, Kubernetes, and Infrastructure as Code (Terraform/CDK).
• Drive improvements to CI/CD pipelines and deployment processes to enable faster, safer delivery.
• Collaborate cross-functionally and mentor engineers while shaping platform and engineering culture.
• Improve system reliability, observability, and incident response through proactive platform design.
• Continuously identify and eliminate inefficiencies in the developer workflow.

What You Bring

• 8+ years of experience in software engineering, ideally with recent platform or DevEx leadership.
• Strong experience with Go, TypeScript, or similar languages.
• Deep understanding of CI/CD practices and Infrastructure as Code (Terraform preferred).
• Hands-on expertise with AWS and Kubernetes in production environments.
• A user-centric mindset focused on delivering excellent internal developer experiences.
• Clear communication and a passion for mentoring and technical leadership.
• Proven ability to balance technical trade-offs and influence platform direction.

Bonus Points

• Experience with developer portals such as Backstage.
• Familiarity with event-driven systems and event catalogue tooling.
• Contributions to open-source projects, especially within the CNCF ecosystem.
• Relevant certifications in AWS and/or Kubernetes.

This is a career-defining opportunity for a senior engineer who wants to lead DevEx at scale, creating a fast, intuitive, and reliable developer environment that drives impact across the business.

To find out more or apply in confidence, get in touch today.