Senior Software Development Engineer - Site Reliability (Principal Associate)

Capital One; Nottingham; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services company is seeking a Senior Software Development Engineer - Site Reliability (Principal Associate) to enhance the stability and efficiency of cloud-based systems. This role involves leading a team to optimize performance, implement key SRE initiatives, and drive engineering best practices. Candidates should have strong Java skills and the ability to work in a complex, regulated environment. The position offers a hybrid working model based in Nottingham.

Qualifications

• Experience in a Principal Associate Engineering role.
• Strong background in Site Reliability Engineering.
• Passion for complex systems and performance optimization.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of engineers to maintain back-end services.
• Deliver goals set by Site Reliability Engineering Manager.
• Optimize operational overheads through automation.

Skills

Java

System performance analysis

Service automation

Cloud technologies (AWS)

Operational Excellence

Job description

Senior Software Development Engineer - Site Reliability (Principal Associate)

We're looking for a Principal Associate Engineer to join our Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) team. This role is ideal for a skilled Java engineer with a passion for understanding how complex systems work, analysing performance, and applying engineering solutions to make them more efficient, stable, and scalable.

You'll lead on planning and implementing key SRE initiatives, optimise and automate how our systems operate, and improve observability through better monitoring and logging. You'll also work closely with your peers to drive consistency and high standards across SRE and the wider engineering community, so a real enthusiasm for influencing others and leading by example is essential.

Responsibilities

• Technically lead a group of engineers responsible for maintaining and improving our back-end services for our most critical customer and/or data applications within the cloud.
• Help to shape and deliver the goals and vision set out by your Site Reliability Engineering Manager (SREM) through your team and hands-on engineering.
• Contribute to the major optimisation and improvement themes within the team, identifying opportunities to reduce operational overheads through observability and service automation.
• Drive engineering best practice (e.g., Operational Excellence, Security, Quality, Resilience etc.) and set standards across the team and wider SRE community.
• Innovate within your team and contribute within your technical domain.
• Deliver key pieces of intent from inception through to design and hands-on delivery, in collaboration with your SREM.
• Estimate, scope and plan your work within an agile environment.

Learning Opportunities

• Broadening your knowledge of the cloud (specifically AWS).
• Site Reliability Engineering.
• Solving real-world problems and being comfortable working in a complex regulated environment.

Work Environment

This is a permanent position based in our Nottingham office, with a hybrid working model that gives you flexibility to work from our offices and from home.

We have a collaborative and connected work environment, and you'll be based in our Nottingham office 3 days a week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

Diversity and Inclusion

We pride ourselves on hiring the best people, not the same people. Building diverse and inclusive teams is the right thing to do and the smart thing to do. We want to work with top talent: whoever you are, whatever you look like, wherever you come from.

We partner with organisations including the Women in Finance and Race At Work Charters, Stonewall, and upReach to find people from every walk of life and help them thrive with us. We have internal networks and support groups, such as REACH, OutFront, Mind Your Mind, Women in Tech, EmpowHER, and Enabled.

Capital One is committed to diversity in the workplace. If you require a reasonable adjustment, please contact [e-mail]. All information will be kept confidential and will only be used for the purpose of applying a reasonable adjustment.