Principal Engineer - Codebase, Platform & DevOps Assessor in London

Principal Engineer - Codebase, Platform & DevOps Assessor in London

London Freelance 60000 - 80000 £ / year (est.) Home office (partial)
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At a Glance

  • Tasks: Lead a tech audit, assess code quality, and provide clear insights to senior leaders.
  • Company: Intelance, a cutting-edge advisory firm in technology and cybersecurity.
  • Benefits: Flexible day-rate, high-impact work, and collaboration with a senior team.
  • Other info: Short-term project with potential for significant career growth.
  • Why this job: Make a real difference in a major UK business's tech landscape.
  • Qualifications: Deep software engineering experience and ability to communicate technical issues simply.

The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 £ per year.

Intelance is an independent enterprise architecture, technology and cybersecurity advisory firm. We have been appointed to lead a board-level, independent technology and data review for a large UK omnichannel retailer. A big part of this retailer's technology is home-built. We need a hands-on principal engineer who can get under the bonnet of that code, judge how good it really is, and explain what it means in clear terms.

Tasks

  • Support an Intelance led independent technology audit.
  • Review selected home-built platforms, applications and codebases.
  • Assess code quality, technical debt, maintainability, documentation and engineering standards.
  • Review platform architecture, APIs, integrations, services, data flows and points of failure.
  • Assess DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, test automation, release management and deployment controls.
  • Review observability, logging, monitoring, incident data, resilience and disaster recovery evidence.
  • Assess whether the current platforms can scale for higher digital volumes, international growth and third-party integrations.
  • Help judge which components should be kept, fixed, bought, rebuilt, retired or simplified.
  • Identify key person dependency, weak documentation, fragile integrations and high cost areas.
  • Work with cyber, data, cloud, enterprise architecture and business specialists.
  • Turn technical findings into clear, plain-English messages for a CEO, CFO and Board.
  • Support the creation of a technical evidence pack, architecture findings, heatmap and roadmap.

Requirements

  • Deep software engineering and architecture review experience.
  • Experience as a Principal Engineer, Engineering Director, CTO, VP Engineering, Software Architect, Platform Architect, or senior technical assessor.
  • Strong experience reviewing software codebases, not only designing architecture from slides.
  • Good understanding of modern software architecture, APIs, microservices, event-driven design, cloud platforms and integration patterns.
  • Strong understanding of CI/CD, DevOps, test automation, release management and engineering quality.
  • Ability to assess maintainability, scalability, resilience, technical debt and documentation quality.
  • Ability to review engineering practices without turning the work into a full code remediation project.
  • Ability to explain technical issues in simple language to senior non-technical leaders.
  • Strong judgement on build versus buy decisions.
  • Experience working with complex, business critical platforms.
  • Availability to support proposal activity immediately, with potential delivery work over an eight-week audit period.

Benefits

  • Short-term, high impact advisory work.
  • Potential involvement in a Board level technology audit for a major UK business.
  • Flexible day-rate associate model.
  • Clear role boundaries and defined technical assessment scope.
  • Opportunity to work with a senior team across enterprise architecture, cyber, data, AI, supply chain technology, finance systems and technology cost review.
  • Work that focuses on evidence, real system quality and clear decisions, not generic consulting slides.

Principal Engineer - Codebase, Platform & DevOps Assessor in London employer: Intelance Digital Enablement Services Ltd

Intelance is an exceptional employer, offering a unique opportunity to engage in high-impact advisory work for a major UK omnichannel retailer. With a focus on evidence-based assessments and clear decision-making, employees benefit from a collaborative work culture that values technical expertise and innovation. The flexible day-rate associate model allows for a balanced work-life dynamic while providing avenues for professional growth alongside a senior team of specialists across various technology domains.

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Contact Details:

Intelance Digital Enablement Services Ltd Recruitment Team

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We think you need these skills to ace Principal Engineer - Codebase, Platform & DevOps Assessor in London

Software Engineering
Architecture Review
Code Quality Assessment
Technical Debt Evaluation
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