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For Companies At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the migration of legacy systems to AWS and mentor a dynamic team of developers.
- Company: Join Cambridge University Press & Assessment, a leader in academic publishing and innovation.
- Benefits: Enjoy competitive pay, flexible working, and a range of family-friendly perks.
- Why this job: Shape the future of education technology while making a real impact on learners worldwide.
- Qualifications: Proven leadership in tech, experience with AWS, and strong communication skills.
- Other info: Be part of a diverse team committed to continuous learning and improvement.
The predicted salary is between 51400 - 68800 £ per year.
This Principal Developer Team Lead position offers a pivotal opportunity to shape the technical future of a world-renowned academic organisation. You will spearhead the migration of enterprise systems to cutting-edge cloud-native AWS architectures, while balancing hands-on technical leadership with people management responsibilities.
About the role
We are seeking a hands-on Principal Developer Team Lead to drive the technical transformation of our Exam Technology Organisation as we migrate legacy enterprise applications to modern, cloud-native architectures on AWS. You will balance technical leadership with people management, leading a team of 4-8 developers while establishing the foundations for our future technology stack. Your initial focus will be on two strategic priorities:
- Evolving our SRE function - Building the DevOps infrastructure, automation, and tooling that enables Site Reliability Engineering practices across development and operations teams.
- Advancing our AI development practice - Establishing standards, frameworks, and best practices for responsibly integrating AI capabilities into our education platforms.
What You’ll Do
Technical Leadership
- Lead migration of legacy applications to cloud-native AWS architectures.
- Build DevOps automation to support SRE practices.
- Establish AI/ML development standards and frameworks.
- Set observability, monitoring, and incident response standards.
- Promote best practices in web, event-driven, and cloud-native technologies.
- Provide technical expertise and oversee code reviews.
People Leadership
- Manage and mentor a team of 4-8 developers, providing coaching and development plans.
- Identify training needs in AI/ML and SRE.
- Support recruitment and foster a culture of continual improvement and wellbeing.
Delivery & Collaboration
- Deliver software in agile squads.
- Collaborate with architects, SREs, product owners, and infrastructure teams.
- Liaise with stakeholders to identify education sector needs.
- Plan and estimate migrations and feature delivery.
- Coordinate with service management, security, and AWS experts.
About you
Essential experience
- Degree or equivalent.
- Proven technical team leadership.
- Skilled in two or more modern programming languages.
- Experience with AWS cloud and infrastructure.
- DevOps skills: automation, CI/CD, infrastructure-as-code.
- Understanding of SRE and observability.
- Experience in web-apps and modern frameworks.
- Strong communicator with technical and non-technical audiences.
Technical Expertise
- CI/CD pipelines, automation frameworks, and developer tooling.
- Observability tools, monitoring, logging, and alerting systems.
- Responsible AI practices and governance.
- Event-driven architecture and microservices patterns.
- Software design patterns and scalability best practices.
- Security principles in cloud environments.
Leadership Qualities
- Ability to set technical standards and provide thought leadership.
- Experience balancing people management with hands-on contribution.
- Strong mentoring and coaching skills.
- Collaborative approach that builds trust across teams.
- Passion for continuous learning in AI/ML and DevOps.
- Promotes inclusion and continuous improvement.
You will be instrumental in our digital transformation, establishing the foundations for reliable, innovative systems that serve millions of learners, teachers, and researchers worldwide. By evolving our SRE function and advancing our AI practice, you will empower teams to deliver high-performance solutions while responsibly harnessing cutting-edge technologies.
If you would like to know more about this opportunity and what will make you successful, please see the full job description attached to the bottom of this vacancy on our careers site.
Rewards and benefits
We will support you to be at your best in work and to live well outside of it. In addition to competitive salaries, we offer a world-class, flexible rewards package, featuring family-friendly and planet-friendly benefits including:
- 28 days annual leave plus bank holidays.
- Private medical and Permanent Health Insurance.
- Discretionary annual bonus.
- Group personal pension scheme.
- Life assurance up to 4 x annual salary.
- Green travel schemes.
We are a hybrid working organisation, and we offer a range of flexible working options from day one. We expect most hybrid-working colleagues to spend 40-60% of their time at their dedicated office or location. We will also consider other work arrangements if you wish to work more flexibly or require adjustments due to a disability.
Ready to pursue your potential? Apply now. We review applications on an ongoing basis, with a closing date for all applications being 18th February 2026.
If you are shortlisted and progressed through the stages, you can expect:
- A 40-minute screening call with the Hiring Manager.
- First stage interview via MS Teams or in person.
- You will be provided with a brief to complete a role-related task which will need to be returned by email in advance of your interview.
Please note that successful applicants will be subject to satisfactory background checks including DBS due to working in a regulated industry.
Cambridge University Press & Assessment is an approved UK employer for the sponsorship of eligible roles and applicants under the Skilled Worker visa route. Please refer to the gov.uk website for guidance to understand your own eligibility based on the role you are applying for.
Why join us
Joining us is your opportunity to pursue potential. You will belong to a collaborative team that’s exploring new and better ways to serve students, teachers and researchers across the globe - for the benefit of individuals, society and the world. Sharing our mission will inspire your own growth, development and progress, in an environment which embraces difference, change and aspiration.
Cambridge University Press & Assessment is committed to being a place where anyone can enjoy a successful career, where it’s safe to speak up, and where we learn continuously to improve together. We welcome applications from all candidates, regardless of demographic characteristics (age, disability, educational attainment, ethnicity, gender, marital status, neurodiversity, religion, sex, gender identity and sexual identity), cultural, or social class/background. We believe better outcomes come through diversity of thought, background and approach. We welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and communities, actively seeking to employ people from a wide range of different communities.
Principal Developer Team Lead in Cambridge employer: Confidential
Contact Detail:
Confidential Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Principal Developer Team Lead in Cambridge
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections in the industry, attend meetups, and engage in online forums. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings or can put in a good word for you.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for those interviews! Research the company, understand their tech stack, and be ready to discuss how your experience aligns with their needs. Practising common interview questions can also give you a confidence boost.
✨Tip Number 3
Show off your skills! If you’ve got a portfolio or GitHub repository, make sure it’s up to date. Highlight projects that showcase your expertise in AWS, DevOps, and AI/ML practices—this is your chance to shine!
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, we’re always looking for passionate individuals who want to make a difference in education technology.
We think you need these skills to ace Principal Developer Team Lead in Cambridge
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter to highlight your experience with AWS, DevOps, and team leadership. We want to see how your skills align with our mission at Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
Showcase Your Technical Skills: Don’t hold back on detailing your technical expertise! Mention specific programming languages, tools, and frameworks you’ve worked with. We’re keen to know how you can contribute to our cloud-native transformation.
Highlight Your People Management Experience: Since this role involves leading a team, share examples of how you've successfully managed and mentored developers in the past. We value strong communication and collaboration skills, so let that shine through!
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our careers site. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you don’t miss out on any important updates during the process!
How to prepare for a job interview at Confidential
✨Know Your Tech Inside Out
Make sure you’re well-versed in AWS cloud architectures and DevOps practices. Brush up on your knowledge of CI/CD pipelines, automation frameworks, and observability tools. Being able to discuss these topics confidently will show that you’re ready to lead the technical transformation.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
Prepare examples of how you've successfully managed and mentored teams in the past. Highlight your experience in balancing hands-on contributions with people management. This role requires a collaborative approach, so be ready to discuss how you build trust and foster a culture of continuous improvement.
✨Understand the Role's Strategic Priorities
Familiarise yourself with the specific goals of the Exam Technology Organisation, especially around evolving the SRE function and advancing AI development practices. Be prepared to share your thoughts on how you would approach these priorities and what best practices you would implement.
✨Prepare for the Role-Related Task
Since you'll need to complete a role-related task before your interview, take this seriously. Use it as an opportunity to demonstrate your technical expertise and problem-solving skills. Make sure to return it on time and be ready to discuss your approach during the interview.
