Principal Software Engineer

MCS Group; Belfast City District; Remote; GBP 66,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

MCS Group in Northern Ireland is establishing a new engineering presence and seeks a Principal Software Engineer who enjoys building software, solving complex problems, and leveraging modern AI tools to improve workflows.

This senior Individual Contributor role offers genuine ownership, technical autonomy and a chance to shape a growing engineering team. The position is nearly fully remote with occasional in-office days in NI.

Qualifications

• Strong software engineering experience at senior levels.
• Proven track record of delivering production software.
• Broad backend and architecture expertise.
• Hands-on with AI development tools as part of daily workflow.
• Interest in how AI reshapes software engineering and willingness to experiment.

Responsibilities

• Design, build and deliver scalable, production-ready software.
• Develop and enhance existing platforms alongside new product development.
• Work across backend services, APIs and frontend technologies where required.
• Contribute to architectural decisions and promote modern engineering practices.
• Use AI-assisted development tools to improve productivity and accelerate delivery.
• Take ownership of technical decisions from design to production.

Skills

Software engineering

Production software

Backend development

Software architecture

AI tools awareness

Cursor

Claude Code

GitHub Copilot

Tools

Cursor

Claude Code

GitHub Copilot

Job description

MCS Group is working exclusively with a high-growth technology organisation as they establish a new engineering presence in Northern Ireland. We're looking for a Principal Software Engineer who enjoys building software, solving complex problems and using modern AI tools to improve how they work.

This is pretty much a fully remote position (1-2 days per month in office), senior Individual Contributor opportunity offering genuine ownership, technical autonomy and the chance to play an important role in shaping a growing engineering team.

We're looking for someone who enjoys remaining hands-on, making sensible technical decisions and working on enterprise software products. You'll be joining an organisation that values pragmatic engineering, modern tooling and the ability to move quickly without unnecessary complexity.

What you'll be doing

• As their Principal Software Engineer you'll design, build and deliver scalable, production-ready software.

• You'll develop and enhance existing platforms alongside new product development.

• Work across backend services, APIs and frontend technologies where required.

• Contribute to (and own) architectural decisions and promote modern engineering practices.

• Use AI-assisted development tools to improve productivity and accelerate delivery.

• Take ownership of technical decisions, from initial design through to production.

What we're looking for

• You'll have strong software engineering experience, ideally operating at Principal, Staff or Lead level.

• A proven track record of building and owning software in production environments.

• Broad technical experience across backend development, modern technologies and software architecture.

• Someone comfortable working autonomously and making pragmatic technical decisions.

• Hands-on experience using AI development tools such as Cursor, Claude Code or GitHub Copilot as part of your everyday engineering workflow.

• A genuine interest in how AI is changing software engineering and a willingness to experiment with new approaches.

Why consider this opportunity?

• Join a growing technology organisation establishing its presence in Northern Ireland.

• Senior Individual Contributor role with significant technical ownership.

• Opportunity to work across both new product development and platform modernisation.

• Freedom to explore and adopt modern AI development tools.

• Flexible organisation - pretty much fully remote working from anywhere in Northern Ireland.

• An engineering environment (and leadership team) focused on outcomes, collaboration and technical quality.

Salary

• Salary up to £110,000