Principal Software Engineer

develop; Bracknell; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus eligible

Car salary sacrifice

25 days holiday

Job summary

develop is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to advance AI-driven cloud products from concept to production in a hybrid Bracknell setting. This senior, hands-on role focuses on architecture, distributed systems, cloud services and AI integration.

You will design cloud-native services and distributed systems, develop LLM integrations and AI workflows, build REST and GraphQL APIs, define architecture standards and raise security and resilience.

Qualifications

• Experience as a Principal Engineer, Lead Engineer or Software Architect with strong architectural judgement.
• Deep understanding of distributed systems and cloud architecture.
• Ability to work independently and drive technical decisions.
• Strong communication and technical leadership skills.
• Proficiency in C#/.NET and Python.

Responsibilities

• Design cloud-native services and distributed systems.
• Develop LLM integrations and AI workflows.
• Build scalable REST and GraphQL APIs.
• Define architecture and engineering standards.
• Improve security, observability and resilience across services.
• Collaborate with product, UX and AI specialists to solve customer problems.
• Provide technical leadership and mentoring within a small, experienced team.

Skills

Cloud architecture

Distributed systems

C# / .NET

Python

API design

LLM integrations

Technical leadership

Independent worker

Tools

REST APIs

GraphQL

Job description

Principal Software Engineer | Up to £100,000 + bonus | Hybrid in Bracknell

I'm working with a global enterprise software organisation that is investing heavily in its AI and cloud engineering capability. Their specialist innovation team is growing and they're looking for a Principal Software Engineer to help take AI-driven products from concept through to enterprise-scale production.

This is a senior, hands-on engineering role focused on architecture, distributed systems, cloud services and AI integration. It's ideal for someone who enjoys solving complex technical problems and influencing engineering direction, rather than managing large teams.

Package:

• Competitive salary DOE
• 5% annual bonus
• Car salary sacrifice scheme
• 25 days holiday

What you'll be doing:

• Designing and building cloud-native services and distributed systems
• Developing LLM integrations and agentic AI workflows
• Building scalable REST and GraphQL APIs
• Defining architecture and engineering standards
• Improving security, observability and resilience across services
• Collaborating with product, UX and AI specialists to solve real customer problems
• Providing technical leadership and mentoring within a small, highly experienced team
• C# / .NET
• Python
• REST APIs & GraphQL
• LLM APIs and AI-assisted development tooling

The team works across both .NET and Python, so strong experience in both would be ideal.

What they're looking for:

• Previous experience as a Principal Engineer, Lead Engineer or Software Architect
• Strong architectural judgement and systems design skills
• Deep understanding of distributed systems and cloud architecture
• Ability to work independently and drive technical decisions
• Strong communication and technical leadership skills

Why this role stands out:

You'll be joining a small R&D-style engineering team (currently 5 engineers) with plans to double in size over the next few months. The environment offers:

• High autonomy
• Minimal bureaucracy
• Exposure to modern AI technologies
• Real influence over technical direction
• The opportunity to build features that will be rolled out across a large global software platform

The interview process is typically completed within 2-3 weeks, and the team is happy to wait for the right person if you're serving a notice period.