Principal Software Engineer (Hybrid)
About this role
The team at 8th Light builds agentic products, the underlying platforms they run on, and comprehensive engineering and design solutions for a wide range of clients from startups to global enterprises. This principal role exists to guide ambiguous initiatives, architect scalable systems, and lead high-stakes consulting engagements across diverse technology stacks and client industries.
In this position, the engineer will take AI and agentic systems from prototype to production, drive platform engineering work, and advise client executives on architecture and platform evolution. A candidate who thrives in this environment possesses deep consulting acumen, extensive software delivery experience, and a strong collaborative mindset geared toward continuous learning and mentorship.
What you will do
- Rapidly build trust with clients by demonstrating technical expertise and a thorough understanding of their business objectives.
- Drive platform engineering and strategy across diverse platform types, connecting long-term technical vision to actual shipments.
- Advise clients on architecture, scalability, and platform evolution while balancing technology choices with strict deadlines.
- Take AI and agentic systems from prototype to production with a focus on infrastructure, authentication, and observability.
- Collaborate on systems involving the full machine learning lifecycle from data ingestion to model deployment and performance monitoring.
- Design and manage high-level technical roadmaps for large engagements while facilitating alignment across technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Provide mentorship and team support at scale, coaching client engineering teams and leveling up internal practices.
What you need
- Show long-term repeated success on a variety of projects typically over the course of 10 or more years.
- Bring a blend of deep consulting acumen, technical expertise, and product thinking that drives measurable outcomes.
- Demonstrate experience building and shipping production-grade platforms, tools, infrastructure, and workflows.
- Deliver production-grade software using a variety of languages and frameworks such as Java, C#/.NET, Python, TypeScript, and Go.
- Build or integrate AI and machine learning features into products including recommendation engines, NLP, computer vision, and RAG pipelines.
- Successfully lead modernization and replatforming efforts to align legacy systems with short and long-term business needs.
Nice to have
- Platform engineering experience building reusable software foundations and internal developer platforms
- Data engineering experience including platforms like Databricks for data processing and analytics
- Experience delivering production agentic systems using RAG pipelines, vector search, and agentic frameworks
- DevSecOps and DevOps experience
- MLOps and Infrastructure as Code experience
Benefits
- Robust L&D programme featuring unlimited access to books, courses, and training on the O'Reilly learning platform
- Annual financial stipend and time allotment for learning and development
- Coworking support for our global team
- 12 weeks of new parent leave available for eligible employees
Skills and tech stack
Questions candidates ask
What is the remote work or office policy?
This role is hybrid based out of Waterloo, London, England, UK, requiring 1 day per week in the office.
What is the salary range for this role?
The pay range for the Principal Engineer position within London is £92,818 to £116,122 GBP.
What kind of technologies and frameworks will I work with?
You will use a variety of languages and frameworks including Java, C#/.NET, Python, TypeScript, JavaScript, React, Go, Ruby, Scala, R, and SQL, alongside AI tools and agentic frameworks.
What kind of professional development support is provided?
The company offers a robust learning and development programme with unlimited access to the O'Reilly learning platform, plus an annual financial stipend and time allotment for growth.