Principal Engineer -Database Platform

Role: Database Principal Engineer

Location: Sheffield, UK (3 Days from office)

Job Type: Contract - Inside IR35

Note: No Sponsorship

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced Principal Engineer with strong expertise in database technologies, complemented by solid engineering capabilities. This is a senior leadership role responsible for driving technical strategy, architectural decisions, and engineering excellence across database platforms.

The role involves working closely with cross-functional teams to design, build, and scale robust, secure, and highly available database solutions aligned with business and technology objectives.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and maintain long-term strategy for database infrastructure aligned with overall IT and business goals
• Act as a subject matter expert on database technologies, advising senior stakeholders and engineering teams
• Collaborate with product owners, architects, and stakeholders to define technical requirements and specifications
• Co-lead the design, architecture, and implementation of shared database solutions (DBaaS / PaaS)
• Evaluate industry trends, emerging technologies, and engineering practices to recommend improvements
• Support platform leadership in identifying and addressing engineering gaps and challenges
• Drive development of cross-functional capabilities to solve common engineering problems
• Serve as a key decision-maker for technical and risk-related engineering matters
• Improve engineering processes by reducing handoffs and increasing automation

Required Skills & Experience

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related discipline
• 10+ years of engineering experience, including at least 5 years in senior or principal roles
• Strong expertise in database technologies (relational, NoSQL, distributed SQL), deployed on IaaS or as part of DBaaS
• Deep understanding of database infrastructure capabilities and consumer use cases
• Experience with infrastructure components, performance tuning, and capacity planning
• Hands-on experience with microservices, software development, infrastructure automation, API development, and basic system design
• Strong knowledge of Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) and DevOps practices (CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, code scanning)
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
• Solid understanding of testing practices and associated tools
• Proven track record of delivering large-scale enterprise projects

Leadership & Stakeholder Management

• Strong technical leadership with the ability to mentor and influence engineering teams
• Experience working in global, matrixed environments
• Ability to collaborate with engineers, architects, and business stakeholders to shape platform direction
• Comfortable interacting with senior stakeholders and providing technical guidance
• Strong communication skills to translate complex technical concepts for diverse audiences
• Experience evaluating multiple technology options to determine best-fit solutions

Additional Expectations

• Deep understanding of engineering principles and architecture
• Ability to lead complex initiatives and drive alignment across teams
• Strong collaboration with stakeholders to align technical decisions with organizational goals
• Ability to clearly communicate technical strategy to both technical and non-technical audiences