Principal Engineer (Backend focus -Java)

Role Title: Principal Engineer (Tech Lead)

Location: London (Hybrid - 3 days per week)

Reporting to: Delivery Lead / Client Services Director

Core Tech: Java, React, AWS

Who We Are:
AND Digital are a tech company focused on accelerating digital delivery and dedicated to closing the digital skills gap. We’ve been helping organisations build better digital products and stronger digital teams since 2014.

We believe our work should always make a remarkable impact for our clients. We do this through our regional offices (or ‘Clubs’) building strong relationships with our partners, so that they are always prioritised by a team within close proximity. 

This unique model has driven success for our clients and ourselves, evidenced by our remarkable organic growth since 2014. Today we number more than 1,300 people with Clubs all over the UK, Europe and the USA with plans for global expansion in the next couple of years.

Join us - and help us fulfil our mission to close the world’s digital skills gap.

We are looking for a Principal Engineer to take the technical helm of a high-profile project for one of our cornerstone clients—a global leader in media and entertainment.

As a Lead, you won't just be overseeing delivery; you’ll be the technical heartbeat of a mission-critical platform that powers advertising and audience insights on a global scale. This role is perfect for a hands-on technical expert who enjoys the challenge of scaling complex cloud-native architectures while fostering a high-performance culture across distributed teams.

• Hands-on Engineering: Lead by example. You will remain hands-on, committing high-quality code in Java and React while ensuring the platform is scalable, secure, and performant.
• Architectural Stewardship: Work closely with Technical Architects to ensure the long-term health of our AWS-based ecosystem, making pragmatic decisions that balance speed-to-market with technical excellence.
• Engineering Culture: Set the "gold standard" for engineering routines. From robust CI/CD pipelines to insightful code reviews, you will drive a culture of technical pride.

• Distributed Team Growth: Act as the bridge between our London-based stakeholders and our Nearshore development teams. You will be responsible for creating a "one-team" environment, ensuring high code quality and consistency across geographical boundaries.
• Mentorship: Support the growth of ANDis and client developers alike, fostering a high-achieving environment through coaching and peer reviews.

• Collaborative Influence: Navigate a multi-faceted stakeholder landscape. You’ll be equally comfortable discussing API design with engineers as you are discussing roadmap priorities and business value with Product Owners and Senior Executives.

• Full-Stack Mastery: Extensive professional experience with Java (Spring Boot) and React. You should have a deep understanding of modern frontend patterns and backend microservices.
• Cloud Expertise: Solid experience building and deploying on AWS, including serverless components and data pipelines.
• Distributed Leadership: Proven experience leading and enabling remote or nearshore teams. You know how to maintain velocity and quality when the team isn't in the same room.
• Consultative Mindset: The ability to build trust quickly and provide technical leadership during moments of rapid growth.
• Media/Ad-Tech (Advantageous): Experience in high-volume data streaming or programmatic advertising platforms is a significant plus.

This is a high-impact role at the center of a "Growth Account." You will have the autonomy to shape the engineering culture for a platform used by millions worldwide, working within a "Club" environment that prioritizes professional development and community.

Equal Opportunities Statement

We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from all qualified candidates. We actively encourage applications from women, ethnic minorities, and individuals with disabilities. We consider all flexible working arrangements, subject to the requirements of the role. Where reasonable adjustments are needed, we will strive to make changes to accommodate them.