Principal Software Engineer - Investments

Hargreaves Lansdown; Dartford; Hybrid; GBP 75,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services provider is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to guide the transformation to a cloud-native architecture. This non-coding role involves defining high-level architectures while fostering a collaborative culture within the engineering teams. Ideal candidates will have strong leadership skills and a deep understanding of modern architectural practices, combined with a passion for mentoring and enabling teams to thrive.

Benefits

Discretionary annual bonus

25 days holiday plus bank holidays

Flexible working options

Enhanced parental leave

Pension scheme up to 11% employer contribution

Private medical insurance

Two paid volunteering days per year

Qualifications

• Demonstrated leadership in legacy technology transformation and cloud migration.
• Strong expertise in modern architectural patterns and cloud-native design.
• Skilled communicator able to influence and engage at every level.

Responsibilities

• Define and document high-level solution architectures.
• Provide architectural principles and guidelines for design excellence.
• Foster a culture of data-driven decision-making.

Skills

Leadership in technology transformation

Modern architectural patterns

Cloud-native design

Container orchestration

Strong communication

Ability to balance trade-offs

Coaching teams on best practices

Security understanding

System flows comprehension

Tools

TypeScript

Java

Job description

Overview

Excited to grow your career? Our purpose is to make it easy for people to save and invest for a better future. We are looking for great people to join us, so please come and invest in YOUR future at Hargreaves Lansdown.

We know that sometimes people can be put off applying for a job if they don't tick every box. If you're excited about working for us and have most of the skills or experience we're looking for, please go ahead and apply. We’d love to hear from you!

About the role

Salary: Up to £95,000 dependent on experience (generous benefits package on top)

Join HL – Where Your Talent Shapes the Future of Investing

At Hargreaves Lansdown (HL), we’re more than the UK’s number 1 investment platform for private investors – we’re innovators, problem‑solvers and changemakers, helping over 1.8 million clients save and invest with confidence.

For more than 40 years, we’ve transformed how people engage with their money, combining cutting‑edge technology with award‑winning service. Our teams are curious, collaborative, and driven by the ambition to make investing accessible to everyone. We’d love for you to be part of our journey.

About The Role

As Principal Software Engineer in our Investment Tribe, you’ll be a senior technical leader, guiding our move from a complex legacy estate to a modern, cloud‑native architecture.

This is a strategic, non‑coding role embedded within tribe leadership, where you’ll shape and communicate high‑level architectures, set clear and supportive guardrails, and empower engineering teams to deliver high‑quality, data‑driven solutions. It’s about influence, clarity, and enabling teams to thrive – with a focus on being approachable, engaged, and collaborative.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Define and document high‑level solution architectures, clearly outlining trade‑offs, risks, and dependencies.
• Provide clear architectural principles and best‑practice guidelines that empower teams to design excellent solutions.
• Foster a culture of data‑driven decision‑making, defining cross‑team metrics that support continuous improvement.
• Promote strong documentation practices, including Architectural Decision Records, Solution Memos, and C4 diagrams.
• Guide cloud architecture choices, particularly around container orchestration and the use of AWS services.
• Champion best practices for observability, logging, security, and networking.
• Identify opportunities to enhance Developer Experience and efficiency through smarter tooling and frameworks.
• Support engineering teams with mentoring, pairing, and skills development.
• Lead conversations around Event‑Driven Architecture, cost forecasting, and designing for the future state.
• Partner with Product and Engineering Managers to align priorities and delivery approaches.

About You

Essential:

• Demonstrated leadership in legacy technology transformation and cloud migration.
• Strong expertise in modern architectural patterns, cloud‑native design, and container orchestration.
• Skilled communicator able to influence and engage at every level of the organisation.
• Proven ability to balance trade‑offs, costs, and technical constraints.
• Experience coaching teams towards engineering and architecture best practices.
• Deep understanding of security, networking, observability, and system flows.
• Adept at producing clear, concise architectural documentation.

Desirable:

• Previous experience as a Solution or Enterprise Architect.
• Background in enterprise systems and legacy‑to‑modern transitions.
• Familiarity with TypeScript and/or Java.
• Understanding of Developer Experience optimisation tools and frameworks.

Interview Process

Our process is designed to be transparent and supportive, giving you the opportunity to showcase your skills and get to know us:

• Introductory conversation with our recruitment team (30 mins)
• Virtual first‑stage interview with Senior Engineering Manager (30 mins)
• Virtual structured technical and competency interview (2 hours) Meeting with CTO (20-30 mins)

Working Schedule

Full‑time, with hybrid working and flexible hours available.

Why us?

Here at HL, we’re the UK’s number 1 investment platform for private investors, based in Bristol. For more than 40 years we’ve helped investors save time, tax and money on their investments.

To achieve our mission, we believe we have a workplace like no other, with constant learning, dynamic teams, and a great ethos. We\'re steered by core values that promote service, quality, innovation, and opportunity in everything we do.

What\'s on offer?

• Discretionary annual bonus * and annual pay review
• 25 days * holiday plus bank holidays and 1-day additional Christmas closure
• Option to purchase an additional 5 days holiday **
• Flexible working options available, including hybrid working
• Enhanced parental leave
• Pension scheme up to 11% employer contribution
• Income Protection and Life insurance (4 x salary core level of cover)
• Private medical insurance*
• Health care cash plans - including optical, dental, and out patient care
• Health screening programme
• Help@hand - confidential support including mental health counselling and remote GP
• Wellhub - unlimited access to fitness provider s and w ellness c oach sessions
• Variety of travel to work schemes with bike storage and shower facilities
• Inhouse barista and deli serving subsidised coffee and sandwiches
• Two paid volunteering days per year

* dependant on role level

** only available to select during our annual benefits window, in November each year

Hargreaves Lansdown is an inclusive employer that values diversity in its workforce. We encourage applications from all individuals without regard to race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability or age.

This role may also be available on a flexible working or part time basis – please ask the Recruitment & Onboarding team for more information.

Please note, we are unable to provide employment sponsorship to candidates.