Principal Software Engineer (Backend)

TL;DR

Principal Software Engineer (Backend): Lead design and delivery of scalable, data-driven backend systems for hospitality-tech digital solutions with an accent on architecture, performance, and reliability. Focus on designing distributed systems, APIs, microservices, and driving technical vision across teams.

Location: London with occasional travel

Salary: £70,000–£85,000 per annum

Company

Global technology business in the hospitality-tech industry.

What you will do

• Lead technical vision and architecture for complex backend systems ensuring scalability and performance.
• Define best practices, coding standards, and long-term technical strategy with engineering leadership.
• Design, develop, and oversee production-grade software using Python, Django, Cloud Firestore, BigQuery, and Elasticsearch.
• Mentor engineers and foster a culture of technical excellence and continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with product, data, and design teams to deliver innovative customer solutions.
• Evaluate and implement emerging technologies to enhance system performance and developer productivity.

Requirements

• Location: Must be based in or able to work from the United Kingdom
• Degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience.
• 3+ years backend development experience including senior/principal roles.
• Expertise in Python or similar backend language with experience in distributed systems, APIs, and microservices.
• Strong knowledge of software architecture, cloud infrastructure (Google Cloud, AWS, Azure), and DevOps practices.
• Experience influencing technical direction and driving alignment on complex engineering decisions.