Principal Software Engineer AI Native

Role Summary

We are seeking an exceptional Principal Software Engineer - AI Native to lead the design, development, and delivery of business-critical software platforms across Aventum Group. This is a hands-on leadership role for a highly experienced software engineer who combines deep technical expertise with an AI-first mindset. You will be responsible for architecting scalable solutions, driving engineering excellence, and leveraging AI-native development practices to accelerate software delivery and innovation across the business. As a Principal Engineer, you will act as a technical authority across multiple initiatives, influencing architecture, engineering standards, AI adoption, cloud strategy, and software delivery practices whilst remaining actively involved in solution design and development.
Role Accountabilities

Technical Leadership & Architecture

• Define and drive engineering standards, architecture principles, and software development best practices.
• Design scalable, resilient, and secure enterprise solutions across frontend, backend, data, and cloud environments.
• Provide technical leadership across multiple engineering teams and strategic initiatives.
• Lead architectural decision-making and technology selection processes.
• Champion modern engineering approaches including microservices, event-driven architectures, APIs, and distributed systems.
• Drive technical governance while maintaining delivery speed and engineering quality.

Software Engineering

• Build and deliver high quality software soultions using: TypeScript, React, C #/.NET and cloud native technologies.
• Design and develop APIs, integrations, and platform services.
• Take ownership of solution delivery from specification through deployment and ongoing optimisation.
• Review code and ensure engineering quality, maintainability, security, and performance.
• Support complex troubleshooting, performance tuning, and root-cause analysis.

AI-Native Engineering

• Lead adoption of AI-assisted development tools and agentic AI workflows.
• Apply Spec-Driven Development principles to improve software quality and delivery speed.
• Use AI to accelerate: Requirements gathering. Technical specifications. Coding Testing. Documentation. Deployment. Validate and assure the quality of AI-generated outputs.
• Drive productivity improvements through AI-enabled engineering practices.

Cloud & DevOps

• Design and deliver cloud-native solutions primarily within Microsoft Azure.
• Improve CI/CD pipelines, deployment automation, and Infrastructure-as-Code capabilities.
• Implement secure, scalable, and observable cloud architectures.
• Drive best practice across monitoring, resilience, security, and operational excellence.

Collaboration & Influence

• Partner with Product, Data, Technology, and Business stakeholders.
• Translate complex business requirements into scalable technical solutions.
• Mentor engineers and contribute to knowledge sharing across the engineering function.
• Influence the future direction of software engineering and AI adoption within Aventum.
• Any additional duties as assigned.

Role Requirements

• Significant experience as a Senior, Lead, Staff, or Principal Software Engineer.
• Strong expertise in TypeScript, React, C#, and .NET.
• Proven experience building enterprise-scale applications and distributed systems.
• Deep understanding of software architecture, design patterns, testing, and engineering best practices.
• Experience building APIs, integrations, and microservices.
• Strong understanding of secure software development principles.
• Hands-on experience with Microsoft Azure, AWS, or GCP.
• Experience with: Docker, Kubernetes., CI/CD pipelines Infrastructure as Code (Terraform or equivalent)
• Strong understanding of cloud-native architecture and operational excellence.
• Strong database design and optimisation experience.
• Experience with relational and NoSQL databases.
• Understanding of complex data flows, integration architectures, and performance optimisation.
• Practical experience using AI-assisted engineering tools.
• Strong AI literacy and understanding of agentic AI workflows. Experience reviewing and validating AI-generated code and technicial outputs.
• Demonstrated use of AI to improve engineering productivity and delivery outcomes.

Skills and Abilities

• Technical Excellence
• Enterprise architecture and solution design.
• Full-stack engineering expertise.
• Cloud-native development.
• Distributed systems and integration design.
• DevOps, CI/CD, and Infrastructure-as-Code.
• Database and data engineering principles.
• Leadership & Influence
• Strong stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to influence technical direction without direct authority.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Ability to simplify complex technical concepts for non-technical audiences.
• AI-First Mindset
• Passion for emerging technologies and AI innovation.
• Continuous improvement mentality. Ability to combine engineering judgement with AI-enabled productivity.
• Focus on delivering business value through technology.

Management Duties

• Yes

• Personal training sessions
• Additional holiday for length of service
• Private healthcare for you and your family
• Pension
• Discretionary annual bonus
• Enhanced maternity and paternity benefit
• Day off on your birthday
• Season ticket loan
• Cycle to work scheme
• Health and wellbeing support
• Discounts and rewards
• Death in service
• Employee share scheme