Principal Java Engineer (AWS / Microservices)Salary: Up to £100,000 + Bonus + BenefitsLocation: Coventry or Central London - Hybrid (2 days per week onsite)Working Hours: 40 hours per week - Full timeJob Type: Permanent
A globally established organisation is seeking an experienced Principal Java Engineer to shape the future of large-scale digital platforms used by millions of customers.
This role will focus on driving engineering excellence, defining technical standards and leading the design of scalable, high-availability systems across a modern cloud-native environment.
Responsibilities for the Principal Java Engineer:
* Define and evolve engineering strategy, standards and best practices across your domain
* Lead technical direction across multiple engineering teams and programmes
* Design and oversee delivery of large-scale, distributed systems using modern technologies
* Provide expert guidance on technical risk, architecture decisions and prioritisation
* Support Staff Engineers and development teams with deep technical leadership
* Drive adoption of DevOps, CI/CD, automation and modern engineering practices
* Leverage AI and intelligent automation to improve productivity and delivery outcomes
* Mentor engineers and contribute to a strong engineering culture and community of practice
* Work closely with senior stakeholders to align technology with business goals
Essential Skills for the Principal Java Engineer:
* Deep hands-on expertise in Java, Spring Boot, Microservices, Kafka and AWS
* Strong understanding of software architecture and scalable system design
* Experience leading development of high-performance distributed systems
* Proven experience in a Principal, Lead or Senior Engineering role
* Experience defining and governing technical standards and engineering practices
* Experience influencing strategy across multiple teams or domains
* Practical experience using Generative AI tools to improve engineering productivity
* Strong leadership, mentoring and stakeholder engagement skills
Desirable Skills for the Principal Java Engineer:
* Strong advocate of Agile delivery and modern engineering ways of working
* Experience building collaborative engineering communities
* Comfortable making data-driven technical decisions at scale
* Experience working closely with senior engineering leadership teams
If you are a senior Java engineering leader looking to shape modern platforms at scale while remaining close to technology, this role offers strong influence, complex challenges and long-term impact.