Position of the role
The Principal Engineer reports to the Domain Lead and plays a key role in driving the technical vision, strategy, and execution of development initiatives. The Principal Engineer collaborates with multiple teams to ensure that software solutions are scalable, cost-optimized, performant, and aligned with business objectives.
Result expectation in terms of result areas and core activities
The Principal Engineer is responsible for defining, designing, and overseeing the implementation of complex software solutions. This role involves deep technical expertise, mentorship, and architectural guidance across multiple teams. The Principal Engineer also acts as a thought leader, influencing technology choices, best practices, and innovation within the organization.
Main objectives of the role
✔ Leading the design and architecture of the software by following best practices that ensure scalability, maintainability, cost optimization, and high performance.
✔ Driving innovation and continuous improvements in software development practices.
✔ Providing technical mentorship and coaching to engineers across teams.
✔ Ensuring the successful delivery of high-quality software aligned with business requirements.
✔ Defining and maintaining coding standards, best practices, and governance frameworks.
✔ Collaborating with product management and other stakeholders to shape the technical roadmap.
✔ Identifying technical debt and implementing strategies to mitigate it effectively.
✔ Promoting a culture of continuous learning, knowledge sharing, and cross-team collaboration.
✔ Leading DevOps, CI/CD, and automation to improve software delivery processes and efficiency.
Specialisation
✔ Deep understanding of software architecture, system design, and performance optimization.
✔ Translating complex business requirements into scalable and efficient software solutions.
✔ Handling large data transformations and ensuring system efficiency under the required load conditions.
✔ Leading initiatives for modernizing the technology stack and implementing best practices.
✔ Ensuring that security, scalability, and maintainability are embedded into development processes.
✔ Driving research and development efforts to explore emerging technologies and their business impact.
✔ Enabling teams to develop and maintain high-quality software through code reviews, architecture guidance, and technical strategy.
✔ Collaborating with product owners and stakeholders to ensure that development aligns with business goals and user needs.
Key processes in the role
✔ Agile / Scrum / Kanban development methodologies.
✔ CI/CD and DevOps practices to streamline delivery.
✔ Cloud-native architecture, monolith and microservices-based development.
✔ Scalable and high-performance computing strategies.
✔ Secure software development lifecycle (SDLC).
✔ Data-driven decision-making.
✔ Performance optimization.
Key relationships (teams and/or position titles)
✔ Engineering Teams (Developers, QA, DevOps).
✔ Head of Engineering and Technology Leadership.
✔ Product Management and Business Stakeholders.
✔ Customer Success and Solution Architects.
✔ External Technical Partners and Vendors.
Requirements
✔ Bachelor's or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field.
✔ 10+ years of experience in software development, with a proven track record .
✔ Strong experience in Python and modern software engineering practices.
✔ Expertise in cloud computing platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
✔ Experience in architecting and developing scalable, high-performance applications.
✔ Hands-on experience with CI/CD pipelines, DevOps tools, and automation.
✔ Deep understanding of microservices, monolith, APIs, and distributed systems.
✔ Strong experience with database technologies, including SQL and NoSQL.
✔ Excellent communication and leadership skills, with the ability to influence technical decisions across teams.
✔ A passion for mentoring, coaching, and fostering a strong engineering culture.
✔ Experience in defining and implementing technical governance and best practices.
Competences
✔ Strategic Thinking - 4
✔ Analytical Problem Solving - 4
✔ Technical Leadership & Mentorship - 4
✔ Communication & Collaboration - 3
Measures of success
✔ Technical leadership impact - measurable improvements in code quality, architecture, and scalability.
✔ Delivery of high-quality software within agreed timelines and business requirements.
✔ Successful mentorship - improvement in team skill levels, problem-solving capabilities, and innovation.
✔ Reduction of technical debt through strategic refactoring and modernization.
✔ Engineering team satisfaction - based on feedback and collaboration effectiveness.
✔ Improvements in system performance, stability, cost-optimization, and security.
✔ Adoption of best practices and emerging technologies across teams.
✔ Contribution to company-wide strategic initiatives through technical innovation and leadership.
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