Principal Software Engineer

ZipRecruiter; Oxford; Remote; GBP 105,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading tech organization is seeking a Principal Software Engineer – Data to own the evolution of their data platform and influence architectural decisions. This role offers a competitive salary of £105,000 and robust benefits, including 33 days of holiday and comprehensive healthcare, within a collaborative team focused on impactful product development.

Benefits

33 days holiday

12 weeks maternity/paternity leave

Comprehensive private healthcare

Qualifications

• Strong background in building and scaling data platforms.
• Experience designing data models and pipelines at scale.
• Track record of technical leadership and mentoring.

Responsibilities

• Design and evolve modern data architecture.
• Build robust, event-driven pipelines.
• Lead by example and mentor engineers.

Skills

Cloud environments

Data platforms

Technical leadership

Mentoring

Collaboration

Tools

Python

SQL

dbt

Databricks

BigQuery

Delta Lake

Spark

Kafka

Parquet

Iceberg

Job description

Job Description

Principal Software (Data) Engineer - £105,000 + exceptional benefits - Architect the Future of Consumer Tech - Remote or hybrid

My client is hiring a Principal Software Engineer – Data, to help shape the future of a high-impact, consumer-facing platform used by millions each month. This is a rare opportunity to join a well-established but fast-evolving tech organisation that’s doubling down on modern architecture, engineering autonomy, and data-driven product development.

In this role, you’ll take ownership of the data platform’s evolution, influence architectural decisions, and collaborate closely with engineering, product, and commercial teams to deliver reliable, scalable systems that make a real difference to users’ lives.

Why this role is exciting

• Real ownership over platform and architectural decisions
• Deep collaboration with product, design, and commercial stakeholders
• A mission-led team that cares about technical quality and customer outcomes
• Strong focus on delivery health, data observability, and engineering best practice
• A role designed for someone who enjoys building, influencing, and mentoring

What you’ll do

• Design and evolve modern data architecture (data mesh, lakes, dimensional modelling)
• Build robust, event-driven pipelines with Python, SQL, and cloud- tooling
• Improve the delivery and reliability of data products and observability tooling
• Lead by example: mentor engineers, contribute to technical standards, and drive team alignment
• Work closely with stakeholders to translate business needs into scalable solutions

Tech environment includes

Python, SQL, dbt, Databricks, BigQuery, Delta Lake, Spark, Kafka, Parquet, Iceberg

(If you haven’t worked with every tool, that’s totally fine — my client values depth of thinking and engineering craft over buzzword familiarity.)

What they’re looking for

• A strong background in building and scaling data platforms in cloud- environments
• Experience designing data models, pipelines, and architectural patterns at scale
• A track record of technical leadership, mentoring, and influencing beyond your own team
• Familiarity with delivery metrics (DORA ideally, but not a must have), observability, and modern DevOps principles
• TDD
• A collaborative mindset, a bias for action, and a desire to work on meaningful products

Benefits include

• £105,000 salary
• 33 days holiday
• 12 weeks maternity/paternity leave
• Comprehensive private healthcare (incl. dental & optical)

Sound interesting? If so, please apply to hear more!