Principal Sofware Engineer - AI Systems (Java) in Manchester

Matillion is the intelligent data integration platform. We’re changing how the world works with data – and we need driven, curious people who think big and move fast. We built the Data Productivity Cloud to supercharge data productivity, and now we’re shaping the future of data engineering with Maia – our AI-powered virtual data engineers that help teams design, build, and manage data pipelines at unmatched speed. Join #TeamGreen, where the mission comes first, collaboration drives us forward, and everyone pulls in the same direction to make a dent in the universe bigger than ourselves.

About the role

As a Senior Staff Software Engineer on our Maia team, you’ll be at the heart of everything we do: working on agentic AI systems, building new tools and integrations, and staying finger‑on‑the‑pulse with the latest developments in Gen AI. This isn’t BAU engineering – this is high‑visibility, high‑impact work where your decisions shape the product. You’ll be driving architecture, mentoring engineers, and feeding into strategy. Things move quickly here. Requirements evolve, new opportunities emerge, and we need someone who thrives in that environment. If you’re an expert Java engineer and already experimenting with Claude, Gemini, and agentic workflows – and you want to do that at scale in a world‑class engineering team – this is the role for you.

What you will be doing

• Lead technical architecture and design for the Maia team – working across two squads to define direction, validate proposals, and ensure we’re building scalable, maintainable software at pace.
• Drive agentic AI feature development – building new tools, integrations, and workflows that push the boundaries of what our Data Productivity Cloud can do.
• Stay ahead of the curve on Gen AI developments – trialling new models, tools, and approaches, feeding insights into team strategy and championing new ways of working.
• Act as technical mentor and coach to engineers across the team – raising the bar through code reviews, design input, and hands‑on guidance.
• Collaborate closely with our Product Manager and Data Science team to translate product vision into technical reality, balancing innovation with code quality and delivery pace.

What we are looking for

• Deep Java expertise combined with hands‑on experience building scalable distributed systems on AWS – you write great code and think seriously about architecture.
• Proven experience working on agentic AI systems – you understand how they differ from traditional systems, you’ve built or led features in this space, and you have a point of view on how to test and scale them.
• Technical leadership experience – you’ve been a tech lead, influenced architecture decisions, and helped other engineers grow; you can communicate complex concepts to non‑technical stakeholders without breaking a sweat.
• Full‑stack capability is a strong plus – particularly React, TypeScript, and Tailwind – and familiarity with frameworks like LangChain or LangGraph would be welcome.
• Adaptable and fast‑moving – you thrive in an environment where requirements evolve, you’re comfortable with ambiguity, and you have a genuine bias for action when it comes to adopting and championing new technologies.

At Matillion, we’re here to do something hard – change the way the world works with data, and build a great company along the way. Big, bold goals aren’t for the faint‑hearted, and we don’t shy away from them. But we don’t do it alone. No egos, no politics – just great people working together, guided by our six core values:

• Confidence without arrogance
• Working with integrity
• Customer obsessed
• Innovate and demand quality

We operate a flexible working culture that promotes work‑life balance, with benefits including:

• Company Equity
• 30 days holiday + bank holidays
• Health insurance
• Life Insurance
• Access to mental health support

More about Matillion

Thousands of enterprises including Cisco, London Stock Exchange Group, EDF and Slack trust Matillion for a wide range of use cases from insights and operational analytics, to data science, machine learning and AI. We are a truly global workforce, dual headquartered in Manchester, UK and Denver, Colorado, with expanding offices in Hyderabad, India, along with valuable remote colleagues around the world. We are keen to hear from prospective Matillioners, so even if you don’t feel you match all the criteria please apply and a member of our Talent Acquisition team will be in touch. Alternatively, if you’re interested in Matillion but don’t see a suitable role, please email talent@matillion.com.

Matillion is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and we are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all of our team. Matillion prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type. Matillion does not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by law.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.