At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the Developer Experience team, enhancing tools and platforms for engineers.
- Company: Allstate, a leader in innovative insurance solutions with a people-first culture.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, corporate bonuses, flexible working, and continuous learning opportunities.
- Other info: Join a high-performing team recognised for innovation and community impact.
- Why this job: Shape the future of insurance with cutting-edge tech and make a real impact.
- Qualifications: 5+ years in software engineering and experience leading engineering teams.
The predicted salary is between 63000 - 77000 £ per year.
At Allstate, great things happen when our people work together to protect families and their belongings from life’s uncertainties.
And for more than 90 years, our innovative drive has kept us a step ahead of our customers’ evolving needs.
From advocating for seat belts, air bags and graduated driving laws, to being an industry leader in pricing sophistication, telematics, and, more recently, device and identity protection.
Your role in the team
The Principal Engineer leads Allstate's Developer Experience organization, driving the technical strategy, adoption, and continuous improvement of the tools, platforms, and capabilities engineers use to build, test, deploy, secure, and operate software.
As a hands-on technical leader and advocate for the developer community, this individual partners closely with engineering teams to reduce friction, improve productivity, and enhance the overall development experience.
The Principal Engineer champions modern engineering practices, AI-assisted development, and emerging agentic technologies while leading high-performing teams responsible for delivering scalable, secure, and innovative solutions that enable business outcomes.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the vision, technical strategy, and execution of Allstate's Developer Experience program, ensuring engineers have access to modern, secure, and efficient development tools and platforms.
- Serve as a trusted advocate for the engineering community by continuously gathering feedback, understanding developer pain points, and driving improvements that reduce friction and increase productivity.
- Remain actively engaged in software engineering practices, contributing to technical discussions, prototypes, automation initiatives, and platform improvements.
- Evaluate, validate, and govern developer tools, plugins, frameworks, and platform capabilities before enterprise adoption to ensure security, reliability, and scalability.
- Champion the adoption of AI-assisted software development, including Git Hub Copilot and emerging agentic engineering capabilities, identifying opportunities to improve developer effectiveness and software quality.
- Partner with engineering leaders, architects, platform teams, and product stakeholders to create a seamless and consistent development experience across the enterprise.
- Drive innovation through experimentation, proof-of-concepts, technical demonstrations, and continuous assessment of emerging technologies.
- Establish metrics and KPIs focused on developer productivity, platform adoption, engineering satisfaction, and operational excellence.
- Build and lead high-performing teams while fostering a culture of technical excellence, learning, innovation, and customer-centric thinking.
- Influence enterprise-wide engineering standards, best practices, and technology decisions that enhance the software development lifecycle.
- Lead globally distributed and cross-functional teams to deliver modern engineering capabilities that enable speed, quality, security, and reliability.
Skills & Capabilities
- Developer-first mindset with a passion for improving the engineering experience.
- Ability to influence technology strategy and drive adoption of new tools and practices across the enterprise.
- Proven change leadership and experience leading engineering transformation initiatives.
- Strong collaboration and relationship-building skills across engineering, product, and business teams.
- Demonstrated people leadership experience and developing high-performing teams.
- Effective communicator with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into business value.
- Experience influencing vendor roadmaps and product strategies to align with evolving business objectives and operational priorities.
Essential Criteria
- All applicants must demonstrate they have a legal right to work in the UK for employment at Allstate. Allstate is not providing sponsorship for this vacancy.
- A minimum of 5 years of software engineering experience (Java)
- A minimum of 5 years of experience leading engineering organizations, platform engineering teams, or developer experience functions.
- Demonstrated hands-on experience building software and working directly with developer platforms, automation tools, and cloud-native technologies.
- Strong understanding of mainstream languages such as python and javascript
- Experience leveraging Git Hub Copilot, AI-assisted engineering tools, large language models, and emerging agentic development capabilities.
- Proven ability to influence senior technical leaders and drive adoption of new technologies and engineering practices.
- Experience presenting technical concepts, facilitating demonstrations, and engaging directly with engineering communities
Desirable Criteria
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, or a related technical field.
- Previous experience working in large complex IT organisation.
- Supervisory Responsibilities
- This job has supervisory duties.
Job Posting End Date
- Sunday 6th September [11.59pm]
- #SE1
- #Hybrid
Skills
Cloud Infrastructure, Development Experience, Emerging Technologies, Engineering Practices, Technical Strategy, Technology Strategies
Shape the Future of Insurance with Cutting-Edge Tech and a People-First Culture
Why join us?
Allstate NI is proud to be Allstate’s European Digital Centre of Excellence, a hub for innovation and engineering excellence.
We’re recent winners of Best Place to Work in IT (100+ employees) and Best Use of Cloud Services at the Belfast Telegraph IT Awards, and we’ve been recognised for our community and sustainability impact with Platinum in the Northern Ireland Environmental Benchmarking Survey.
We’re a product-driven, cloud-first organisation delivering real outcomes through modern technology, a digital product-centric talent model, and a culture rooted in engineering excellence.
Our teams work in cross-functional structures, guided by an outcome-based delivery approach that accelerates speed, agility, and value.
We also invest in you.
At Allstate NI, your career growth matters.
You’ll have access to our Continuous Learning Hub, designed to support skills development and professional advancement through tailored learning paths, certifications, and mentoring opportunities.
Whether you’re deepening technical expertise or exploring leadership roles, we provide the tools and support to help you thrive.
What do you get in return?
- As well as receiving a competitive annual salary, our reward package includes:
- Corporate bonus scheme
- Pension scheme
- Annual performance-related pay reviews
- Life assurance and income protection
- Flexible working options
- Hybrid working
- Private medical and dental insurance
- Access to an employee assistance programme
- Discounted gym membership
- Two paid volunteering days each year
- Cycle to work scheme
Be part of a high-performing, socially responsible organisation where your work has purpose, and your growth is supported every step of the way.
Principal Engineer - (Hybrid) in Belfast employer: Allstate
Allstate in Northern Ireland is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work culture that prioritises collaboration and innovation in cloud security. With flexible and hybrid working options, a corporate bonus scheme, and comprehensive private medical insurance, employees are supported in both their professional and personal lives, fostering growth and development within the tech industry.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Principal Engineer - (Hybrid) in Belfast
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at Allstate or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to Allstate.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like Allstate.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like Allstate that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Principal Engineer - (Hybrid) in Belfast
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at Allstate.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Allstate and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at Allstate
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If Allstate uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
