At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead engineering for digital services, ensuring they meet user needs and technical standards.
- Company: Join NICE, a key player in health and care guidance, making a difference for millions.
- Benefits: Enjoy flexible working, generous leave, NHS pension, and exclusive discounts.
- Other info: Collaborative environment with opportunities for personal development and career growth.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by shaping high-quality digital services that improve lives.
- Qualifications: Proven experience in engineering leadership and user-centred design.
The predicted salary is between 65808 - 75961 £ per year.
Location: Manchester
Salary: GBP 66,582 to GBP 77,368 per year plus a 12.5% per annum recruitment and retention payment (Band 8b).
Vacancy Type: Permanent (Full‑time, Flexible working, Compressed hours).
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is seeking a Principal Engineer to provide senior leadership across the engineering, deployment, and production operation of digital applications and services. This is a strategic role focused on ensuring services are technically robust and designed to meet real user needs. You will lead the engineering of modern, high‑quality live services, applying best practice in product development and user‑centred design from early discovery and prototyping through to secure, scalable, and maintainable production environments. Working across the full product lifecycle, you will partner with NICE Business Service Owners, designers, and stakeholders to translate user needs, service outcomes, and policy intent into accessible, reliable, and well‑engineered digital services. You will act as a senior technical authority, ensuring that user‑centred design is realised through sound engineering decisions and that services meet recognised standards for accessibility, usability, and performance.
Main duties of the job:
- You will balance hands‑on technical expertise with strategic leadership, governance and people management.
- Leading engineering delivery across large or complex digital services, ensuring successful transition from prototype to production.
- Owning and assuring technical decision making, governance and delivery processes across the product lifecycle.
- Setting and maintaining engineering standards aligned to GDS Service Standard, accessibility, security and DevOps best practice.
- Partnering with product and design leads to translate user‑centred design into robust, scalable digital services.
About Us:
The Engineering team at NICE designs, builds, and runs the digital services that underpin nationally relied upon health and care guidance used by millions of people. The team creates secure, reliable software that supports both internal guidance production and public‑facing services such as the NICE website, BNF, and Clinical Knowledge Summaries. Engineers work collaboratively in multidisciplinary teams, applying DevOps and secure‑by‑design principles to continuously improve live services and deliver meaningful digital outcomes.
Benefits:
- Generous NHS Pension.
- Flexible working – remote working, compressed hours and flexible start/finish times.
- Exclusive discounts through the Blue Light Card.
- Time to recharge – 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays.
- Inclusive staff networks – Women in NICE, Race Equality Network, Disability Advocacy, NICE and Proud.
- Tailored development – personalised learning and development opportunities.
Please note that this role may not be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route.
Principal Engineer employer: TipTopJob
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work environment in Manchester where innovation meets public service. With a strong focus on employee growth through tailored development opportunities and a commitment to flexible working arrangements, NICE fosters a collaborative culture that values diversity and inclusivity. Join us to lead impactful digital services that enhance health and care guidance for millions, all while enjoying generous benefits like a robust NHS pension and ample annual leave.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Principal Engineer
✨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 TipTopJob 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 TipTopJob.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
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✨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 TipTopJob 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 Engineer
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 TipTopJob.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at TipTopJob 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 TipTopJob
✨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 TipTopJob 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.
