Principal Software Engineer: Cloud-Native & AI-Driven Systems

Instil; Belfast City District; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible hybrid working

Belfast office access

Job summary

Instil is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to design, build, and guide the delivery of scalable software solutions across Java, Python, C#/.NET and TypeScript. You will lead architecture, mentor engineers, and drive AI-enabled development in production environments.

You’ll own technical direction, collaborate with platform teams, design cloud-native apps on AWS/Azure/GCP, and shape standards while delivering production-ready software in a hybrid Belfast-based role.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience building production systems using Java, Python, C#/.NET or TypeScript.
• Experience with cloud platforms AWS, Azure or GCP.
• Strong system design and distributed systems knowledge.
• Experience building/consuming REST and event-driven APIs.
• Ability to make architectural decisions and guide complex projects.
• Experience across the full software delivery lifecycle.
• Strong fundamentals and best practices in software engineering.
• Ownership mindset to drive solutions end-to-end.
• Excellent communication with stakeholders.
• Mentoring engineers and supporting team development.
• Interest in AI-enabled engineering and continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and guide delivery of software using Java, Python, C#/.NET and TypeScript.
• Develop cloud-native apps across AWS, Azure, GCP.
• Provide technical leadership on complex projects and programmes of work.
• Contribute to system architecture and make key technical decisions.
• Work with distributed systems, APIs, and event-driven architectures.
• Collaborate with platform teams to ensure reliable, scalable deployments.
• Contribute to CI/CD pipelines and improve engineering workflows.
• Leverage AI-assisted development tools and agentic workflows to improve productivity and software quality.
• Identify opportunities to automate engineering tasks through intelligent tooling and AI.
• Mentor engineers and support technical growth across teams.
• Work closely with cross-functional teams to deliver production-ready software.
• Help establish and promote engineering standards, best practices, and ways of working.

Skills

Java

Python

C#/.NET

TypeScript

AWS

Azure

GCP

System design

Distributed systems

REST APIs

Event-driven

Technical leadership

SDLC

Best practices

Ownership

Communication

Mentoring

AI in engineering

Tools

React

Angular

Vue

Terraform

CloudFormation

Docker

Kubernetes

GitHub Actions

GitLab CI

Azure DevOps

Serverless

AI services

LLMs

Agent-based systems

Job description

Instil is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to design, build, and guide the delivery of scalable software solutions across Java, Python, C#/.NET and TypeScript. You will lead architecture, mentor engineers, and drive AI-enabled development in production environments.

You’ll own technical direction, collaborate with platform teams, design cloud-native apps on AWS/Azure/GCP, and shape standards while delivering production-ready software in a hybrid Belfast-based role.