At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the design and delivery of complex software platforms while mentoring teams.
- Company: Join a leading tech firm in London with a focus on innovation.
- Benefits: Enjoy a competitive salary, health perks, and opportunities for remote work.
- Other info: Dynamic role with excellent career growth and influence across teams.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by shaping the future of software engineering.
- Qualifications: Degree in Computer Science or related field; strong Java and microservices experience required.
The predicted salary is between 63000 - 77000 £ per year.
The Principal Engineer is a senior individual contributor responsible for driving the technical direction, architecture, design, and delivery of complex software platforms and applications. The role provides leadership through hands-on software engineering, technical expertise, mentoring, and influence across teams, without direct people management responsibility. Success in this role means building secure, scalable, and resilient software systems, establishing engineering best practices, improving developer productivity and enabling the efficient delivery of business-critical capabilities.
Academic and Professional Qualifications Required:
- University degree in Computer Science, Engineering, related STEM discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
Required Demonstrable Experience Of:
- Significant hands-on software engineering experience in Java, building and operating distributed systems.
- Deep experience with microservices, APIs, event-driven architectures (Kafka) and integration patterns.
- Define and influence engineering strategy, architecture standards, and technical roadmaps.
- Design and build secure, cloud-native applications using modern engineering practices (Kubernetes).
- Strong knowledge of secure software development, including authentication, authorisation, encryption, and secure-by-design principles.
- Experience with Kubernetes, container platforms, and scalable production environments.
- Practical DevOps expertise across CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code, GitOps, automated testing, and deployment automation.
- Ability to lead technical design discussions, conduct reviews, and make pragmatic engineering decisions.
- Proven ability to work autonomously and drive initiatives from concept to delivery.
- Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, influencing both technical and non-technical audiences.
Bonus Knowledge:
- Experience in financial services, trading systems, or other regulated environments.
- Python, Scala, or other modern programming languages.
- OpenShift, Docker, Kubernetes, Helm.
- Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) practice.
- Observability tooling such as Prometheus, Grafana, Splunk, OpenTelemetry, or Elastic.
Personal Qualities:
- Analytical and pragmatic problem solver focused on outcomes, resiliency, and maintainability.
- Strong ownership mentality with the ability to independently lead technical initiatives.
- Collaborative and influential, building trust across engineering, product, operations, security, and business stakeholders.
- Excellent communication skills, with the ability to promote engineering best practices, drive continuous improvement, and share technical knowledge effectively.
Core Functional Responsibilities of a Vice President:
The successful candidate will act as a subject matter expert, providing technical leadership, defining engineering standards, influencing strategic technology direction, and supporting complex delivery initiatives across the organisation. The role is expected to engage regularly with senior stakeholders and external parties where required.
Experience Criteria of a Vice President:
Incumbents at this level possess significant engineering and industry expertise. They are recognised technical leaders capable of influencing architecture, security, reliability, platform strategy, software delivery practices, and long-term technology decisions across multiple domains.
Principal Engineer employer: London Metal Exchange
The LME is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work environment in the heart of London where innovation and collaboration thrive. With a strong commitment to employee growth, we provide opportunities for professional development and encourage a culture of diversity and inclusion, ensuring that every voice is heard. Our focus on market data governance not only enhances your analytical skills but also allows you to contribute meaningfully to the financial markets, making your work both rewarding and impactful.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Principal Engineer
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at London Metal Exchange or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to London Metal Exchange.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like London Metal Exchange.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like London Metal Exchange that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Principal Engineer
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at London Metal Exchange.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at London Metal Exchange and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at London Metal Exchange
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If London Metal Exchange uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
