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- Tasks: Lead architecture initiatives, enhance system health, and ensure security compliance.
- Company: PeopleCheck provides fast, accurate background-screening solutions for compliance-driven industries.
- Benefits: Enjoy hybrid work, private medical insurance, and a supportive company culture.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on a mission-critical platform while growing your skills in a collaborative team.
- Qualifications: 5+ years in backend/system architecture with expertise in scalable systems and automated testing.
- Other info: Join a small, agile team focused on work/life balance and fast decision-making.
The predicted salary is between 72000 - 84000 £ per year.
Principal Software Architect
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PeopleCheck provides fast, accurate background-screening solutions for compliance-driven industries. As we scale up our platform, we need a seasoned architect to help us build a rock-solid, maintainable codebase and resilient infrastructure—ensuring excellent user experience, security, and rapid feature delivery.
Role Overview
You’ll be the senior architect driving PeopleCheck’s system-health, architecture, and scalability initiatives. Reporting to the CEO and collaborating closely with our tech lead, frontend engineer, and product manager, you\’ll:
- Assess and evolve our current stack, delivering impactful improvements within your initial months.
- Utilize your previous architecture experience to guide design decisions and establish best practices.
Key Responsibilities
- Automated Testing & Validation
- Design and implement comprehensive CI/CD pipelines ensuring thorough coverage and reliability on critical APIs.
- Architect a fully automated test suite (unit, integration, end-to-end) and mirror staging/production environments (e.g., Docker)
- Further enhance modularity and maintainability of our backend architecture following single-responsibility principles.
- Enhance or evolve our existing architecture with microservices best practices.
- System Health & Monitoring
- Define robust error-handling patterns, integrating structured logging and alerting for swift root-cause analysis.
- Optimize and maintain infrastructure abstraction and scalability strategies for robust performance during peak loads.
- Security & Compliance
- Strengthen and maintain industry-leading security standards around credential management and database access.
- Ensure secure coding and data protection best practices throughout our stack and infrastructure.
- Documentation & Knowledge Sharing
- Lead architecture/design reviews, write thorough runbooks, and collaborate with the team on SOLID/fp-based design
Required Experience & Skills
- 5+ years in backend/system architecture or senior engineering roles
- Hands-on expertise in designing and operating scalable , high-availability systems
- Deep understanding of system design patterns: modularity, microservices, SRP (SOLID), functional decomposition
- Proven track record of delivering automated test suites (unit, integration, end-to-end) and driving 90–100% coverage on critical paths
- Comfortable with Docker , CI/CD tools (e.g., Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI), and environment mirroring
- Strong experience with Node.js (or equivalent), RESTful APIs, and code structuring
- Familiarity with cloud platforms (Linode/AWS/GCP) and infrastructure-as-code principles
- Excellent communicator—able to present past case studies and guide stakeholders
Preferred Qualifications
- Background in compliance or background-screening services
- Experience with microservices design and orchestration (Kubernetes, ECS)
- Knowledge of advanced observability tools (Datadog, New Relic, ELK)
Why Join Us?
- Impact : Help define the technical roadmap together with our tech lead of a mission-critical compliance platform.
- Ownership : Lead key initiatives end-to-end with direct influence on architecture and product.
- Growth : Work alongside senior tech experts and expand your skills.
- Culture : Small, agile team—fast decision-making, collaborative environment, work/life balance.
Apply Today if you’re passionate about building resilient, scalable systems and eager to share your success stories with a driven, compliance-focused team in London.
Job Type: Full-time, Permanent
- Additional leave
- Company events
- Company pension
- Cycle to work scheme
- Private medical insurance
- Referral programme
- Sick pay
- Work from home
Schedule:
- Monday to Friday
Language:
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Richmond TW9 (London)
Seniority level
-
Seniority level
Mid-Senior level
Employment type
-
Employment type
Full-time
Job function
-
Job function
Engineering and Information Technology
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Industries
Information Services
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Principal Software Architect employer: PeopleCheck
Contact Detail:
PeopleCheck Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Principal Software Architect
✨Tip Number 1
Familiarise yourself with PeopleCheck's current tech stack and architecture. Understanding their existing systems will allow you to speak knowledgeably about how you can enhance their infrastructure during interviews.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare to discuss your previous experiences with automated testing and CI/CD pipelines. Be ready to share specific examples of how you've implemented these in past roles, as this aligns closely with the responsibilities of the Principal Software Architect position.
✨Tip Number 3
Showcase your understanding of security best practices in software development. Given the compliance-driven nature of PeopleCheck, demonstrating your knowledge in secure coding and data protection will set you apart from other candidates.
✨Tip Number 4
Highlight your communication skills and ability to lead design reviews. Since you'll be collaborating with various stakeholders, being able to articulate your ideas clearly and guide discussions will be crucial for success in this role.
We think you need these skills to ace Principal Software Architect
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV highlights relevant experience in backend/system architecture and showcases your expertise in designing scalable systems. Use specific examples that demonstrate your ability to deliver automated test suites and work with CI/CD tools.
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: In your cover letter, express your passion for building resilient systems and your understanding of compliance-driven industries. Mention how your previous experiences align with the key responsibilities outlined in the job description.
Showcase Technical Skills: Clearly list your technical skills related to the role, such as your experience with Docker, Node.js, and cloud platforms. Provide examples of how you've applied these skills in past projects to enhance system health and scalability.
Prepare for Interviews: Be ready to discuss your architectural decisions and past case studies during interviews. Prepare to explain how you would approach the challenges mentioned in the job description, such as implementing CI/CD pipelines and ensuring security best practices.
How to prepare for a job interview at PeopleCheck
✨Showcase Your Architectural Experience
Be prepared to discuss your previous architecture projects in detail. Highlight specific challenges you faced, the solutions you implemented, and the impact of your decisions on system performance and scalability.
✨Demonstrate CI/CD Knowledge
Since automated testing and CI/CD pipelines are crucial for this role, be ready to explain your experience with these processes. Discuss tools you've used, how you've implemented them, and any improvements you've made to existing workflows.
✨Emphasise Security Practices
Given the importance of security in this position, prepare to talk about your approach to secure coding and data protection. Share examples of how you've ensured compliance and security in past projects.
✨Communicate Clearly and Confidently
As an architect, you'll need to guide stakeholders and collaborate with various teams. Practice articulating your thoughts clearly and confidently, using case studies to illustrate your points and demonstrate your communication skills.
