A leading technology consultancy operating at the intersection of data, AI, and capital markets is seeking an exceptional Principal Software Engineer to join its Energy & Commodities Trading practice. This is a senior, hands-on technical leadership role where you will design and deliver real-time, high-performance trading systems supporting critical decision-making across global trading environments. You will work directly with senior client stakeholders (CTOs, Heads of Data, Engineering Leads) to architect scalable platforms that sit at the heart of front-to-back office trading workflows, influencing both technical direction and broader data strategy. Key Responsibilities Technical Leadership Architect and deliver distributed, high-performance systems for trading environments Build and optimise real-time and near real-time data pipelines supporting intraday trading decisions Design systems integrating market data feeds, positions, P&L, risk, and back-office platforms Define engineering standards, architecture patterns, and coding best practices across teams Mentor and technically lead engineers across multiple delivery workstreams Partner with senior client stakeholders to shape data, AI, and platform architecture roadmaps Trading & Client Delivery Lead delivery of front, middle, and back-office transformation initiatives through to production Act as the primary technical authority across client engagements Own technical relationships with senior engineering and trading stakeholders Translate complex trading requirements into scalable, production-grade systems Contribute to internal thought leadership and go-to-market capability within capital markets Navigate constraints including latency, resilience, regulatory compliance, and trading workflow complexity Technical Requirements This is a hands-on engineering role requiring deep technical execution capability alongside architectural leadership. Core Skills Strong programming ability in Python, JavaScript, SQL, and at least one additional modern language Experience building real-time streaming systems (e.g. Kafka or equivalent) Proven track record designing low-latency, high-throughput distributed systems Experience working in environments with strict performance, scalability, and reliability requirements Strong cloud experience across AWS and/or Azure, including managed data services Deep knowledge of both: Transactional databases (e.g. PostgreSQL, SQL Server) Analytical / time-series systems (e.g. ClickHouse, MongoDB, or similar) Nice to Have Kubernetes and containerised deployment environments Exposure to pricing, risk, or trading engine systems Experience working alongside quantitative or systematic trading teams Interest or experience in AI/ML applications in trading environments