At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead engineering strategy and mentor teams to drive innovation in property technology.
- Company: Join PEXA, a revolutionary tech company transforming property settlement in the UK.
- Benefits: Enjoy competitive salary, wellness support, and a flexible work/life blend.
- Other info: Dynamic environment with opportunities for personal and professional growth.
- Why this job: Shape the future of engineering while leveraging cutting-edge AI technologies.
- Qualifications: Extensive experience in software engineering and strategic leadership.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 87100 £ per year.
Hi, we’re PEXA! We know you’ll Google us before applying, so let’s keep this brief. PEXA revolutionised the way that property is settled in Australia, turning a paper-based process into a digital one. Our solution is a world-first, with over 500 people across Australia and an expanding international team, we’re helping 20,000+ families into their homes each week.
We’re passionate about solving problems for our customers – always striving to set the standard for how property is bought and sold. Being awarded as one of the best places to work in Australia is a recognition of our culture and commitment to innovation, customers and our community. We’re growing fast, that is where you come in.
We believe our success in Australia is worth sharing and that our proven technology will advance how the UK buys and sells homes. Establishing ourselves within the UK in late 2020, we are committed to collaborating with lawyers, conveyancers, lenders, government and the property industry, to set the new standard for both remortgages and buying and selling property.
We're looking for an exceptional Principal Engineer to help shape the future of engineering at PEXA UK. This is one of the most influential technical roles within our organisation. Working closely with the UK CTO and engineering leadership team, you'll define technical strategy, drive architectural decisions, champion innovation, and help build the engineering capabilities that support our next phase of growth.
As a technical leader, you'll operate across multiple teams, influencing engineering direction at an organisational level rather than within a single product or platform. You'll mentor engineers, establish engineering standards, evaluate emerging technologies, and ensure we're building secure, scalable and resilient solutions that deliver outstanding customer outcomes. You'll also play a key role in advancing how we leverage AI across both our products and engineering practices, helping PEXA stay at the forefront of technology innovation.
Here’s a snapshot of what your life at PEXA could look like:
- Your growth: We encourage you to hit your personal and professional learning and development goals with our tailored programs and tools.
- Your wellness: We care about your holistic wellbeing.
- Your work/life blend: We know that work is just one aspect of your life – we want to help you create your ideal work/life blend, rather than squeezing in life around work.
Sounds like you? We at PEXA are ready so if this role sounds like you apply today.
What You'll Be Doing
- Technical Strategy & Architecture
- Define and execute engineering strategy across multiple teams and domains.
- Drive architectural decisions that balance business priorities, scalability, security and long-term sustainability.
- Design solutions that support future growth and evolving customer needs.
- Identify and address technical risks across the organisation.
- Engineering Excellence
- Establish and evolve engineering standards, best practices and quality frameworks.
- Drive improvements in performance, reliability, security and developer productivity.
- Champion modern software engineering principles and continuous improvement.
- Support the evolution of platform, infrastructure and service architecture.
- AI & Emerging Technology
- Lead the evaluation and adoption of emerging technologies and AI capabilities.
- Drive the integration of AI tools and practices that enhance engineering effectiveness.
- Explore and implement modern AI-powered development workflows, coding assistants and agentic systems.
- Help shape PEXA's approach to AI innovation and organisational adoption.
- Leadership & Mentorship
- Mentor and coach engineers across all levels, from emerging talent to senior technical leaders.
- Foster a culture of technical excellence, curiosity and continuous learning.
- Lead technical discussions, knowledge-sharing initiatives and engineering communities of practice.
- Contribute to hiring and technical assessment processes.
- Collaboration & Business Impact
- Partner with Product, Design and Business leaders to align technical strategy with organisational goals.
- Translate business objectives into technical roadmaps and engineering outcomes.
- Influence decision-making at executive level through clear communication and technical insight.
- Represent PEXA externally within the technology community and industry forums.
About You
You're a highly experienced technologist who combines deep technical expertise with strategic thinking and business acumen. You thrive on solving complex problems at scale, influencing engineering direction, and helping others grow.
You’ll bring:
- Significant experience designing and delivering large-scale distributed systems.
- A track record of defining technical strategy and driving organisation-wide engineering outcomes.
- Strong experience working across multiple teams, platforms and stakeholders.
- Proven ability to balance technical excellence with commercial priorities.
- Exceptional communication skills and the ability to influence at all levels of the organisation.
Technical Expertise
You’ll bring deep expertise across modern software engineering practices and technologies, including:
- Node.js, Python and Kotlin
- Modern frontend technologies
- Cloud platforms such as AWS and Azure
- Microservices and distributed architectures
- Containerisation and cloud-native development
- Security architecture and secure software development practices
- Performance, scalability and reliability engineering
You’ll also have a strong interest in the rapidly evolving AI landscape, including:
- AI-assisted software development tools such as GitHub Copilot, Claude, Cline and Amazon Q
- Agentic AI frameworks and orchestration platforms
- Modern approaches to context engineering and AI-enhanced developer productivity
- Evaluating and adopting emerging AI technologies within engineering organisations
Nice to Have
- Experience within financial services, property technology or other regulated industries.
- Exposure to DevSecOps, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) or Platform Engineering environments.
- Knowledge of AI frameworks and technologies including Anthropic Claude, LangGraph, Hugging Face, LiteLLM or Pydantic AI.
Principal Software Engineer in Leeds employer: PEXA Group
At PEXA, we pride ourselves on being more than just a workplace; we are a community of passionate individuals dedicated to innovation and excellence in the property technology sector. Located in Leeds, our hybrid work model promotes a healthy work/life blend, while our commitment to employee growth through tailored development programmes ensures that you can achieve your personal and professional goals. Join us to be part of a forward-thinking team that values your contributions and fosters a culture of collaboration and continuous learning.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Principal Software Engineer in Leeds
✨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 PEXA Group 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 PEXA Group.
✨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 PEXA Group.
✨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 PEXA Group 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 Software Engineer in Leeds
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 PEXA Group.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at PEXA Group 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 PEXA Group
✨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 PEXA Group 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.
