Principal Engineer - 1 Year FTC (we have office locations in Cambridge, Leeds and London) London

Genomics England is a global leader in enabling genomic medicine and research, focused on creating a world where everyone benefits from genomic healthcare. Building on the 100,000 Genomes Project, we support the NHS’s world‑first national whole genome sequencing service and run the growing National Genomic Research Library, alongside delivering numerous major genomics initiatives. By connecting research and clinical care at national scale, we enable immediate health‑care benefits and advances for the future. Our mission is to provide the evidence and digital systems so that by 2035 genomics could play a role in up to half of all health‑care interactions, whilst securing the UK’s position as the best place to discover, prove and benefit from genomic innovations.

As a Principal Engineer you will be a hands‑on contributor with exemplary engineering skills, who also has an ability to think strategically to define architectural directions. You may have previously worked under a variety of different job titles within engineering and/or architecture, and you may have worked in a variety of organisational contexts. Whatever your past experience, it will have given you both technical breadth and depth. You will be a problem‑solver who identifies risks, issues, gaps, and dependencies and brings people together to find solutions. You will do this through your supportive, empathetic and collaborative behaviours – acting as coach, mentor, guide or constructive questioner as the situation demands. You are pragmatic but also mindful of the big picture – consciously balancing the immediate goals of teams against the long‑term direction for their products.

Our bio‑pipelines platform works across both on‑premise High‑Performance Compute clusters to AWS, and our workflows are orchestrated in Python / NextFlow. We leverage best‑in‑class tools like Dragen to do some of the heavy‑lifting. We use Python, MongoDB and DynamoDB to deliver RESTful services that provide authoritative data for use during processing. We are working to become interoperable with the wider NHS via open standards like FHIR and GA4GH APIs. We have a standard tool chain which includes Terraform for infrastructure‑as‑code, GitLab for source code and CI/CD, Artifactory for software artefacts and DataDog for observability.

Key Responsibilities

• Work alongside product managers, squad engineers, bioinformaticians and other subject matter experts to continuously evolve a roadmap for change.
• Be the voice of technical excellence in any conversation, ensuring that the functional, safety and operational characteristics of our products are continuously improving.
• Stay abreast of emerging technologies and industry trends, and incorporate them into our software development practices.
• Contribute to the wider conversation at Genomics England and help mature our technical practices.

Essential Skills and Experience

• Strong software engineering skills and awareness of software design patterns (Python preferred, Typescript/React desirable, polyglot ideal).
• Knowledge of different database types and their applicability in a given context (Postgres/Aurora, MongoDB and Elastic/OpenSearch are in use at Genomics England).
• Experience shaping and guiding architectural choices, both tactical as well as long‑term architectural strategy and direction.
• Experience of API schema design and evolution.
• DevOps experience (CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code, operational monitoring and alerting).
• Experience in at least one major public cloud (AWS preferred but not essential).
• Strong interpersonal skills with a temperament that builds trust and connection within and across squads through open, honest communication.
• Comfortable engaging responsively with teams both remotely and in person when required.
• Ability to navigate rapidly to effective solutions through engaged and inclusive listening, clarity of thought, clear documentation, and succinct presentation.

These skills are not essential but if you have any of them, they may be an indicator that you would be well prepared to hit the ground running:

• Background in healthcare or bioinformatics.
• Experience in regulated environments.
• Familiarity with workflow technologies like Apache Airflow or NextFlow.
• Proficiency in handling large, complex datasets using tools like Hadoop/EMR or Spark.

So, if you are a Principal Engineer who wants your work to go beyond just systems and make a genuine difference by helping to transform national healthcare, this is a fantastic role and one where you can have real impact.