Principal Software Engineer, Fullstack/Backend (UK Remote)

Turnitin; Manchester; Remote; GBP 57,000 - 97,000; Full time

Job summary

Turnitin is hiring a Principal Software Engineer for our Shared Services team to shape core platform capabilities used across our products and support millions of users worldwide.

We are a global, remote-first organization with team members in over 35 countries. Expect to lead backend design, drive architectural decisions, and mentor engineers while delivering scalable cloud-native solutions using Java and AWS technologies.

Qualifications

• Significant experience building and operating large-scale backend systems.
• Expertise in Java and modern cloud technologies.
• Experience with AWS serverless services (Lambda, DynamoDB, API Gateway, SNS, SQS, EventBridge) and Kubernetes.
• Proficient in CI/CD tools, build, deployment and test automation.
• Strong understanding of distributed systems, APIs, scalability and software architecture.
• Ability to influence technical direction and lead complex engineering initiatives.
• Excellent collaboration and communication within distributed teams.
• Mentoring and supporting growth of other engineers.
• Nice to have: AI/ML experience, SaaS or EdTech, or frontend tech like React.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and development of shared backend services and platform capabilities.
• Drive architectural decisions and technical strategy across multiple teams.
• Build scalable, highly available cloud-native solutions using Java and AWS technologies.
• Mentor engineers and promote engineering excellence.
• Collaborate with product, architecture, and engineering teams to solve complex challenges.
• Champion best practices in software quality, performance, reliability, and security.

Skills

Java

AWS

Kubernetes

CI/CD

Distributed systems

Software architecture

Mentoring

Leadership

Backend development

Tools

AWS Lambda

DynamoDB

API Gateway

SNS

SQS

EventBridge

Kubernetes

CI/CD tooling

Job description

Salary: £57,000 - 97,000 per year

Requirements

• Significant experience building and operating large-scale backend systems.
• Strong expertise in Java and modern cloud technologies.
• Experience with AWS serverless services such as Lambda, DynamoDB, API Gateway, SNS, SQS, and EventBridge, as well as Kubernetes and related cloud-native technologies.
• Experience with CI/CD tools, including build, deployment, and test automation.
• Strong understanding of distributed systems, APIs, scalability, and software architecture.
• Experience influencing technical direction and leading complex engineering initiatives.
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills within distributed teams.
• Passion for mentoring and supporting the growth of other engineers.
• Nice to have: experience with AI/ML technologies, SaaS or EdTech environments, or modern frontend technologies such as React.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and development of shared backend services and platform capabilities.
• Drive architectural decisions and technical strategy across multiple teams.
• Build scalable, highly available cloud-native solutions using Java and AWS technologies.
• Mentor engineers and promote engineering excellence throughout the organization.
• Collaborate with product, architecture, and engineering teams to solve complex technical challenges.
• Champion best practices in software quality, performance, reliability, and security.

Technologies

• AI
• API
• AWS
• Lambda
• Backend
• CI/CD
• Cloud
• Frontend
• Support
• Java
• Kubernetes
• React
• Security
• Serverless
• DevOps
• Fullstack

More

We are Turnitin, a recognized innovator in the global education space. For more than 25 years, we have partnered with educational institutions to promote honesty, consistency, and fairness across subject areas and assessment types. Our products help institutions and certification and licensing programs uphold integrity and improve learning performance, while helping students and professionals produce original work. We are hiring a Principal Software Engineer for our Shared Services team to shape core platform capabilities used across our products and support millions of users worldwide. We are a global, remote-first organization with team members in more than 35 countries, and we offer a comprehensive rewards package that includes health and wellness programs, generous paid time off, education reimbursement, parental leave, retirement contributions, and wellness or home-office support. Our mission is to ensure the integrity of global education and meaningfully improve learning outcomes. We value customer centricity, learning, integrity, ownership, teamwork, and a global mindset.

last updated 40 week of 2026