Principal Software Engineer

Fred. Olsen Limited; Stirling; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Life Assurance

Enhanced Maternity & Paternity Pay

Discounted Travel

Cruise Concessions

Job summary

Fred. Olsen Limited is seeking an experienced Principal Software Engineer to provide technical leadership across our software engineering function, with a focus on renewables and control centre solutions. This senior hands-on role shapes architecture, engineering strategy and high-quality software delivery.

You will report to the Head of Software Engineering and influence technology decisions, standards, and best practices across product areas.

Qualifications

• Significant experience designing, developing and delivering complex software solutions.
• Strong knowledge of software architecture, engineering principles, design patterns and modern practices.
• Proven ability to mentor, coach and influence engineers and teams.

Responsibilities

• Provide senior hands-on engineering across complex software products and platforms.
• Shape and own architectural decisions for scalable, secure, resilient solutions.
• Translate business strategy and standards into practical technical solutions.
• Lead design and development, staying close to implementation details.
• Establish and promote engineering standards, patterns and best practices.
• Mentor engineers to grow technical capability and engineering excellence.
• Identify opportunities for automation and continuous improvement.
• Champion modern engineering approaches, embedding quality and security.

Skills

Software architecture

Technical leadership

Mentoring engineers

Security & reliability

Engineering standards

Complex systems

Job description

Established in 1963, Fred. Olsen Ltd focuses primarily on the Renewable Energy, Forest Management, Logistics and Travel Sectors. Established and based in the UK, but operating globally, we operate with innovation, service and dependability in mind, and supply a central service function in Finance, HR, IT and Facilities services to the UK companies under our umbrella which include:

• The Natural Power Consultants
• ZX Lidars
• ZX Measurement Services

As a company we have a family culture, our success is anchored in an authentic heritage. Delivering our vision is down to the passion of our people, and we are proud to create opportunities for everyone to thrive and grow.

We’re looking for an experienced Principal Software Engineer to provide technical leadership across our software engineering function, with a particular focus on renewables, energy control centre solutions and business applications.

This is a senior hands-on technical role for someone who enjoys solving complex problems, shaping architecture and engineering strategy, and helping talented teams deliver software that is secure, scalable, resilient and built to last.

Reporting to the Head of Software Engineering, you’ll be the senior technical authority within your assigned product area. You’ll turn business strategy and technical direction into pragmatic architectures, thoughtful designs, engineering standards and high-quality working software.

As Principal Software Engineer, you’ll have a broad influence across technology, people and delivery. You will:

• Provide senior technical hands-on engineering expertise across complex software products and platforms.
• Shape and own architectural decisions, ensuring solutions are scalable, secure, resilient, efficient and fit for purpose.
• Translate business strategy, product direction and engineering standards into practical technical solutions.
• Lead the design and development of complex software systems, remaining close enough to the technology to understand and influence implementation.
• Establish and promote software engineering standards, patterns, principles and best practices.
• Mentor and coach software engineers, helping to develop technical capability and a culture of engineering excellence.
• Identify opportunities for innovation, automation and continuous improvement across our software engineering practices.
• Champion modern engineering approaches and ensure that quality, security and maintainability are embedded throughout the software lifecycle.
• Provide technical leadership across your assigned product area, deputising for the Head of Software Engineering on technical matters when required.

What we’re looking for

We’re looking for an accomplished software engineer who can operate comfortably at both strategic and technical levels.

You’ll bring:

• Significant experience designing, developing and delivering complex software solutions.
• Strong knowledge of software architecture, engineering principles, design patterns and modern development practices.
• The ability to make sound architectural and technical decisions and communicate the rationale clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience working across the full software development lifecycle, from requirements and architecture through to delivery, operation and continuous improvement.
• A strong understanding of building secure, scalable, resilient and high-performing software.
• A track record of mentoring, coaching and influencing other engineers and technical teams.
• Experience establishing or improving engineering standards, practices and ways of working.
• The ability to balance long-term technical strategy with pragmatic delivery.

Experience within energy, renewables, energy management, control centre solutions or other critical infrastructure environments would be highly valuable, although we’re equally interested in exceptional software engineering leaders from other sectors.

This is an opportunity to have a genuine technical impact at a time when technology is playing an increasingly important role in the transition to a smarter, more sustainable energy system.

You’ll work on complex and meaningful problems, influence the direction of our technology, and help create the engineering capability needed to support the future of our business.

Fred. Olsen Ltd offers a wide range of exciting employee benefits including but not limited to Axa Health Private Medical, Life Assurance, Enhanced Maternity & Paternity Pay, Discounted Travel, Cruise Concessions plus retail discounts and cash back incentives through our Boost Benefits scheme.

As an equal opportunity employer, we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We want to ensure that you feel supported throughout the application process and provide reasonable adjustments where necessary and requested. If you require any reasonable adjustments as part of your application and interview process, please do not hesitate to let us know.