via reed · 3 June 2026 ·3 days ago

Principal / Lead Engineer

INTEC SELECT LIMITED
London Contract GBP 156,000 – 182,000
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Principal / Lead Engineer
Python / Cloud / Terraform / IAM / DevOps / infrastructure-as-a-code IaC

  • Rate: Circa £600 - £700 PD (Outside IR35), 6 Months

  • Location: London / Hybrid x2 days


We are seeking an experienced Principal / Lead Engineer to join a highly ambitious organisation building a large-scale, mission-critical data and technology platform. This is a unique opportunity to join at the earliest stages of a major programme and play a key role in shaping its technical foundations.

Working closely with the CTO and a small team of senior engineers, you will lead the design and implementation of core infrastructure, establish engineering standards and practices, and make architectural decisions that will have long-term strategic impact.
If you enjoy solving complex technical challenges, influencing technology strategy, and creating robust engineering foundations, this role offers an exceptional opportunity to make a lasting impact.

Role & Responsibilities

Technical Leadership

  • Lead the design and implementation of foundational platform infrastructure and engineering capabilities

  • Define architectural patterns, engineering standards, and best practices that will guide future development

  • Partner closely with the CTO and senior stakeholders to make and document key technical decisions

  • Promote secure-by-design principles across all aspects of platform development

  • Establish and maintain core engineering tooling, including source control, CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure-as-code, and automated testing frameworks

Platform Engineering
  • Design and implement identity and access management solutions with robust authentication and authorisation controls

  • Build and manage cloud infrastructure using modern infrastructure-as-code approaches

  • Develop audit, workflow, and operational capabilities to support governance and compliance requirements

  • Implement networking, monitoring, and security controls for highly secure environments

  • Evaluate and integrate appropriate open-source technologies and third-party components

  • Contribute to the design and delivery of scalable, resilient, and maintainable distributed systems

Collaboration & Team Development
  • Act as a senior technical contributor within a high-performing engineering team

  • Mentor engineers and help establish a strong engineering culture as the organisation grows

  • Collaborate with product, design, and delivery teams to ensure technology solutions align with business objectives

  • Engage with external partners, suppliers, and stakeholders where required


Essential Skills & Experience
  • Proven experience leading or making significant contributions to complex distributed, cloud-native, or federated systems

  • Strong software engineering expertise in Python, including backend development, automation, and infrastructure tooling

  • Hands-on experience with at least one major cloud platform (AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud)

  • Strong experience implementing Infrastructure as Code using tools such as Terraform or equivalent

  • Experience designing and building authentication and authorisation systems, including modern identity standards and policy-based access controls

  • Solid understanding of data storage architectures and the trade-offs between different storage and query patterns

  • Experience establishing CI/CD pipelines and engineering best practices within modern software environments

  • Ability to work effectively in fast-moving environments with evolving requirements and limited precedent

  • Strong communication skills with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences


Desirable Skills & Experience
  • Experience building secure, highly regulated, or mission-critical platforms

  • Familiarity with federated architectures and distributed data access models

  • Experience designing solutions with strong governance, auditability, and security requirements

  • Knowledge of privacy-preserving technologies and secure computing environments

  • Experience evaluating, adopting, or contributing to open-source technologies

  • Background working within complex stakeholder environments undergoing significant transformation

The market for this type of role

Similar openings
1,589
Engineering roles in London
Full-time
80%
of Engineering roles in the UK
Remote possible
9%
of Engineering roles
INTEC SELECT LIMITED

17 open positions · Abingdon, Chester, City Of London, City Of Westminster, Corsham +3

📊 Engineering · the UK
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Remote
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