Remote Backend Jobs

We're looking for a Principal Software Engineer to help us build beautifully simple, high-impact digital products that support teachers and improve outcomes for pupils across the UK.

You'll join our Engineering leadership team to shape the architecture and standards that power Oak's digital platform. Working closely with the Director of Engineering, product managers, and cross-functional squads, you will drive the continuous improvement of secure, scalable, and highly available systems. You'll design new areas of our platform architecture, establish engineering principles that ensure code quality across the team, and stay at the forefront of modern web development practices and AI-assisted workflows.

This is a strategic role with significant scope for technical influence and mentoring, alongside the opportunity to define our engineering culture and practices. You'll be part of a collaborative engineering function that cares deeply about developer experience, accessibility, and building products that genuinely enhance teaching and learning.

Responsibilities

• Maintain specialist expertise in software architecture and engineering practice, and be an authority on this across Oak.
• Take an active and exemplary role in the ongoing development of the Oak platform, prioritising support on its most challenging areas as required.
• Responsible for the continuous improvement of highly performant ed-tech applications that are secure, scalable, highly available and accessible to the widest number of users, meeting Government Digital Service standards.
• Design and maintain engineering principles and processes to ensure code quality across the team.
• Lead on designing and implementing new areas of the architecture, working closely with Platform Teams as and when required.
• Prioritise an excellent developer experience, ensuring all applications and architecture are well documented.
• Mentor and coach engineers at every level.
• Contribute to the strategy, planning and model the culture of the organisation.
• Work in cross-functional and product-oriented squads with colleagues from across the organisation, as required.
• Deputise for the Head of Engineering and take on other general responsibilities as required.

What You'll Be Doing

• Maintain specialist expertise in software architecture and engineering practice, and be an authority on this across Oak.
• Take an active and exemplary role in the ongoing development of the Oak platform, prioritising support on its most challenging areas as required.
• Responsible for the continuous improvement of highly performant ed-tech applications that are secure, scalable, highly available and accessible to the widest number of users, meeting Government Digital Service standards.
• Design and maintain engineering principles and processes to ensure code quality across the team.
• Lead on designing and implementing new areas of the architecture, working closely with Platform Teams as and when required.
• Prioritise an excellent developer experience, ensuring all applications and architecture are well documented.
• Mentor and coach engineers at every level.
• Contribute to the strategy, planning and model the culture of the organisation.
• Work in cross-functional and product-oriented squads with colleagues from across the organisation, as required.
• Deputise for the Head of Engineering and take on other general responsibilities as required.

What We're Looking For

• 5+ years holding responsibility for the continuous improvement of digital products and services, with deep expertise in modern web development practices and AI-assisted workflows.
• Extensive knowledge in architecting secure, resilient and accessible B2C internet products, with the ability to facilitate technical decision-making across the engineering function.
• Proven success in designing and implementing business-critical engineering processes and tools that have a measurable impact on delivery quality and velocity.
• Proven ability to create significant value for money when architecting and managing technical solutions, including principled decision-making around cloud costs and build versus buy trade-offs.
• Proven success in communicating technical concepts, including the capabilities, limitations and risks of AI to audiences from engineers to senior leadership.
• Strong collaboration and communication skills, comfortable working independently in a remote team.
• A proactive, growth mindset, keen to help colleagues develop.