Location: Sheffield, UK (3 Days from office)
Job Type: Contract - Inside IR35
Note: No Sponsorship
Role Overview
We are seeking an experienced Principal Engineer with strong expertise in database technologies, complemented by solid engineering capabilities. This is a senior leadership role responsible for driving technical strategy, architectural decisions, and engineering excellence across database platforms.
The role involves working closely with cross-functional teams to design, build, and scale robust, secure, and highly available database solutions aligned with business and technology objectives.
Key Responsibilities
- Define and maintain long-term strategy for database infrastructure aligned with overall IT and business goals
- Act as a subject matter expert on database technologies, advising senior stakeholders and engineering teams
- Collaborate with product owners, architects, and stakeholders to define technical requirements and specifications
- Co‑lead the design, architecture, and implementation of shared database solutions (DBaaS / PaaS)
- Evaluate industry trends, emerging technologies, and engineering practices to recommend improvements
- Support platform leadership in identifying and addressing engineering gaps and challenges
- Drive development of cross‑functional capabilities to solve common engineering problems
- Serve as a key decision‑maker for technical and risk‑related engineering matters
- Improve engineering processes by reducing handoffs and increasing automation
Required Skills & Experience
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related discipline
- 10+ years of engineering experience, including at least 5 years in senior or principal roles
- Strong expertise in database technologies (relational, NoSQL, distributed SQL), deployed on IaaS or as part of DBaaS
- Deep understanding of database infrastructure capabilities and consumer use cases
- Experience with infrastructure components, performance tuning, and capacity planning
- Hands‑on experience with microservices, software development, infrastructure automation, API development, and basic system design
- Strong knowledge of Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) and DevOps practices (CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, code scanning)
- Experience with Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
- Solid understanding of testing practices and associated tools
- Proven track record of delivering large‑scale enterprise projects
Leadership & Stakeholder Management
- Strong technical leadership with the ability to mentor and influence engineering teams
- Experience working in global, matrixed environments
- Ability to collaborate with engineers, architects, and business stakeholders to shape platform direction
- Comfortable interacting with senior stakeholders and providing technical guidance
- Strong communication skills to translate complex technical concepts for diverse audiences
- Experience evaluating multiple technology options to determine best‑fit solutions
Additional Expectations
- Deep understanding of engineering principles and architecture
- Ability to lead complex initiatives and drive alignment across teams
- Strong collaboration with stakeholders to align technical decisions with organizational goals
- Ability to clearly communicate technical strategy to both technical and non‑technical audiences
