Principal Engineer Databases

Contract- 6 months with possible extension

Location- Sheffield, UK (hybrid

Role Overview:

We are seeking an experienced Principal Engineer with deep expertise in database technologies and strong engineering skills to help accelerate the delivery of DBaaS in 2026.

As a Principal Engineer, you will play a key role in shaping our technology direction and delivering solutions. This is a hands-on leadership position, working closely with cross-functional teams to design and implement new products and services that meet business needs.

Key Responsibilities:

Co-lead the design and architecture of on-premises DBaaS solutions for Postgres, MongoDB, and SQL Server, and work with teams to implement these solutions.

Develop and maintain the long-term strategy for database infrastructure, ensuring alignment with CLIENT's IT and business objectives.

Serve as a subject matter expert and advisor on database technologies, providing guidance to senior leadership and IT teams.

Collaborate with Product Owners, Architects, and stakeholders to define technical requirements and specifications.

Stay up to date with industry trends and advancements in engineering practices and recommend relevant solutions.

Support the Platform Lead in identifying and addressing engineering challenges.

Facilitate the development of cross-functional capabilities to address common technical gaps.

Act as a key decision-maker for technical and risk-related engineering matters.

Identify opportunities to improve and automate processes.

Experience and Qualifications:

Strong technical proficiency in database technologies (relational, NoSQL, distributed SQL) deployed on IaaS or as part of DBaaS, with an understanding of consumer use cases and infrastructure capabilities.

Proven experience leading large, enterprise-level engineering projects and delivering quality solutions.

Bachelors or masters degree in computer science, Engineering, or a related field.

10+ years of engineering experience, with at least 5 years in a senior or principal engineering role.

Expertise in infrastructure components, performance tuning, and capacity planning.

Hands-on experience with microservices, software development, infrastructure automation, API development, and application systems design.

Strong understanding of Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, code scanning, and Infrastructure as Code.

Knowledge of industry-standard testing practices and tools.

Demonstrated technical leadership, team-building, and influencing skills.

Experience working in a global, matrixed organization.

Familiarity with regulatory requirements and best practices in the financial industry.

Ability to communicate complex technical information clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Experience evaluating multiple technology solutions to determine the best fit for specific use cases.

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