Principal Software Engineer in Bristol

Our client is building the future of regulatory technology: systems that turn complex regulation into reliable, scalable infrastructure for ambitious companies across Europe. The work is high-stakes, high-impact, and high-bar and it’s being built in a fast-moving scale-up, not a corporate environment. They’re looking for exceptional engineers who want to help shape products that entire industries will rely on. People who thrive in ambiguity, love getting stuck in, and enjoy building alongside other senior engineers who bring sharp thinking, collaboration, and craft.

You’ll join a small, high-calibre team of some of Europe’s best engineers. The standard is high, but the environment is collaborative and supportive. You’ll have real ownership, significant autonomy, and the chance to make architectural decisions that will define how the platform grows. If you’re looking for predictability, layers of process, or corporate comforts, this won’t be the right fit. If you want to roll up your sleeves, solve complex problems, and help build something new from the ground up, you’ll feel at home here.

What you’ll do:

• Lead by example – design, build, and deliver backend systems that are robust, scalable, and easy to maintain.
• Architect APIs and infrastructure for environments where trust, resilience, and accuracy are critical.
• Contribute to engineering practices and technical culture, ensuring quality and maintainability remain front and centre.
• Collaborate closely with product and leadership to turn complex, ambiguous requirements into clear technical solutions.
• Balance being hands-on with code while also guiding architectural decisions and mentoring peers.

What we’re looking for:

• Significant experience working in fast-paced, complex product organizations, ideally in distributed or high-availability systems.
• A systems thinker who can see how individual decisions affect long-term system behaviour.
• Experience providing technical leadership: mentoring, reviewing, and raising standards for teams.
• Strong communication skills, able to simplify complexity and bring clarity across disciplines.
• Someone who thrives in fast-moving, ambiguous environments and finds energy in creating clarity from chaos.
• Curiosity, thoughtfulness, and a strong sense of craft.

Bonus experience (not required, but useful):

• Building systems in regulated or high-trust industries (finance, health, insurance, critical infrastructure).
• Working with event-driven architectures, distributed systems, or compliance-heavy workflows.
• Experience with multi-tenant, enterprise-grade platforms.

Why join:

• Work with the best – a handpicked team of Europe’s most talented engineers, with a culture of collaboration, learning, and excellence.
• Impact from the ground up – you’re not slotting into a machine, you’re helping to design and build it.
• Solve problems that matter – the systems you create will underpin how companies across Europe handle compliance and trust.
• True scale-up energy – zero bureaucracy, huge autonomy, and the opportunity to leave your mark on a product with global potential.

If you’re excited by the idea of building career-defining systems with a diverse, collaborative team and want to get hands-on in a high-bar scale-up environment rather than a corporate, you can reach out to April or Selina to find out more!