Senior Principal Engineer

ZipRecruiter; London; Hybrid; GBP 150,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading global eCommerce B-Corp is seeking a Senior Principal Engineer to define the architectural roadmap for their major technical transformation. This role involves leading strategy across software, infrastructure, and security, with a hands-on approach to drive business growth. The ideal candidate will have proven experience in leading such transformations, particularly in high-growth environments.

Qualifications

• Experience leading complex technical transformations in eCommerce or marketplaces.
• In-depth knowledge of software engineering best practices.
• Ability to balance execution with long-term strategy.

Responsibilities

• Define and own the architectural roadmap aligning with business growth.
• Evaluate existing technical landscape and guide transition to a microservices cloud platform.
• Implement architectural governance and improve team collaboration.

Skills

Software engineering

Architectural leadership

Distributed systems

Microservices

Cloud architecture

DevOps

CI/CD

Excellent communication

Commercial mindset

Job description

Job Description

Senior Principal Engineer – Own the Architectural Roadmap | B Corp

£150k + 15% Bonus

Hybrid - London 2 days per week

Are you a Senior Principal Engineer with a passion for defining technology roadmaps to deliver business growth? Are you a commercially minded technology leader capable of strategic decision-making while working at a ‘hands-on’ level with engineering teams?

Senior Principal Engineer - A mission-driven global eCommerce company is undergoing a major technical transformation and is looking for a Senior Principal Engineer to help shape the future of its technology landscape. Operating in over 190 countries, this B-Corp certified organisation champions sustainability and circular economy principles, combining purpose with performance, making a genuine social and environmental impact. They are embarking on a strategic pivot towards Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) growth and are looking for a hands-on, strategy-led architecture leader to join the Senior Leadership Team.

The Role:

As Senior Principal Engineer, you’ll define and own the architectural roadmap, shaping tech strategy across software, infrastructure, data, and security. Reporting directly to the CPTO, you’ll play a key role in modernising and unifying a fragmented technical landscape, building towards a scalable, cloud- future. You will need to be comfortable taking pragmatic decisions, fixing foundations while driving growth and balancing the long-term vision with short-term business outcomes.

This is a unique opportunity to shape the architectural vision while remaining close to delivery, partnering with Engineering, Product, and the broader SLT.

What will the Senior Principal Engineer Do?

• Reporting to the CPTO as part of the SLT, you will create and evolve a pragmatic architectural roadmap aligned with business growth.
• Evaluated and rationalise the existing technical landscape and guide the transition to a modern, distributed, microservices-based cloud platform, reducing technical debt while designing new solutions to drive business growth..
• Implement architectural governance and ensure consistency across teams.
• Collaborate closely with Product and Engineering leaders to align technology with commercial priorities.
• Embed yourself within Product teams to understand their challenges and implement engineering best practices to improve speed and quality of delivery.
• Champion modern development principles: CI/CD, automation, DevOps.
• Act as mentor to 3 Staff Engineers, guiding their performance and supporting their growth.

Who is the Senior Principal Engineer?

• Proven experience leading complex technical transformations, ideally in eCommerce, marketplace, or complex platform environments.
• In-depth knowledge of software engineering, including architectural leadership and best practice.
• Strong knowledge of distributed systems, microservices, and cloud architecture.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, with a commercial mindset.
• Experience in high-growth, change-heavy organisations.
• Ability to balance short-term execution with long-term tech strategy.

This is an amazing opportunity for a Senior Principal Engineer to own the architectural roadmap in a major technical transformation for a highly successful business. Please reply with your CV or call Simon for a chat.

Senior Principal Engineer – Own the Architectural Roadmap | B Corp

£150k + 15% Bonus

Hybrid - London 2 days per week