Principal Software Engineer – Hands-On Technical Leadership
Location: Bristol or Cheltenham (Hybrid/Remote – bi-weekly visits to London)
Salary: £80,000 – £95,000 excellent benefits
Clearance: ELigable for SC Level hold British Passport

Are you a Tech Lead/Principal Engineer looking for a fresh new challenge?

SR2 are supporting one of our long term consultancy clients, to hire a critical role for the business whilst they embark on a lot of new projects!This is a role working for a software consultancy who are supporting central UK Gov customers with impactful work.
We’re hiring a Principal Software Engineer to lead a multidisciplinary team within a software consultancy working on cutting-edge projects with AWS, Java, and React. This role is a mix of technical leadership (60-70%) and hands-on development (30-40%), perfect for someone who loves to stay close to the code while guiding and mentoring others.
What you’ll be doing:

• Leading a team of 8-10 engineers, including developers, DevOps, and testers.
• Driving technical decisions and overseeing architecture – without being purely an architect.
• Staying hands-on with Java, React, and AWS, setting the technical direction.
• Engaging with stakeholders and customers to understand requirements and deliver exceptional solutions.
• Supporting large-scale greenfield projects with a strong emphasis on scalability and cloud-native design.

What we’re looking for:

• Strong commercial experience with AWS, Java, and React (deep React knowledge is highly desirable).
• Previous experience in a technical lead, principal engineer roles
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Consultancy or client-facing experience is a bonus but not essential.
• Passion for mentoring and developing high-performing teams.

Why join:

• Exciting growth period with 8-10 new hires planned over the next few months.
• Work on impactful projects in a supportive, collaborative environment.
• Flexible hybrid working and excellent career progression opportunities.

If you’re a technical leader who still enjoys rolling up your sleeves and building great software, we’d love to hear from you.
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