Principal Software Engineer
About The Role
Team – UK Health, Adviser & Employer Engineering
Working Pattern - Hybrid – 2 days per week in the Vitality London, Bournemouth or Stockport Office - Full time hours
We are happy to discuss flexible working!
Top 3 skills needed for this role:
- AI‐Augmented Engineering Leadership
- Enterprise‐Scale Software Architecture
- Engineering Governance in Regulated Environments
What this role is all about:
Our Software Engineers play a critical role in Vitality’s successful business model by building and maintaining software solutions, in line with quality and time parameters, to enable operation as a fully integrated composite business, offering brilliant products with seamless, intuitive customer journeys.
The Principal Software Engineer leads and plans development across large or multiple teams, providing deep expertise in one technical specialism and strong capability across at least two others. In addition, this role is accountable for leading and embedding an AI-augmented software development lifecycle, where AI tools are used to amplify engineering effectiveness while maintaining clear human accountability for design, quality, security, and delivery outcomes.
The role influences both internal teams and external third parties, ensuring that modern engineering practices, including AI-augmented development, are adopted responsibly, consistently, and in line with Vitality standards, governance, and risk appetite.
Key Actions
Implement the software development lifecycle (AI-augmented)
- Build, maintain, test, deliver, release and document user-friendly, customer-centric software solutions
- Lead on and solve large, complex technical problems, ensuring robust root-cause analysis and clear recommendations
- Take ownership of releases and ensure their success
- Take accountability for the successful technical operation of owned systems
- Embed AI-augmented development practices including AI-assisted coding, testing, refactoring, analysis and documentation
- Ensure AI usage enhances sound engineering judgement and design discipline
- Define and coach architectural and design patterns supporting safe and effective AI usage
Deliver to standards
- Apply Vitality technical, security and process standards to manage risk and protect data
- Act as a subject-matter expert on engineering standards including AI-augmented development
- Help define, evolve and assure AI-in-Engineering standards and guardrails, including security, IP, data handling and auditability
- Champion modern engineering practices and lead by example
- Contribute to the creation, review and sign-off of AI-specific standards and control
What do you need to thrive?
- Recognised subject-matter expertise in at least two engineering specialisms.
- Minimum 6+ years proven experience in Software Engineering.
- Advanced knowledge of multiple programming languages and platforms.
- Demonstrable hands-on experience with AI coding tools such as Claude Code and GitHub Copilot.
- Proven ability to lead an AI-augmented transformation within an engineering team, including guardrails and coaching.
- Sitecore CMS experience, minimum 2 years.
- .NET Core experience, minimum 2 years.
- Java Spring or Spring Boot experience, minimum 2 years.
- Experience with modern web application frameworks and integration technologies.
- Full stack development experience including web, microservices and databases.