At a Glance
- Tasks: Define and build testing architecture for a leading investment bank's trading platform.
- Company: Join a top-tier investment bank with a focus on engineering quality.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, flexible work arrangements, and opportunities for long-term engagement.
- Other info: Hands-on role with significant impact on engineering standards and practices.
- Why this job: Shape the future of engineering quality and influence enterprise-scale technology.
- Qualifications: Exceptional software engineering skills, experience with C# and Python, and strong architectural abilities.
The predicted salary is between 63000 - 77000 £ per year.
- Principal Software Engineer – Testing Architecture & Engineering Quality
- Shape the Future of Engineering Quality at a Leading Investment Bank
- A leading investment bank is looking for an exceptional
Principal Software Engineer to define and build the future testing architecture across its strategic Global Markets Front Office trading platform.
This is a highly technical Principal Software Engineering position - not a QA, Test Analyst or traditional SDET role.
The successful candidate will join a team with an exceptionally high technical bar.
We're looking for someone who thinks like an architect, writes production-quality code, and enjoys solving complex engineering problems through frameworks, tooling and platform design rather than feature development alone.
You'll define the engineering foundations that underpin software quality across the organisation - designing reusable frameworks, shared libraries, AI-assisted developer tooling and architectural patterns that improve quality, resilience and developer productivity across a large distributed platform.
- What You'll Be Doing
- Define the testing and engineering quality architecture across a strategic Front Office trading platform.
- Design and build reusable frameworks, libraries and shared engineering tooling.
- Develop framework-level code across
- . NET/C#, Python and Type Script
- Design engineering patterns that operate consistently across multiple runtimes.
- Build AI-powered tooling that improves developer productivity and automates engineering quality.
- Design contract testing and containerised testing solutions for distributed services.
- Integrate tooling into an
NX Monorepo and CI/CD pipelines.
- Partner with senior engineers and architects to improve engineering quality across Global Markets.
- Remain highly hands-on while influencing the long-term technical direction of the platform.
What We're Looking For
We're looking for an exceptional software engineer
, not simply someone with testing experience.
You'll likely have a background as a Principal Engineer, Staff Engineer, Platform Engineer, Software Architect or a highly technical SDET operating at architecture level.
You should demonstrate
- Outstanding software engineering ability with experience building complex backend or distributed systems.
- Expert-level commercial experience with
- C# (. NET) and/or
- Python
- Experience designing frameworks, shared libraries, developer tooling or platform capabilities.
- Strong software architecture skills and an ability to design scalable, maintainable engineering solutions.
- A polyglot mindset with experience working across multiple technology stacks.
- A passion for improving engineering quality through architecture, automation and developer tooling.
- Experience integrating tooling into CI/CD pipelines and large shared codebases.
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence senior technical stakeholders.
- Highly Desirable
- Contract testing.
- Testcontainers or containerised testing.
- NX Monorepo.
- Type Script.
- Playwright or Cypress.
This Role Probably Isn't For You If...
- Your experience is primarily manual testing or test execution.
- You've mainly focused on building automated test suites rather than engineering platforms, frameworks or developer tooling.
- You're looking for a traditional QA or frontend automation role.
- Your background is primarily feature development without experience designing engineering architecture or platform capabilities.
Why Join?
- 12-month initial engagement with long-term potential
- 1 day per week in the London office
- Strategic Front Office Global Markets platform
- Opportunity to define engineering quality across an enterprise-scale technology estate
- Highly technical, hands-on architecture role with significant influence over engineering standards
If you're a technically exceptional engineer who enjoys solving engineering quality challenges through architecture, frameworks and platform design, we'd love to hear from you.
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Principal Software Engineer in London employer: CipherTek Recruitment
Join a leading global investment bank that prioritises innovation and collaboration within its Front Office Derivatives Technology team. As a Software Engineer in Test, you'll thrive in a dynamic work culture that values quality and technical excellence, while enjoying the benefits of a competitive contract rate and opportunities for professional growth in the heart of London. This role not only offers the chance to work on a strategic trading platform but also fosters an environment where your contributions directly impact the success of the organisation.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Principal Software Engineer in London
✨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 CipherTek Recruitment 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 CipherTek Recruitment.
✨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 CipherTek Recruitment.
✨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 CipherTek Recruitment 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 Software Engineer in London
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 CipherTek Recruitment.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at CipherTek Recruitment 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 CipherTek Recruitment
✨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 CipherTek Recruitment 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.
