Principal Software Engineer

Aker Systems was founded in 2017 by a team of experienced technology professionals who recognised an opportunity to provide highly secure enterprise data platforms to large organisations.  We build and operate ground-breaking, ultra-secure, high performance, cloud-based data infrastructure for the enterprise. Our proprietary technology solutions drive performance and reduce costs while helping our clients to improve the management and sharing of data across their organisations. In 2024, Aker Systems won the Breakthrough Culture Awards highlighting growth companies putting culture first. In 2020 Aker Systems was recognised as a ‘One to Watch’ on the Sunday Times Tech Track.  The Company was also recognised at the Thames Valley Tech Awards 2020; winning the Thames Valley Tech Company of the year, the Emerging Tech Company and High Growth Tech Business categories.  We encourage people of all different backgrounds and identities to apply.  We are committed to maintaining an inclusive, and supportive place for you to do your very best work. We’re looking for a Principal Software Engineer to lead the architecture, design, and evolution of our secure, distributed, cloud-native systems. This is a hands-on leadership role where you’ll shape engineering strategy while designing and delivering scalable platforms across AWS, Azure, and GCP, leveraging technologies like Java/Kotlin, Spring Boot, Kafka, Kubernetes, and CI/CD pipelines. This role is perfect for someone who thrives at the intersection of technical depth, product vision, and collaborative problem solving—someone who enjoys mentoring, leading by example, and helping teams achieve engineering excellence in complex, high-assurance environments. Key Responsibilities Lead the architecture and delivery of secure, scalable microservices in a multi-cloud, containerized environment Design and implement solutions using Java/Kotlin, Spring Boot, Kafka, and other cloud-native tools Champion Domain-Driven Design (DDD), clean architecture, and event-driven paradigms Guide engineers through code reviews, design sessions, and architecture governance Mentor team members and maintain a culture of technical excellence, continuous learning, and collaborative delivery Define and uphold engineering best practices, including documentation, testing, observability, and CI/CD integration Collaborate with Product, DevOps, and Security teams to translate business needs into reliable technical solutions Drive infrastructure automation and deployment consistency using Kubernetes and Git-based workflows Engage in performance tuning, debugging, and incident resolution across the full stack Contribute to platform-wide decisions around data modeling, APIs, and long-term architectural evolution Skills & Experience Required: Minimum 10+yrs of deep hands-on expertise in Java/Kotlin, Spring Boot, and modern service-oriented architecture Strong understanding of Kafka, event-driven patterns, and asynchronous communication Experience designing and scaling cloud-native platforms in AWS or Azure Solid experience with Kubernetes, Docker, and infrastructure automation Knowledge of CI/CD tools like GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or Jenkins Strong grasp of DDD, API design, and operational aspects like logging, monitoring, and alerting Ability to work across the full stack and understand how systems interact in production Demonstrated leadership in complex delivery environments, with the ability to align teams around a shared technical vision Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills—able to translate complexity into clarity Desirable: Experience with Terraform, Helm, or GitOps tooling Familiarity with front-end technologies such as React and TypeScript Exposure to GraphQL, observability stacks (e.g., Prometheus, OpenTelemetry), or large-scale data platforms Prior work in regulated industries (BFSI, telecom, public sector) Mindset & Leadership Style To succeed in this role, you'll bring more than just technical knowledge. You'll demonstrate: A builder’s mindset, passionate about developing scalable, secure, and future-proof systems The ability to lead through complexity—guiding teams through uncertainty with structure and clarity A collaborative, mentoring approach, focused on enabling those around you A bias for action, balanced with a disciplined approach to testing, automation, and operational readiness Curiosity and openness to new ideas, technologies, and better ways of working A high level of ownership, with a calm and methodical attitude toward incident resolution, delivery pressure, and change Aker Systems Attributes At Aker we work as a team; we are collaborative, hardworking, open, and delivery obsessed. There is no blame culture here: try things, and take responsibility for the outcomes. You are always part of the wider Aker. We help our colleagues and take pride in successfully achieving difficult tasks. We run towards problems and help to solve them. Communicate always, do so accurately and in a timely fashion. In return, we offer a competitive salary, 25 days holiday plus bank holidays, company paid medical insurance and life assurance, pension scheme, annual training allowance, wellbeing allowance, virtual GP, Employee Assistance plan and more. Equal Opportunities Aker Systems fosters a diverse environment that encourages openness in its communications and is committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all people regardless of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation, age, marital status, national origin, citizenship status, disability, veteran status or other personal characteristics. We embrace differences of opinion and diversity because they help challenge us and find new groundbreaking technical solutions.