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- Tasks: Architect and build innovative applications using AI/ML and cloud technologies.
- Company: Join GSK, a leading global biopharma company focused on health innovation.
- Benefits: Enjoy competitive salary, flexible working, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on global health while working with cutting-edge technology.
- Qualifications: Expertise in software development, cloud architecture, and AI/ML integration required.
- Other info: Collaborative environment with excellent career advancement opportunities.
The predicted salary is between 48000 - 72000 £ per year.
GSK remains committed to achieving bold commercial ambitions for the future. By 2031, we aim to deliver £40 billion in annual sales, leveraging our existing strong performance momentum to significantly increase our positive impact on the health of billions of patients globally. Our Ahead Together strategy is centered on early intervention to prevent and alter the course of disease, thereby protecting people and supporting healthcare systems. Our diverse portfolio consists of vaccines, specialty medicines, and general medicines. Through continuous innovation and a dedicated focus on scientific and technical excellence, we strive to develop and launch new, groundbreaking treatments that address critical health challenges.
About R&D Technology: R&D at GSK is highly data-driven, and we're applying AI/ML and data engineering to generate new insights, enable analytics, gain efficiencies and automation. This role is in R&D Technology where you'll architect and build production-grade applications and data platforms. You'll work on diverse projects spanning regulatory, clinical, legal and HR domains. Versatility is key, with an ability to quickly understand domain data and requirements and translate them into robust technical solutions. You will interact with architects, software and data engineers, AI/ML modelers, product owners as well as other team members across R&D. You will actively participate in creating technical solutions, designs, implementations and participate in the relentless improvement of R&D Tech systems in alignment with agile and DevOps principles.
We're seeking a Senior Principal Software Engineer with broad expertise across software development, data engineering, cloud architecture, and AI/ML technologies. This is a hands-on technical role where you'll spend the majority of your time writing code, building data pipelines, architecting cloud-native solutions, and integrating AI/ML capabilities into production applications. You'll be a versatile engineer who can work across the full stack, understand data flows, leverage cloud services effectively, and apply AI/ML techniques to solve real-world problems.
In this role you will have the opportunity to work on a mixture of the following:
- Software Engineering & Application Development
- Write production-grade code for full-stack applications using Python and modern frontend frameworks
- Build and maintain scalable REST APIs and microservices architectures
- Design application architectures and implement technical solutions
- Develop user interfaces and data visualization components
- Write comprehensive tests and ensure code quality
- Debug and optimize application performance
- Cloud Architecture & Services
- Design and architect cloud-native applications and solutions on Azure
- Leverage Azure services including App Services, Azure Functions, AKS, Storage, Data Factory, Cosmos DB
- Implement scalable, resilient, and cost-effective cloud architectures
- Optimize cloud resource utilization and performance
- Design for high availability, disaster recovery, and security
- Implement cloud security best practices and governance
- Data Engineering
- Build and maintain data pipelines for large-scale data processing
- Implement ETL/ELT processes for diverse data sources
- Optimize data workflows and processing performance
- Design and implement data models and schemas
- Work with structured and unstructured data at scale
- AI/ML & GenAI Integration
- Integrate AI/ML models and APIs into production applications
- Build GenAI applications using LLMs and frameworks like LangChain
- Implement RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) architectures
- Work with vector databases for semantic search capabilities
- Apply prompt engineering techniques for optimal LLM performance
- Understand and implement basic NLP tasks (text classification, entity extraction, embeddings)
- Collaborate with data scientists to productionise ML models
- Evaluate and integrate new AI/ML technologies
- Database & Data Management
- Write SQL queries for data analysis and application needs
- Design and optimise database schemas for both relational and NoSQL databases
- Tune query performance and implement indexing strategies
- Implement data access patterns and ORM frameworks
- DevOps & Infrastructure
- Implement Infrastructure as Code and CI/CD pipelines
- Containerise applications and orchestrate deployments with Docker and Kubernetes
- Implement monitoring, logging, and alerting solutions
- Automate deployment and operational processes
- Ensure application scalability and reliability
- Cross-team Collaboration
- Work closely with data scientists, engineers, and product owners across R&D
- Participate in code reviews and knowledge sharing
- Contribute to technical discussions and solution designs
- Identify innovations and architect solutions
- Evaluate and integrate new technologies
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or equivalent relevant industry experience
- Significant hands-on software development experience with demonstrated progression in technical complexity
- Expert-level Python programming with extensive production application development experience
- Strong full-stack development experience with modern frameworks: Backend: Python (FastAPI, Flask, Django) Frontend: React, Next.js, TypeScript, or similar modern frameworks
- Cloud services experience, preferably Azure (App Services, Functions, Storage, or equivalent cloud services)
- Strong SQL skills: Writing complex queries, data modelling, and optimisation
- Data engineering fundamentals: Building data pipelines and working with large datasets
- Understanding of AI/ML concepts and practical experience: Familiarity with LLMs and GenAI applications
- Basic understanding of how to integrate AI/ML APIs into applications
- Knowledge of prompt engineering basics
- Understanding of RAG architectures or willingness to learn quickly
- Experience building production-grade applications: Scalable, maintainable, well-tested code
- Understanding of software architecture: Design patterns, microservices, distributed systems, cloud-native architectures
- Version control with Git and collaborative development workflows
- DevOps practices: CI/CD pipelines, containerisation basics
- Agile development practices and iterative development
- Excellent problem-solving and debugging skills
- Strong communication and collaboration skills
- Ability to quickly learn and adapt to new technologies
Highly Desired Skills:
- Azure cloud platform expertise: Deep knowledge of Azure services (App Services, Azure Functions, AKS, Storage Accounts, Azure Data Factory, Cosmos DB, Azure SQL, Key Vault, Application Insights)
- Cloud architecture and design: Designing scalable, secure, and cost-effective cloud solutions
- Databricks and Apache Spark for large-scale data processing
- Hands-on experience with GenAI platforms: OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, LangChain, or similar frameworks
- Experience building RAG applications with chunking, vectorisation, retrieval strategies
- Vector databases: pgvector, Pinecone, Weaviate, or similar
- DevOps maturity: Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Bicep, ARM templates), advanced CI/CD
- Containerisation and orchestration: Docker and Kubernetes (AKS)
- Database expertise: PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Azure SQL with performance tuning
- Cloud security: Identity management, RBAC, network security, encryption
- Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions for CI/CD pipelines
- Experience with REST API design and microservices patterns
Preferred Qualifications:
- Azure certifications (Azure Solutions Architect, Azure Developer, Azure Data Engineer)
- Advanced AI/ML knowledge: Experience with ML frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch, Hugging Face)
- Understanding of model training and evaluation
- Knowledge of NLP techniques beyond basic text processing
- Experience with multi-agent systems or advanced RAG patterns
- MLOps knowledge: Model deployment, versioning, monitoring, A/B testing
- Azure AI services: Document Intelligence, Cognitive Search, Azure AI Studio, Azure Machine Learning
- Search technologies: Azure Search, Sinequa, Elasticsearch, Lucene-based systems
- Advanced Spark optimisation and performance tuning
- Real-time data processing and streaming architectures (Kafka, Azure Event Hubs)
- Pharmaceutical, healthcare, or regulated industry experience
- Experience with compliance requirements: HIPAA, GxP, 21 CFR Part 11
- Experience with data visualisation libraries (D3.js, Plotly, Chart.js)
- Software security best practices and secure coding
- FinOps practices: Cloud cost optimisation and management
- Experience mentoring junior engineers
Closing Date for Applications: Friday 30th January 2026 (COB)
Senior Principal Software Engineer - R&D Tech employer: WISE Campaign
Contact Detail:
WISE Campaign Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior Principal Software Engineer - R&D Tech
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to folks in your industry on LinkedIn or at local meetups. A friendly chat can open doors that a CV just can't.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for the interview by researching GSK's latest projects and innovations. Show us you’re not just another candidate; demonstrate your passion for our mission and how you can contribute.
✨Tip Number 3
Practice your coding skills and be ready for technical challenges. We love seeing candidates who can think on their feet and tackle problems head-on, especially in software engineering.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets the attention it deserves. Plus, we love seeing candidates who follow our process!
We think you need these skills to ace Senior Principal Software Engineer - R&D Tech
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV is tailored to the role of Senior Principal Software Engineer. Highlight your experience with Python, cloud architecture, and AI/ML technologies. We want to see how your skills align with our needs!
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Your cover letter is your chance to shine! Use it to explain how your background and experiences make you a perfect fit for this role. Be sure to mention specific projects or achievements that showcase your expertise.
Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills: In your application, don’t forget to highlight your problem-solving abilities. We love engineers who can tackle challenges head-on, so share examples of how you've overcome technical hurdles in past projects.
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply through our website for a smoother process. It’s the best way to ensure your application gets the attention it deserves. Plus, it helps us keep everything organised!
How to prepare for a job interview at WISE Campaign
✨Know Your Tech Stack
Make sure you’re well-versed in the technologies mentioned in the job description, especially Python, Azure services, and AI/ML concepts. Brush up on your full-stack development skills and be ready to discuss how you've applied these technologies in past projects.
✨Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills
Prepare to discuss specific challenges you've faced in software engineering or data engineering. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure your answers, highlighting how you approached problems and what solutions you implemented.
✨Understand the Company’s Vision
Familiarise yourself with GSK's Ahead Together strategy and their commitment to innovation in healthcare. Be prepared to discuss how your role as a Senior Principal Software Engineer can contribute to their goals of improving patient health through technology.
✨Prepare for Technical Questions
Expect technical questions that test your knowledge of cloud architecture, data pipelines, and AI/ML integration. Practice coding problems and system design scenarios relevant to the role, and be ready to explain your thought process clearly.