Principal Software Engineer

Requirements:

• Significant commercial experience developing applications with Java and Spring Boot
• Strong technical judgement and the ability to influence engineering decisions
• Experience mentoring, coaching or providing technical guidance to other developers
• Interest in writing clean, maintainable and well-tested code
• Experience working in collaborative Agile engineering environments
• Understanding of modern software architecture and distributed systems
• Ability to balance hands-on delivery with wider technical responsibilities
• Experience with AWS, DevOps tooling, containerisation and Infrastructure as Code is beneficial
• Applicants may be experienced Senior, Lead, Staff or Principal Java Engineers; an existing Principal title is not required

Responsibilities:

• Design, develop and deliver high-quality software using Java and Spring Boot
• Provide technical leadership within the Scrum team and guide engineering decisions and approaches
• Mentor and coach engineers, supporting their technical development
• Collaborate with other Principal Engineers and Development Managers on architecture, standards and engineering improvements
• Champion practices including TDD, pair programming, automated testing and continuous integration
• Break down complex technical challenges and help ensure solutions are scalable, maintainable and fit for purpose
• Remain actively involved in coding, code reviews and day-to-day delivery

Technologies:

• AWS
• CI/CD
• DevOps
• Docker
• Support
• Java
• Kubernetes
• Serverless
• Spring
• Spring Boot
• TDD
• Terraform
• microservices
• Cloud
• XP

More

We are working with an established technology business in South Manchester to appoint a Principal Java Engineer to support the continued development of its software platforms and engineering teams. This is a hands-on technical leadership role, approximately 80% coding, with the remaining time focused on mentoring, technical decisions and engineering standards—not a traditional management or purely architectural position. The role is part of an established Scrum team in an environment centred on Agile, Extreme Programming, TDD and continuous delivery, using technologies and practices including AWS, serverless, microservices, distributed systems, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform and CI/CD. We offer a salary of £70,000–£85,000 depending on experience, a performance-related bonus, an excellent pension scheme, private medical cover and hybrid working, with approximately one day per week onsite in South Manchester. The opportunity includes influencing technical direction and working on complex, long-term software platforms. Visa sponsorship is not available. Cathcart Technology is acting as an employment agency in relation to this vacancy.

last updated 43 week of 2026