Principal Engineer / Architect (.NET)

TL;DR

Principal Engineer / Architect (.NET): Taking ownership of the technical direction, architectural evolution, and innovation strategy for a growing SaaS platform with an accent on scalability, maintainability, and performance. Focus on defining architectural standards, guiding complex technical decisions, and leading initiatives that strengthen performance, reliability, technical sustainability, and innovation.

Location: Leeds (Hybrid - 2-3 days per week in office)

Salary: £70,000 - £100,000

Company

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.

What you will do

• Define and maintain system architecture standards and guide the evolution of platform architecture.
• Lead initiatives such as frontend modernisation and system restructuring to improve the long-term maintainability of the platform.
• Identify and resolve system performance bottlenecks, leading database performance optimisation efforts to improve platform scalability and reliability.
• Mentor developers and Team Leads, supporting problem-solving for complex technical challenges and promoting best practices in software design and development.
• Work closely with Platform Engineers on infrastructure improvements, enhancing CI/CD architecture and deployment processes to improve system monitoring and observability.
• Support development of data platform capabilities, explore AI and automation opportunities, and drive innovation aligned with organisational needs.

Requirements

• 10+ years' experience in software development with experience designing and evolving large-scale systems.
• Strong background in .NET and cloud-based architectures with experience with performance tuning and optimisation.
• Deep understanding of software architecture principles with strong coding ability (C#, SQL, etc.).
• Experience with system integration patterns and a strong ability to assess new technologies and communicate trade-offs.
• Strong understanding of performance optimisation techniques and experience with modern frontend frameworks (e.g. React).
• Applicants must already have the right to work in the UK. Sponsorship is not available for this role.

Nice to have

• Experience with AWS and distributed systems.
• Experience with data platforms or analytics systems.
• Experience contributing to R&D or innovation initiatives.
• Exposure to AI/ML and emerging technology trends.

Culture & Benefits

• Strong pension and private healthcare.
• Equal opportunities employer.