Principal Software Engineer - Python

About Builder.ai 

We’re on a mission to make software development so easy everyone can do it – regardless of their background, tech knowledge or budget.  We’ve already helped thousands of entrepreneurs, small businesses and even global brands, like the BBC, Makro and Pepsi achieve their software goals and we’ve only just started. 

Builder.ai was voted as one of 2023’s ‘Most Innovative Companies in AI’ by Fast Company, and won Europas 2022 ‘Scaleup of the Year’. Our team has grown to over 800 people across the world and our recent announcement of $250m Series D funding (and partnership with Microsoft) means there’s never been a more exciting time to become a Builder.

Life at Builder.ai

At Builder.ai we encourage you to experiment! Each role at Builder has unlimited opportunities to learn, progress and challenge the status quo. We want you to help us become even better at supporting our customers and take AI app building to new heights.

Our global team is diverse, collaborative and exceptionally talented. We hire people for their differences but all unite with our shared belief in Builder’s HEARTT values: (Heart, Entrepreneurship, Accountability, Respect, Trust and Transparency) and a let’s-get-stuff-done attitude.

In return for your skills and commitment, we offer a range of great perks, from hybrid working and a discretionary variable pay or commission scheme, to employee stock options, generous paid leave, and trips abroad #WhatWillYouBuild

About the role

The Principal Software Engineer will help us improve the Engine systems that power the delivery of all client projects, ensuring that however complex the project, whatever the rate of builds required, and however many building blocks are present the build process remains dependable and performant. The Principal Engineer will work with the Product Manager, Technical Lead and the developers on the team to ensure that the code development and architecture is of the highest stakeholder satisfaction. This particular role would really suit an experienced devops/system administrator who wants to get more into programming and system design and be able to manage the existing infrastructure but also design and build systems to help support and access the platform.

Why you should join

If you're eager to be a driving force in scaling a pipeline and overcoming the complexities of elevating a pivotal system operating at cloud scale, we're the team for you. We offer a role that perfectly blends leadership and technical prowess, giving you the opportunity to lead while contributing significantly on a technical level. You'll relish the chance to actively shape and manage an engineering team, your input resonating in the building and operation of the team itself. Moreover, being part of our revolutionary mission to democratize technology and simplify its accessibility for all is truly inspiring. Our unwavering corporate values infuse everything we do, ensuring a company culture that resonates with your principles. And, as you seek a nurturing environment, rest assured that we not only value our talent but are also dedicated to fostering your growth journey. Join us and be a catalyst in shaping the digital landscape of tomorrow.

You’ll be responsible for

• Owning Engineering Excellence: Take charge of the engineering facet of our product, ensuring its seamless functioning and top-notch quality. Your ownership will be pivotal in driving performance and innovation.
• Strategic Component Architecture: Architect components with a strategic outlook, focusing on scalability, maintainability, and reliability. Your designs will be the building blocks of our success in the long run.
• Seamless Coordination with Blocks Team: Collaborate seamlessly with the Blocks Team to ensure a reliable delivery pipeline and coordinated releases. Your coordination will be a linchpin in maintaining the integrity of our product.
• Mentorship and Scaling Up: Foster a culture of excellence by mentoring and scaling up the team. Your guidance will empower the team to embrace and uphold industry-standard engineering practices.

• Required: Strong experience in web frameworks and development methodologies
• Required: Experience with Python web development (Django, FastAPI)
• Requirement: Good familiarity with one or more cloud providers and/or good experience with Kubernetes deployments and infrastructure provisioning
• Requirement:  You have experience in automation and CI/CD
• Requirement: Good communication skills and can present ideas to a multi-region cross functional team
• Required: Depth of understanding - we prefer an understanding of underlying principles to rigid sets of rules
• Optional: Good relational database experience
• Optional: Experience with React or other major frontend frameworks
• Optional: Event-driven architecture experience (Message queues, Pub/Sub)
• Optional: Experience with Microservices architecture.

• Discretionary variable pay or commission scheme dependant on your role
• Stock options in a $450 million funded Series D scale-up company
• 24 days annual leave + bank holidays
• 2 x Builder family days each year
• Time off between Christmas and New Year
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Season Ticket Loan
• Generous Referral Bonus scheme
• Pension contributions
• Private Medical Insurance provided by AXA 
• Private Dental Insurance provided by Bupa 
• Access to our Perkbox