Principal Software Engineer

Principal Software Engineer Location: Belfast (Hybrid Working) Salary: Competitive, depending on experience Employment Type: Permanent, Full-Time Lead technical decisions. Shape engineering standards. Stay hands-on. Are you an experienced Software Engineer who enjoys solving complex technical challenges, influencing architecture and helping other engineers do their best work?

An exciting opportunity has become available for a Principal Software Engineer to join a growing technology organisation in Belfast. This is an opportunity to take genuine ownership of technical direction, influence engineering practices and work on complex, business-critical software systems.

Unlike traditional leadership positions, this role allows you to remain hands-on with development while helping shape how software is designed, built, tested and delivered. You'll work alongside experienced engineers and technical leadership, playing a key role in architectural decisions, platform reliability and the continued development of engineering teams.

What's on offer? Competitive salary, depending on experience Flexible hybrid working in Belfast Generous annual leave with the option to purchase additional days Private medical insurance Company pension scheme Life assurance Significant autonomy and technical ownership Opportunities to influence architecture and engineering strategy A collaborative environment focused on modern software development practices What you'll be doing As a Principal Software Engineer, you'll provide technical leadership across complex software platforms while remaining actively involved in development.

Your responsibilities will include

Leading architectural decisions and defining technical standards across software systems Designing and developing scalable, reliable and maintainable applications Championing Test-Driven Development (TDD), Domain-Driven Design (DDD) and modern engineering practices Improving CI/CD pipelines, release processes and deployment strategies Working with engineers to improve system performance, reliability and observability Establishing coding standards, testing strategies and approaches to technical debt Supporting the adoption of AI-assisted engineering tools and practices Mentoring senior engineers and contributing to wider technical decisions Collaborating with engineering leadership to improve software delivery across teams What we're looking for We're interested in speaking with experienced engineers who combine strong technical expertise with the ability to influence architecture, delivery and engineering culture.

Ideally, you'll have: Extensive experience in software engineering, including technical leadership or architectural ownership Strong hands-on experience with TDD, DDD and Extreme Programming (XP) practices Experience with continuous delivery, trunk-based development and automated testing A track record of designing and maintaining complex production systems Knowledge of observability, incident management and application reliability Experience influencing engineering standards across multiple teams or systems Familiarity with AI-assisted development and modern software engineering tools Strong communication skills and experience mentoring other engineers Nice to have Experience in any of the following would be advantageous: Developing real-time, distributed or high-availability systems Working with data-intensive or transaction-heavy applications Designing platforms that support complex business operations AI-enabled software delivery and automation Working in environments with demanding performance and reliability requirements Why consider this opportunity?

This position offers the chance to operate at a genuinely senior technical level without stepping away from the development work you enjoy. You'll have the autonomy to influence major technical decisions, introduce better engineering practices and make a lasting impact on the systems and people around you.

It's an excellent opportunity for an experienced Principal Engineer, Staff Software Engineer or Senior Software Engineer looking to take the next step in their career. Interested? If you're passionate about software engineering, enjoy solving complex problems and want to help shape the technical direction of a growing organisation, we'd love to hear from you.

Why choose VANRATH? Partnering with VANRATH gives you access to exclusive IT opportunities, expert market insight and tailored career guidance. We take a consultative approach; offering honest advice, interview preparation and direct access to hiring managers- ensuring a smooth process and the best possible role fit aligned to your skills and long-term goals.

For further information on this role, or any other IT job in Northern Ireland, apply via the link or contact for a confidential chat today.

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