Principal Engineer

The core responsibilities for the job include the following:

Platform Strategy and AI-Powered Productivity:

Define the long-term technical vision (3+ years) for the Developer Platform, including core infrastructure, CI/CD pipelines, and observability systems, ensuring they are cohesive and sustainable.

Pioneer the integration of AI/ML not just for engineering tasks but to drive overall company productivity, transforming internal processes and tools.

Identify and translate a future business opportunity or engineering productivity gap into a solvable, multi-quarter technical problem with a clear roadmap.

Drive significant improvements in engineering velocity and quality by identifying and solving bottlenecks within the software development process and continually introducing innovation.

Technical Leadership and Standards:

Apply domain expertise across multiple system domains (e. g., CI/CD, observability, cloud infrastructure, and tooling) to drive future-proof, high-leverage platform solutions.

Set standards for quality, structure, and operational excellence across all core platform systems.

Be a consensus builder, resolving conflicting priorities and mitigating risks across dependent engineering teams.

Take end-to-end ownership of complex, cross-cutting projects (10-18 engineers' effort) from inception to operation.

Engineering Influence and Growth:

Drive and influence collaboration across the entire engineering organisation, establishing a unified software development vision.

Act as a company ambassador through significant external contributions (e. g., open-source, publications, and standards committees).

Master the craft of coaching, mentoring Staff Engineers for Principal-level impact, and raising the hiring bar

Requirements:

Typically 18+ years of industry experience in software engineering, with a significant focus on developer platforms, infrastructure, or core tools.

Demonstrated ability to function at a level equivalent to an engineering director in terms of strategic impact, scope of influence, and technical ownership.

A proven track record of identifying, defining, and driving the technical strategy for high-impact initiatives across multiple complex, multi-organisational systems.

Deep expertise in a general-purpose programming language (e. g., Go, Java, C/C++, Scala, and Python) and mastery in applying first principles thinking actively, questioning assumptions to create new knowledge and solutions for core engineering problems.

Exceptional skills as a consensus builder and cross-functional leader, adept at navigating conflicting priorities and influencing stakeholders across various teams to achieve a unified vision.

Experience in architecting and scaling highly available, fault-tolerant developer platforms and infrastructure.

A demonstrable understanding of how to strategically leverage AI/ML to improve software development processes and overall company productivity.

Ability to act as an effective coach and mentor, supporting the growth of engineers up to the staff level.

Capable of self-directing, managing time, and advocating for resources for activities that are critical for the company's future engineering velocity and platform stability.