Principal Software Engineer

MHR; Ruddington; On-site; GBP 85,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

60+ internal training courses

GP access for you and family

Extra holiday days beyond 25 days

Family leave

MHRewards discounts

Employee recognition program

Referral bonus up to £2,000

On-site restaurants

Private medical insurance

Job summary

MHR is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to define strategy, influence architecture, and guide delivery in a modern SaaS environment. You will work across the organization to shape scalable systems using .NET and Azure, applying cloud-native design and test-driven development.

You will champion AI-assisted development to boost efficiency, quality, and innovation while mentoring engineers and aligning priorities across teams for high-impact outcomes.

Qualifications

• Experience with Microsoft technologies (.NET, Azure) and modern engineering practices.
• Ability to define technical strategy and deliver complex initiatives.
• Proven track record in scalable, cloud-native architectures.
• Advocate of TDD, continuous improvement, and AI-assisted engineering.
• Strong collaboration and stakeholder communication skills.
• Experience mentoring engineers and raising technical standards.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute technical strategy across a modern SaaS environment.
• Shape scalable, resilient architecture aligned with business goals.
• Drive engineering excellence with test-driven development and AI tooling.
• Lead cross-functional Agile teams and mentor engineers to raise standards.

Skills

.NET & Azure

Cloud-native

Technical strategy

TDD & AI-assisted engineering

Stakeholder comms

Mentoring engineers

Job description

At MHR, our employees are central to our success and play a key role in helping customers achieve sustainable high performance. With a team of over 900 professionals, we work to make things flow smoothly, whether it's for large organisations or individual employees. As businesses face rapid changes in the world of work, our team is here to help them adapt and thrive.

By focusing on the core needs of efficiency, productivity, growth, and impact, our employees use their expertise to deliver real solutions through our People and Finance platform. This system, which covers finance, HR, payroll, and learning, helps businesses run more smoothly and make better decisions in real time.

With over 40 years of experience behind us, MHR’s track record as a high-performance organisation is built on clear goals, a shared vision, and strong communication - all of which we pass on to our customers.

MHR is more than just a place to work; it’s a platform for empowerment. Joining us means bringing innovation, technology, and teamwork seamlessly removes obstacles, enhances your skills, and allow you to focus on what’s most important to you- work that matters.

With us, you’ll grow, find your flow, and make a lasting difference in your career, your team, and your impact.

Join MHR as a Principal Software Engineer, leading complex engineering challenges that shape our products and technical direction.

In this role, you will operate across the organisation—defining strategy, influencing architecture, and guiding delivery within a modern SaaS environment. Drawing on experience with Microsoft technologies such as .NET and Azure, you’ll apply modern programming practices including cloud-native design, distributed systems, and test-driven development.

You will also champion AI-assisted development to improve engineering efficiency, quality, and innovation. This is a high-impact position combining hands‑on expertise with technical leadership and mentoring.

Your Team

You’ll work across cross‑functional Agile teams, partnering closely with engineers, architects, and stakeholders.

Through influence rather than authority, you’ll help align teams and foster a collaborative, inclusive culture focused on continuous improvement.

Your Impact

This role will see you defining and executing technical strategy, shaping scalable, resilient architecture aligned with business goals.

You’ll drive engineering excellence through best practice—embedding test‑driven development and using AI‑assisted tooling to enhance delivery. Working across teams, you’ll help align priorities, mitigate risks, and ensure consistent, high‑quality outcomes, while mentoring engineers to strengthen capability.

As a trusted technical leader, you’ll balance long‑term vision with delivery outcomes.

What you’ll bring to the role and MHR

• Strong experience with Microsoft technologies (.NET, Azure) and modern engineering practices


• Expertise in scalable architecture and cloud‑native systems


• Proven ability to deliver technical strategy and complex initiatives


• Advocate of TDD, continuous improvement, and AI‑assisted engineering


• Strong collaboration and stakeholder communication skills


• Experience mentoring engineers and raising technical standards

Benefits to support you personally and professionally

Alongside the opportunity to work with an incredible team and express your individuality, we offer a range of personalised benefits including:

• Access to over 60 internal training courses, professional qualifications, and cross‑departmental mentoring and coaching programmes


• 24/7 access to a GP through Help at Hand for you and your family, confidential mental health support, and paid sick leave


• Ability to purchase or sell additional holiday days beyond 25 days and bank holidays


• Enhanced Family leave


• My MHRewards offering discounts at over 900 retailers


• Monthly employee recognition program and departmental awards


• Referral bonus scheme of up to £2,000


• Employee‑led social events such as running clubs, football teams, book clubs, and bake‑offs


• On‑site subsidised restaurants offering a variety of fresh meals daily


• Opt‑in benefits schemes such as private medical insurance and dental coverage

We value the well‑being, financial stability, and inclusivity of our employees, and strive to provide a supportive working environment.

At MHR, we’re completely committed to creating a supportive and inclusive workplace where all voices are heard, and everyone feels valued and supported.

Whatever your background, abilities and experiences, if you’re excited by this role we want to hear from you. If you require assistance for an interview, please let us know and we’ll make sure your needs are met when you arrive.

If we receive an exceptionally high volume of applications, we reserve the right to close this vacancy earlier than originally advertised.