Principal Engineer / Architect

Leeds (Hybrid - 2-3 days per week in office)
£70,000 - £80,000 + strong pension + private healthcare

My client is continuing to expand their SaaS platform and is now seeking a Principal Engineer / Architect to take ownership of the technical direction, architectural evolution and innovation strategy. This is a senior, hands-on technical leadership role focused on ensuring the platform remains scalable, maintainable and performant as the organisation grows. You will work across all engineering teams to define architectural standards, guide complex technical decisions and lead initiatives that strengthen performance, reliability, technical sustainability and innovation.

What will you do in the role?

Architecture Governance

• Define and maintain system architecture standards
• Guide the evolution of platform architecture
• Support major technical decisions across engineering teams
• Review and approve complex technical designs

Technical Debt and Modernisation

• Define and maintain a technical debt roadmap
• Lead initiatives such as frontend modernisation and system restructuring
• Improve the long-term maintainability of the platform

Performance Engineering

• Identify and resolve system performance bottlenecks
• Lead database performance optimisation efforts
• Improve platform scalability and reliability

Technical Leadership

• Mentor developers and Team Leads
• Support problem-solving for complex technical challenges
• Promote best practices in software design and development

Platform Collaboration

• Work closely with Platform Engineers on infrastructure improvements
• Enhance CI/CD architecture and deployment processes
• Improve system monitoring and observability

Data and Innovation

• Support development of data platform capabilities (e.g., ClickHouse, ElasticSearch)
• Explore AI and automation opportunities within the platform
• Drive innovation aligned with organisational needs

Research and Development

• Define and lead the technical R&D strategy
• Identify and evaluate emerging technologies, tools and architectural approaches
• Run proofs-of-concept to validate new ideas
• Translate R&D findings into deliverable capabilities
• Establish structured experimentation with clear success criteria
• Keep the organisation informed of relevant technology trends
• Contribute to a culture of continuous improvement and innovation

What skills and experience will you already have?

Essential

• 10+ years' experience in software development
• Experience designing and evolving large-scale systems
• Strong background in .NET and cloud-based architectures
• Experience with performance tuning and optimisation
• Degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience
• Deep understanding of software architecture principles
• Strong coding ability (C#, SQL, etc.)
• Experience with system integration patterns
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to balance innovation with delivery needs
• Strong ability to assess new technologies and communicate trade-offs
• Strong understanding of performance optimisation techniques
• Experience with modern frontend frameworks (e.g. React)

Desirable

• Experience with AWS
• Experience with distributed systems
• Experience with data platforms or analytics systems
• Experience contributing to R&D or innovation initiatives
• Experience evaluating and prototyping new technologies
• Exposure to AI/ML and emerging technology trends
• Experience introducing new technologies into production environments

Personal Qualities

• Highly analytical and detail-oriented
• Strong technical leadership presence
• Ability to influence without direct authority
• Passion for engineering excellence
• Pragmatic and outcome-focused
• Curious and forward-thinking mindset
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity
• Strong commercial awareness when assessing innovation

If you're looking for a senior technical leadership role where you can shape architectural direction, modernise a growing platform and lead high‑impact engineering initiatives, please apply to find out more.

Please note: Sponsorship is not available for this role. Applicants must already have the right to work in the UK.

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age.