Principal Software Engineer

We are seeking an accomplished and technically exceptional Principal Engineer to join our engineering team at an exciting stage of our company's growth. This is a senior individual contributor role that carries significant responsibility for technical quality, delivery outcomes, and the professional development of the broader engineering function. The successful candidate will bring extensive experience operating at the principal or staff engineer level within fast-paced technology environments, ideally within the health technology or regulated software sector. They will demonstrate a proven ability to lead complex technical initiatives end-to-end, establish and uphold best practice standards across multiple disciplines, and contribute meaningfully to the growth and capability of those around them.

This position requires a professional who is equally comfortable working at the code level and contributing to technical strategy, someone who can provide clear direction, communicate progress with transparency, and consistently align their technical decisions with the broader vision of the organization. Prior experience in a startup or high-growth environment is essential, as the role demands a high degree of adaptability, initiative, and commercial awareness.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the end-to-end delivery of complex product features and capabilities from technical design through to production release, monitoring, and iteration with full ownership of quality, reliability, and outcomes.
• Establish and evolve engineering best practices across a broad range of technical disciplines, including system design, API development, testing strategy, CI/CD, observability, and security, setting the standard for the wider team.
• Actively mentor and develop junior and mid-level engineers through structured guidance, code review, pair programming, and honest feedback, creating genuine learning opportunities and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
• Provide proactive and generous technical support to peers across the engineering team, unblocking, advising, and elevating the quality of collaborative work.
• Bring clarity and structure to ambiguous or complex problems, translating technical challenges into clear, actionable paths forward that the team can execute with confidence.
• Communicate proactively and transparently about progress, risks, and decisions to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, ensuring alignment and appropriate visibility at all times.
• Maintain a deep understanding of the product vision and organizational direction, ensuring that all technical decisions are made in service of long-term goals, not just immediate delivery needs.

Requirements:

• 8+ years of software engineering experience, with demonstrable experience operating at principal or staff engineer level, including a track record of end-to-end ownership of complex technical initiatives from design through to production.
• Proven startup or high-growth environment experience: This is a non-negotiable requirement. The successful candidate will understand the demands of a resource-conscious, fast-moving organization and demonstrate the adaptability and initiative that environment requires.
• Deep technical expertise across software architecture, cloud-native systems, and production engineering, with the ability to work credibly across a broad range of disciplines and guide others in areas beyond their own specialization.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor and develop engineers at all levels, with evidence of raising team capability and fostering a culture of quality, learning, and psychological safety.
• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to translate complex technical concepts for non-technical audiences, proactively manage stakeholder expectations, and articulate technical decisions with clarity and confidence.
• Experience in health technology or regulated software environments is highly regarded.