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For Companies At a Glance
- Tasks: Architect and build innovative software solutions using cutting-edge technologies.
- Company: Join GSK, a leader in healthcare innovation with a commitment to improving global health.
- Benefits: Enjoy competitive pay, health perks, remote work options, and growth opportunities.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on healthcare by developing groundbreaking applications and data platforms.
- Qualifications: Expertise in Python, full-stack development, and cloud services required.
- Other info: Collaborative environment with endless learning and career advancement possibilities.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 84000 ÂŁ per year.
GSK remains committed to achieving bold commercial ambitions for the future. By 2031, we aim to deliver ÂŁ40 billion in annual sales, leveraging our existing strong performance momentum to significantly increase our positive impact on the health of billions of patients globally. Our Ahead Together strategy is centered on early intervention to prevent and alter the course of disease, thereby protecting people and supporting healthcare systems. Our diverse portfolio consists of vaccines, specialty medicines, and general medicines. Through continuous innovation and a dedicated focus on scientific and technical excellence, we strive to develop and launch new, groundbreaking treatments that address critical health challenges.
About R&D Technology
R&D at GSK is highly data‑driven, and we’re applying AI/ML and data engineering to generate new insights, enable analytics, gain efficiencies and automation. This role is in R&D Technology where you’ll architect and build production‑grade applications and data platforms. You’ll work on diverse projects spanning regulatory, clinical, legal and HR domains. Versatility is key, with an ability to quickly understand domain data and requirements and translate them into robust technical solutions. You will interact with architects, software and data engineers, AI/ML modelers, product owners as well as other team members across R&D. You will actively participate in creating technical solutions, designs, implementations and participate in the relentless improvement of R&D Tech systems in alignment with agile and DevOps principles.
In this role you will have the opportunity to work on a mixture of the following:
- Software Engineering & Application Development
- Write production‑grade code for full‑stack applications using Python and modern frontend frameworks
- Build and maintain scalable REST APIs and microservices architectures
- Design application architectures and implement technical solutions
- Develop user interfaces and data visualization components
- Write comprehensive tests and ensure code quality
- Debug and optimize application performance
- Cloud Architecture & Services
- Design and architect cloud‑native applications and solutions on Azure
- Leverage Azure services including App Services, Azure Functions, AKS, Storage, Data Factory, Cosmos DB
- Implement scalable, resilient, and cost‑effective cloud architectures
- Optimize cloud resource utilization and performance
- Design for high availability, disaster recovery, and security
- Implement cloud security best practices and governance
- Data Engineering
- Build and maintain data pipelines for large‑scale data processing
- Implement ETL/ELT processes for diverse data sources
- Optimize data workflows and processing performance
- Design and implement data models and schemas
- Work with structured and unstructured data at scale
- AI/ML & GenAI Integration
- Integrate AI/ML models and APIs into production applications
- Build GenAI applications using LLMs and frameworks like LangChain
- Implement RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) architectures
- Work with vector databases for semantic search capabilities
- Apply prompt engineering techniques for optimal LLM performance
- Understand and implement basic NLP tasks (text classification, entity extraction, embeddings)
- Collaborate with data scientists to productionise ML models
- Evaluate and integrate new AI/ML technologies
- Database & Data Management
- Write SQL queries for data analysis and application needs
- Design and optimise database schemas for both relational and NoSQL databases
- Tune query performance and implement indexing strategies
- Implement data access patterns and ORM frameworks
- DevOps & Infrastructure
- Implement Infrastructure as Code and CI/CD pipelines
- Containerise applications and orchestrate deployments with Docker and Kubernetes
- Implement monitoring, logging, and alerting solutions
- Automate deployment and operational processes
- Ensure application scalability and reliability
- Cross‑team Collaboration
- Work closely with data scientists, engineers, and product owners across R&D
- Participate in code reviews and knowledge sharing
- Contribute to technical discussions and solution designs
- Identify innovations and architect solutions
- Evaluate and integrate new technologies
Basic Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or equivalent relevant industry experience
- Significant hands‑on software development experience with demonstrated progression in technical complexity
- Expert‑level Python programming with extensive production application development experience
- Strong full‑stack development experience with modern frameworks (Backend: Python – FastAPI, Flask, Django; Frontend: React, Next.js, TypeScript or similar)
- Cloud services experience, preferably Azure (App Services, Functions, Storage or equivalent)
- Strong SQL skills: Writing complex queries, data modelling, and optimisation
- Data engineering fundamentals: Building data pipelines and working with large datasets
- Understanding of AI/ML concepts and practical experience (Familiarity with LLMs and GenAI applications; Basic understanding of how to integrate AI/ML APIs into applications; Knowledge of prompt engineering basics; Understanding of RAG architectures or willingness to learn quickly)
- Experience building production‑grade applications: Scalable, maintainable, well‑tested code
- Understanding of software architecture: Design patterns, microservices, distributed systems, cloud‑native architectures
- Version control with Git and collaborative development workflows
- DevOps practices: CI/CD pipelines, containerisation basics
- Agile development practices and iterative development
- Excellent problem‑solving and debugging skills
- Strong communication and collaboration skills
- Ability to quickly learn and adapt to new technologies
Highly Desired Skills
- Azure cloud platform expertise: Deep knowledge of Azure services (App Services, Azure Functions, AKS, Storage Accounts, Azure Data Factory, Cosmos DB, Azure SQL, Key Vault, Application Insights)
- Cloud architecture and design: Designing scalable, secure, and cost‑effective cloud solutions
- Databricks and Apache Spark for large‑scale data processing
- Hands‑on experience with GenAI platforms (OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, LangChain or similar)
- Experience building RAG applications with chunking, vectorisation, retrieval strategies
- Vector databases (pgvector, Pinecone, Weaviate or similar)
- DevOps maturity: Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Bicep, ARM templates), advanced CI/CD
- Containerisation and orchestration: Docker and Kubernetes (AKS)
- Database expertise: PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Azure SQL with performance tuning
- Cloud security: Identity management, RBAC, network security, encryption
- Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions for CI/CD pipelines
- Experience with REST API design and microservices patterns
Preferred Qualifications
- Azure certifications (Azure Solutions Architect, Azure Developer, Azure Data Engineer)
- Advanced AI/ML knowledge (Experience with ML frameworks – TensorFlow, PyTorch, Hugging Face; Knowledge of model training and evaluation; Advanced NLP techniques; Experience with multi‑agent systems or advanced RAG patterns)
- MLOps knowledge: Model deployment, versioning, monitoring, A/B testing
- Azure AI services: Document Intelligence, Cognitive Search, Azure AI Studio, Azure Machine Learning
- Search technologies: Azure Search, Sinequa, Elasticsearch, Lucene‑based systems
- Advanced Spark optimisation and performance tuning
- Real‑time data processing and streaming architectures (Kafka, Azure Event Hubs)
- Pharmaceutical, healthcare, or regulated industry experience
- Experience with compliance requirements: HIPAA, GxP, 21 CFR Part 11
- Experience with data visualisation libraries (D3.js, Plotly, Chart.js)
- Software security best practices and secure coding
- FinOps practices: Cloud cost optimisation and management
- Experience mentoring junior engineers
Closing Date for Applications: Friday 30th January 2026 (COB)
Equal Opportunity Statement
GSK is an Equal Opportunity Employer. This ensures that all qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, age, disability, genetic information (including family medical history), military service or any basis prohibited under federal, state or local law.
Adjustments to the Process
We encourage you to explore with our hiring team what the opportunities are for flexibility. If you require any adjustments to our process to assist you in demonstrating your strengths and capabilities contact us at UKRecruitment.Adjustments@gsk.com. If your enquiry does not relate to adjustments we will not be able to support you through these channels. For further FAQs, see the Recruitment guide.
Senior Principal Software Engineer - R&D Tech employer: Gsk
Contact Detail:
Gsk Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior Principal Software Engineer - R&D Tech
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to folks in your industry on LinkedIn or at meetups. A friendly chat can lead to opportunities that aren’t even advertised yet.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! Create a portfolio or GitHub repo showcasing your projects, especially those related to AI/ML and cloud architecture. It’s a great way to demonstrate your expertise beyond the CV.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for interviews by practising common technical questions and coding challenges. Use platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to sharpen your skills and boost your confidence.
✨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, you’ll be one step closer to joining our innovative team!
We think you need these skills to ace Senior Principal Software Engineer - R&D Tech
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV is tailored to the role of Senior Principal Software Engineer. Highlight your experience with Python, cloud services, and any relevant projects that showcase your skills in software engineering and data platforms.
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Your cover letter should tell us why you're the perfect fit for this role. Share specific examples of your past work, especially in R&D technology, and how you’ve contributed to innovative solutions in your previous positions.
Showcase Your Technical Skills: Don’t forget to highlight your technical skills! Mention your experience with full-stack development, cloud architecture, and any AI/ML projects you've worked on. We want to see how you can bring value to our team.
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply through our website for a smoother application process. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensure it gets the attention it deserves!
How to prepare for a job interview at Gsk
✨Know Your Tech Stack
Make sure you’re well-versed in the technologies mentioned in the job description, especially Python and Azure services. Brush up on your full-stack development skills and be ready to discuss your experience with frameworks like FastAPI, Flask, and React.
✨Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills
Prepare to discuss specific challenges you've faced in previous projects and how you tackled them. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure your answers, highlighting your problem-solving and debugging skills.
✨Understand R&D and AI/ML Integration
Familiarise yourself with how AI/ML is applied in R&D settings. Be ready to talk about any relevant experience you have with integrating AI models into applications, as well as your understanding of concepts like prompt engineering and RAG architectures.
✨Emphasise Collaboration and Communication
Since this role involves working closely with various teams, be prepared to discuss your collaboration experiences. Share examples of how you’ve contributed to team discussions, code reviews, and knowledge sharing to demonstrate your strong communication skills.
