Principal Engineer

Company Description

As a Principal Engineer, you will be a key owner of the technical strategy for your designated area. You will work closely with the engineering team and other Principals to ensure adherence to our shared technical vision and coding standards. While this is a leadership role, you may occasionally be required to produce proof-of-concepts to evaluate new technologies or technical approaches. Your primary focus will be on guiding the design and development of our software solutions, ensuring the operational robustness and smooth running of our applications.

You will report to the Head of Engineering and work in close partnership with the other Principal Engineers and Team Leads.

We're looking for someone who possesses in-depth technical knowledge.  Whilst not a hands-on role, you may from time-to-time be required to produce proof of concepts and or evaluate options for a technical approach.  

• Utilise your extensive technical knowledge and experience to lead the design and development of software solutions.
• Drive innovation by staying up-to-date with emerging technologies and industry trends, recommending new approaches and solutions.
• Own the overall technical solution

Role Location

This role is fully remote, and we are therefore open to candidates based across the UK.

About us

Hello, we’re Reach. Every day, our trusted news, stories and content connect with millions of people where they live - whether that’s on their social feed or at their neighbourhood newsstand; through their local community or their take on the hot topic of the day.

We're home to more than 120 brands - from household names like the Mirror, Express, Daily Star and Daily Record, to local titles like MyLondon, BelfastLive, and the Manchester Evening News, and brands making a splash in the US like the Irish Star.

It's our ability to understand people and the things that matter to them that makes us Britain and Ireland's largest commercial news publisher. We reach around 70% of the UK's online population, 10% of the US online population, and over 100 million social followers around the world, connecting with them on who they are, where they live and what they love.

Your story, with Reach

As a modern media organisation, we're much more than just news. And it takes a wide range of people and skills to serve diverse audiences, customers and communities like we do.

We know everyone has their own story to tell, so we’ve built an environment where every background is respected and every day is a day to explore.

We’ll help you build a career that works with your life, while giving you the space to create and grow.

Role Responsibility

• Strategic Collaboration: Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including product managers, designers, and stakeholders, to align software solutions with business goals.
• Technical Roadmaps: Jointly own and inform the technical roadmaps for your area, taking accountability for the operational robustness of our applications.
• AI and Automation Leadership: Champion and execute our vision for AI-driven automation. You will identify opportunities and implement AI solutions to streamline day-to-day processes, freeing up our engineering teams to focus on innovation.
• Technical Design: Work closely with architecture and your Principal Engineer counterparts to define solutions for both functional and non-functional requirements.
• Coding Standards: Co-own the coding standards for our front-end applications and ensure teams adhere to them.
• Release and Delivery: Take joint ownership of the release process, ensuring smooth and efficient delivery.
• Stakeholder Management: Support product management with your technical expertise, including presenting to Reach stakeholders.
• Vendor Management: Be accountable for selecting and managing third-party vendors and owning those technical relationships.
• Innovation: Drive innovation by staying current with emerging technologies and industry trends, recommending new approaches and solutions for the team.

The ideal candidate

• Deep Understanding of Web Technologies: Familiarity with modern web frameworks and libraries such as React, Next, Typescript, etc. Understanding of web performance optimisation techniques and SEO best practices.
• DevOps and CI/CD: Knowledge of continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, automated testing, and infrastructure as code.
• Security: Knowledge of web and mobile application security best practices, including OAuth, JWT, and other authentication and authorisation mechanisms.
• Research & Evaluation: Capability to evaluate new technologies, tools, and platforms, and determine their feasibility for the organisation.

How we'll look after you

We take good care of our people - and that means more than just a pay packet. Whatever your role, you'll get a range of benefits, including:

• 25 days' holiday (plus bank holidays), as well as an extra day after you've been with us for three, five and 10 years. We also have a scheme to help you buy extra holiday if you want to.
• An extra day's paid leave each year to volunteer for a cause close to your community or your heart.
• Big moment day - an extra day’s paid leave for a moment that matters to you - like getting married, moving house or welcoming a new addition to the family (human or furry!)
• Help saving for your retirement - we'll match your company pension contributions up to 6% and you can contribute through salary sacrifice.
• Supportive and progressive people policies - we’re proud to have a range of policies to support people in their lives in and outside work, including enhanced family leave and policies to promote flexibility, inclusion and progression. We believe you shouldn’t have to wait to join us to know what to expect from us, which is why we share this overview of the policies we have in place to support families and carers. If there's something you want to understand more about, just ask - it won’t make a difference to your application.
• A healthcare cash plan - giving you money back for a range of medical expenses and fast access to doctor's appointments.
• Car lease scheme - you can buy a brand new electric or hybrid car through our leasing partner, and pay for it through salary sacrifice.
• Wellbeing support - including a 24/7 assistance programme for you and your family.
• Access to lots of discounts - including 15% off with Reach's very own online marketplace, Yimbly, where you can buy everything from homewares to beauty products.
• Interest-free loans - including for season tickets and technology.

Additional Information

Reach plc believes diversity brings benefits for our customers, our business and our people. This is why we are committed to being an inclusive employer and encourage applications from all suitable applicants irrespective of background, circumstances, age, disability, gender identity, ethnicity, religion or belief and sexual orientation.