Principal Engineer

Principal Engineer – Distributed Systems – FinTech

London | 5 days in office

A fast-growing technology platform is looking for a Principal Engineer to help shape the architecture and evolution of its core systems as the platform continues to scale.

The organisation operates large-scale, real-time systems that require highly reliable infrastructure and thoughtful engineering design.

This role will play a key part in improving platform performance, scalability, and resilience while helping guide the long-term technical direction of the engineering team.

This position would suit someone who enjoys working on complex backend systems and influencing architectural decisions within a high-performing engineering environment.

What you’ll be working on

• Designing and evolving large-scale backend services
• Improving the scalability, performance, and reliability of core platform systems
• Architecting distributed systems capable of supporting high volumes of activity
• Collaborating with engineers and product teams to deliver robust technical solutions
• Contributing to engineering standards, architecture, and long-term platform strategy

Technical environment

• Golang, Java, Node.js, C++ (language-agnostic environment but willingness to work on Golang is a must)
• Distributed systems and event-driven architectures
• Cloud-native infrastructure and containerised services
• Messaging / streaming systems
• Scalable data storage and caching layers
• Linux-based environments

What they’re looking for

• Strong experience building scalable backend or platform systems
• Experience designing distributed architectures in production environments
• Ability to operate at Principal / Staff Engineer level, influencing technical direction
• Strong problem-solving ability and systems thinking
• Comfortable working in collaborative, fast-moving engineering teams

Why this role stands out

• Opportunity to influence the architecture of a rapidly scaling technology platform
• Engineering-led culture with strong technical ownership
• Complex technical challenges around performance, scale, and reliability
• Small, experienced team where senior engineers have real impact