Principal Backend Software Engineer in London

Teya was founded on a simple belief: local businesses deserve better. They are the cafés, restaurants, salons, shops and entrepreneurs that bring character to our high streets, create jobs and keep communities moving. Yet for too long, financial services has made life harder for them - with clunky tools, poor support and complexity that gets in the way of running a business. We're building a financial platform for local businesses across Europe - one built around simple tools, thoughtful design and real human support. Our Members rely on us to help them run their business with confidence, and that responsibility shapes the way we work. We care about quality. And we believe great performance and genuine hospitality should go hand in hand. If you want to build meaningful products, solve real problems and make a genuine difference for local businesses, we'd love to hear from youYour MissionSmall businesses are the backbone of our communities — yet they remain underserved by traditional banks and legacy payment providers. As a Principal Backend Engineer, you will play a defining role in changing that. This isn't about owning a single service — it's about owning outcomes. You'll operate at the intersection of engineering and business strategy, shaping systems that must be secure, compliant, highly available, and capable of scaling with rapid growth. You will define and evolve the architectural foundations that multiple teams depend on, bringing clarity to ambiguity and ensuring our most important initiatives succeed. What You'll DoOwn and drive the architecture behind our most critical platforms, ensuring they scale with the business and unlock new capabilitiesDesign and evolve high-scale, cloud-native systems powering payments and merchant experiencesLead the development of resilient, secure, and compliant services for high-volume transaction processingShape and drive adoption of modern backend practices (Java 17/21, Spring Boot 3, Kotlin, clean architecture)Architect event-driven systems (Kafka) that enable scalable, decoupled domains across teamsDefine and enforce standards for API-first development (REST/gRPC) and domain-driven design (DDD)Set the bar for availability, performance, fault tolerance, and observability across critical systemsPartner deeply with Product, Data, and leadership to translate business priorities into scalable technical strategyLead cross-organisational initiatives that are essential to company growth and market expansionInfluence engineering direction through hands-on contribution, design leadership, and mentorshipBring structure to ambiguity across technical, regulatory, and operational domainsWhat You Bring8+ years of experience building and operating distributed, production-grade backend systemsProven track record operating at Senior Staff or Principal level, driving architecture across multiple teams or domainsDeep expertise in Java (17+), Spring Boot, and modern backend engineering practicesStrong experience with microservices, event-driven architecture, and asynchronous systemsExperience building systems for high throughput, low latency, and reliability, ideally in fintech or transaction-heavy environmentsStrong grounding in system design, data structures, and performance trade-offsHands-on experience with AWS, Docker, and Kubernetes in production environmentsProven ability to implement observability, resilience patterns, and CI/CD best practicesExcellent communication skills with the ability to influence and align stakeholdersA track record of mentoring senior engineers and leading through ambiguityThe PerksWe trust you, so we offer flexible working hours, as long it suits both you and your team;Physical and mental health support through our partnership with GymPass giving free access to over 1,500 gyms in the UK, 1-1 therapy, meditation sessions, digital fitness and nutrition apps;Our company offers extended and improved maternity and paternity leave choices, giving employees more flexibility and support;Cycle-to-Work Scheme;Health and Life Insurance;Pension Scheme;25 days of Annual Leave (+ Bank Holidays);Office snacks every day;Friendly, comfortable and informal office environment in Central London. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, or background can thrive and do their best work.