Principal Backend Engineer - Elasticsearch & Architecture

Our vision is to give everyone the belief they can make their move. We aim to make moving simpler, by giving everyone the best place to turn to and return to for access to the tools, expertise, trust, and belief to make it happen. We’re home to the UK’s largest choice of properties and are the go-to destination for millions of people planning their next move, reading the latest industry news, or just browsing what’s on the market.

Location: London office / Hybrid (2 days per week in the office)

Reporting to: Head of Engineering

Domains: Consumer

The Role

We’re searching for a Principal Engineer to help shape the future of engineering across one of our most influential spaces in the business: the Consumer domain, specifically. This is the heart of the customer journey, and your work will directly power experiences used by millions every day. This senior cross-domain role is ideal for someone who wants to drive impact across multiple teams, deepen our architectural thinking, and help us raise the bar on technical execution, product delivery, and long-term platform health. We are particularly looking for someone with deep specialist knowledge in Elastic, able to guide how we evolve our search and discovery capabilities for the next stage of our growth.

You’ll bring a blend of technical excellence, strong product instincts, and collaborative leadership, acting as a trusted partner to engineering managers, product leads, and domain heads.

What you’ll be doing:

• Engineering & Architecture Leadership
  • Lead the design of systems that are scalable, resilient, and fit for purpose, particularly where complexity cuts across team boundaries.
  • Shape the architectural direction of the consumer domain, particularly search, in alignment with our strategic goals.
  • Identify areas where we can increase reuse, improve performance, or make smarter technology decisions.
• Delivery Impact
  • Partner with EMs and PMs to guide scoping, sequencing, and risk mitigation for large, high-value initiatives.
  • Unblock teams by spotting better ways forward, helping shift delivery patterns or simplifying complexity.
  • Influence outcomes through strong product awareness and a focus on business and user value.
• Standards & Practices
  • Champion engineering quality, from code structure and testing practices through to observability and operational readiness.
  • Spot patterns and inefficiencies in how we build software and collaborate, and help teams adopt better ways of working.
  • Influence how we think about platform services, shared capabilities, and long-term sustainability of our tech estate.
• Coaching & Influence
  • Be a source of mentorship and thought partnership for senior engineers and tech leads.
  • Model excellent communication, collaboration, and leadership behaviours across teams.
  • Help us grow our internal technical community, supporting better knowledge sharing and cross-domain learning.

We’re looking for someone who:

• Is already operating across multiple teams or domains and has a strong sense of the wider technical estate.
• Brings deep experience designing and delivering complex systems with significant business or user impact.
• Communicates clearly, adapts to the audience, and helps bring people on the journey.
• Thinks strategically, balancing technical concerns with product and organisational context.
• Regularly supports or mentors other engineers and is invested in growing our engineering culture.
• Knows how to move between high-level architecture and hands-on technical problem solving as needed.
• Is trusted by peers and stakeholders alike, known for their judgement, empathy, and pragmatism.

Why This Role?

• Influence some of the most strategic and visible areas of the business.
• Shape technical direction in ways that unlock better outcomes for teams and customers.
• Create the conditions for great engineering across a large, varied and interesting codebase.
• Help others grow while continuing to grow yourself.

Our Approach to AI

At Rightmove, we believe software and product are ultimately people problems, and everything we build aims to improve the lives of others. We see AI as a helpful way to create more space for the human side of our work, from understanding real needs to making sure we are solving the right problems in the right way. There is an expectation that you are proactive in exploring how AI can support your own workflow and productivity, and that you approach it with curiosity and an open mind.

About Rightmove

We believe in careers that open doors and help our team develop by providing an open and inclusive work environment, offering ongoing training opportunities, and supporting charity fundraising events. And with 88% of Rightmovers saying we’re a great place to work, we’re clearly doing something right!

If all of this has caught your eye, you may well be a Rightmover in the making...

People are the foundation of Rightmove - We’ll help you build a career on it.

What we offer:

• Cash plan for dental, optical and physio treatments.
• Private Medical Insurance, Pension and Life Insurance, Employee Assistance Plan.
• 27 days holiday plus two (paid) volunteering days a year to give back, and holiday buy schemes.
• Hybrid working pattern with 2 days in the office.
• Contributory stakeholder pension.
• Life assurance at 4x your basic salary to a spouse, family member or other nominated person in your life.
• Competitive compensation package.
• Paid leave for maternity, paternity, adoption & fertility.
• Travel Loans, Bike to Work scheme, Rental Deposit Loan.
• Charitable contributions through Payroll Giving and donation matching.
• Access deals and discounts on things like travel, electronics, fashion, gym memberships, cinema discounts and more.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Rightmove will never discriminate based on age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, gender reassignment, marriage / civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity or sexual orientation. At Rightmove, we believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce leads to better innovation, productivity, and overall success. We are committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for all employees, regardless of their background or identity, to develop and promote a diverse culture that reflects the communities we serve.