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 controls

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.
• Strong analytical and principal-level problem solving skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong technical leadership and influencing skills.

So, what’s in it for you?

• Bonus Schemes – A bonus that regularly rewards you for your performance
• A pension of up to 12%– We will match your contributions up to 6% of your salary
• Our award-winning Vitality health insurance – With its own set of rewards and benefits
• Life Assurance – Four times annual salary

These are just some of the many perks that we offer! To view the extensive range of benefits we offer, please visit our careers page.
If you are successful in your application and join us at Vitality, we will:

• Help you to be the healthiest you’ve ever been
• Create an environment that embraces you as you are and enables you to be your best self
• Give you flexibility on how, where and when you work
• Help you advance your career by playing you to your strengths
• Give you a voice to help our business grow and make Vitality a great place to be
• Give you the space to try, fail and learn
• Provide a healthy balance of challenge and support
• Recognise and reward you with a competitive salary and amazing benefits
• Be there for you when you need us
• Provide opportunities for you to be a force for good in society

We commit to all these things because we want you to feel that you belong and are supported to be happy and healthy.

About The Company
We’re incredibly proud to be recognised for the culture we've created — recently being named one of Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work 2026, and in 2024 we were delighted to be awarded Top 10 Places to Work in the Sunday Times Awards. We’ve been a purpose and values-driven business from day 1- long before it became fashionable. Our core purpose is to make people healthier and enhance protect their lives. Vitality pioneered shared-value insurance. We incentivise people to live healthier longer lives – they benefit, our business benefits, and society benefits. We’re successful because we attract, develop, and retain the best people – and because we care. Plus, you get to join our 1.7+ million members with access to our unique health insurance and healthy living programme, just to make sure you know our products inside and out.