Find a job 
Featured Companies 
Featured Universities 
For Companies At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead technical strategies and oversee client projects while mentoring engineers.
- Company: Join CreateFuture, a top digital consultancy known for its innovative culture and impressive client roster.
- Benefits: Enjoy 35 days holiday, private medical insurance, and a flexible hybrid work environment.
- Why this job: Be part of a supportive team that values creativity and personal growth in a thriving industry.
- Qualifications: Proven technical leadership with expertise in Java, C#, .NET, and cloud infrastructure.
- Other info: Flexible commuting options available; we trust you to manage your own schedule.
The predicted salary is between 48000 - 84000 £ per year.
CreateFuture is fast becoming the UK’s most recognisable digital consultancy, with years of experience building digital products and services for major organisations whilst putting our people first. We have offices in the centre of Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester and London as well as remote employees located throughout the country.
We are a team of creators - whether that’s code, project plans, go to market strategies, culture initiatives, marketing campaigns, large language models or people policies. And together, with our clients, we create the future. This has seen us collaborate and partner across a multitude of industries and sectors, with the likes of PayPal, Adidas, NatWest, FanDuel and Money Saving Expert to name just a few.
Our reputation as a partner determined to deliver high-quality, robust and thoughtful products has enabled us to scale to over 500 people in the last couple of years, and it is our amazing people - along with the safe, supportive and friendly culture we have built - that makes CreateFuture a great place to work. Don’t just take our word for it though, we have been recognised by Best Workplaces UK multiple years in a row - across a number of categories - and our employee exit rate is astonishingly low.
Join us on our journey… Let’s create something awesome, together, today.
About The Role
As a Principal Engineer you will work closely with clients, responsible for the successful delivery of client and internal projects through building professional relationships with key client stakeholders, challenging where appropriate, and using your technical expertise to set and provide best practice advice and processes within your project team and wider capability.
What You’ll Be Doing
- Technical Strategy & Leadership: Defines and implements technical strategies, ensuring best practices in architecture, security, and quality throughout all engineering and client projects.
- Engineering Leadership: Acts as Lead Engineer on client projects, overseeing RFPs and BIDs while collaborating with the sales team for effective execution.
- Consultancy & Business Growth: Applies a growth mindset, identifies revenue opportunities, and collaborates with the commercial team to secure additional work.
- Knowledge & Capability Development: Serves as a subject matter expert, mentors engineers, and is responsible for ensuring the engineering capability’s skills and development aligns with client needs and market trends.
- Pre-Sales & Client Engagement: Leading engineering contributions in pre-sales, determines client requirements, and represents CreateFuture through events, speaking, and blogging.
- Emerging Technologies & Industry Influence: Stays ahead of industry trends, contributes to thought leadership, and enhances Create Future’s reputation through public engagements.
- Team Leadership & Culture: Fosters a collaborative, inclusive, and psychologically safe environment, advocating for team growth and organisational values.
We’d love to talk to you if you have:
- Proven experience as a technical leader, balancing hands-on technical skills with client delivery and stakeholder management expertise.
- Strong ability to build client relationships, understand their challenges, and provide effective solutions across technical and project management aspects.
- Demonstrable expertise in your chosen technologies, with the ability to mentor and grow the skills of groups of engineers.
- Ideally, you have an industry presence in your technology passions.
- Commercial experience with one or more technical stacks: Java, C# .NET, .NET Core, Typescript (Backend/Frontend), React, NodeJS, and modern cloud infrastructure (ideally AWS or Azure).
- You are experienced in contributing to sales and shaping how engagements are delivered in a consultancy setting.
What We’ll Offer You
At CreateFuture, we challenge ourselves to go beyond the obvious and we care deeply about our craft and customers. With us, you’ll have ambitious projects to sink your teeth into and plenty of opportunities to learn and grow. You’ll be part of our safe, supportive and friendly culture - that looks after you - and join our team of genuinely great people.
Our Benefits Include
- Total 35 days holiday (we have flexible bank holidays)
- Comprehensive private medical insurance
- Enhanced parental and adoption leave
- Pension - matched up to 5%
As this is a hybrid role, we’re looking for people within a commuting distance of our hub locations (Edinburgh/Leeds/Manchester/London) and who are flexible to travel to client sites and CreateFuture UK regional offices. We are very flexible and trust you to manage your own schedule to balance face-to-face time with clients, colleagues and working from home.
We create and reinforce a culture that rewards employees’ impact, not just activity. We trust our employees to work autonomously and promote ownership across all levels.
Next Steps
Our Talent team aims to respond to all applications within a reasonable timeframe, regardless of whether or not we progress your application.
Our Interview Process
- 30-minute call with one of our Talent Acquisition Team.
- 60-minute Technical Consultancy Interview.
- 30-minute Take Home review or 60-minute Live Coding exercise plus a 60-minute Values interview.
Our interview process is designed as an opportunity both for our interviewers to learn about your expertise, interests and motivations and for you to gain insights into the role, team and business as a whole, so throughout the process, you’ll meet a few people from our team as well as others from across the business to help you get a well-rounded view of the role and life at CreateFuture.
We believe that representative teams made up of people with different backgrounds, skills, and points of view help us build the best workplace possible, and enable us to create genuinely innovative, broadly useful products.
Principal Engineer employer: CreateFuture
Contact Detail:
CreateFuture Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Principal Engineer
✨Tip Number 1
Familiarise yourself with CreateFuture's recent projects and partnerships. Understanding their work with major clients like PayPal and Adidas will help you speak confidently about how your experience aligns with their needs during interviews.
✨Tip Number 2
Showcase your leadership skills by preparing examples of how you've successfully led engineering teams or projects in the past. Highlighting your ability to mentor others and drive technical strategy will resonate well with their focus on team growth.
✨Tip Number 3
Engage with CreateFuture's online presence, such as their blogs or social media. Commenting on their posts or sharing relevant insights can help you get noticed and demonstrate your genuine interest in their culture and values.
✨Tip Number 4
Prepare for the technical interview by brushing up on the specific technologies mentioned in the job description, like Java, C#, and cloud infrastructure. Being able to discuss these topics fluently will show your expertise and readiness for the role.
We think you need these skills to ace Principal Engineer
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV highlights your experience as a technical leader and your ability to manage client relationships. Use specific examples that demonstrate your expertise in relevant technologies like Java, C#, or cloud infrastructure.
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: In your cover letter, express your passion for technology and consultancy. Mention how your skills align with CreateFuture's values and culture, and provide examples of how you've successfully led projects or mentored teams.
Showcase Your Industry Knowledge: Demonstrate your understanding of emerging technologies and industry trends in your application. This could be through mentioning relevant projects you've worked on or thought leadership activities such as speaking engagements or blogging.
Prepare for the Interview Process: Familiarise yourself with the interview structure outlined by CreateFuture. Be ready to discuss your technical strategies and leadership experiences, and think about how you can convey your fit within their collaborative and inclusive culture.
How to prepare for a job interview at CreateFuture
✨Showcase Your Technical Expertise
As a Principal Engineer, it's crucial to demonstrate your deep understanding of the technologies relevant to the role. Be prepared to discuss your experience with Java, C# .NET, and cloud infrastructure like AWS or Azure. Highlight specific projects where you applied these skills effectively.
✨Build Rapport with Interviewers
Since this role involves client engagement, showcasing your ability to build relationships is key. During the interview, engage with your interviewers by asking insightful questions about their experiences at CreateFuture and how they approach client challenges.
✨Prepare for Technical Challenges
Expect technical questions and possibly a coding exercise during the interview process. Brush up on your problem-solving skills and be ready to explain your thought process clearly. This will demonstrate your leadership capabilities in technical strategy and execution.
✨Emphasise Your Leadership Skills
As a Principal Engineer, you'll be expected to lead teams and mentor others. Share examples of how you've successfully led projects, mentored junior engineers, or contributed to team culture. This will show that you can foster a collaborative and inclusive environment.
