Principal Developer & Team Lead

Alongside that broader technical leadership, you'll be the principal developer on a focused project within the programme deep ownership of a specific delivery, hands-in-the-code, designing and building it end-to-end. You'll spend most of your time close to the code: setting direction, setting the standard in design and review, and writing code alongside the team. You'll also be the line manager for a small team of developers. We're not looking for a fully formed people leader we're looking for someone who cares about the people around them and wants to grow into that part of the role. You'll have support and development to grow into it over time. The bulk of your focus is on the technical work. You'll be the principal developer on a focused project within the migration programme your own delivery to design, build and own. Around that, you'll lead the wider migration to AWS, build the DevOps automation and observability that lets SRE practices take hold, and establish the standards for how we use AI responsibly in education products. You'll set the technical bar through code reviews, design conversations and your own contributions not from a distance. On the team side, you'll be the line manager for a small team of developers: one-to-ones, development conversations, helping people find their next step. As you settle in, you'll take on more of the wider people work recruitment, performance, identifying where the team needs to grow in AI/ML and SRE. We'll support you to learn this side of the role; we don't expect you to arrive with it fully formed. You'll deliver in agile squads alongside architects, product owners, technical leads, SREs and infrastructure teams, and you'll be the technical voice in stakeholder conversations about what's possible. This position has been classified as a hybrid role, requiring the selected candidate to typically spend 40-60% of their time collaborating and connecting face-to-face at their dedicated location. Aside from our hybrid principles, other flexible working requests will be considered from the first day of employment, including other work arrangements should you require adjustments due to a disability or long-term health condition., We are a Disability Confident (DC) employer that is committed to equality and inclusion ensuring our recruitment process is accessible to all. The DC scheme's Offer of an Interview commitment applies to applicants who opt in, and disclose a disability or a long-term health condition, and who best meet the minimum criteria for the role. In instances where interviewing all qualifying candidates is not practicable and/or appropriate, we prioritise those who best meet the minimum criteria, as we would for applicants who do not have a disability or long-term health condition.

A current or recent team lead ready to step up technically. The bar that matters most:

• You've led developers before, formally or informally, and people have grown around you
• You're fluent in two or more modern languages and you still write code regularly
• You've worked with AWS (or an equivalent cloud) in anger not just touched it
• You understand CI/CD, infrastructure as code, and what observability actually means in production
• You can hold a conversation about event-driven architecture, microservices and security in cloud environments at a level beyond the textbook
• You communicate clearly with engineers and non-engineers, and you're open to growing the people-leadership side of the role with support
If you meet the above minimum requirements, we encourage you to apply. Your application will be even stronger if you can also demonstrate the following desirable criteria:
• Hands-on exposure to AI/ML in production systems
• Experience helping establish SRE or observability practice early on
• A track record of modernising legacy systems without breaking them
  
  We are Cambridge University Press & Assessment, a world-leading academic publisher and assessment organisation and a proud part of the University of Cambridge., Joining us is your opportunity to pursue potential. You will belong to a collaborative team that is exploring new and better ways to serve students, teachers and researchers across the globe - for the benefit of individuals, society and the world. Sharing our mission will inspire your own growth, development and progress, in an environment which embraces difference, change and aspiration.
Cambridge University Press & Assessment is committed to being a place where anyone can enjoy a successful career, where it is safe to speak up, and where we learn continuously to improve together. We welcome applications from all candidates, regardless of demographic characteristics (age, disability, educational attainment, ethnicity, gender, marital status, neurodiversity, religion, sex, gender identity and sexual identity), cultural, or social class/background. We believe better outcomes come through diversity of thought, background and approach. We welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and communities, actively seeking to employ people from a wide range of different communities.

We will support you to be at your best in work and to live well outside of it. In addition to competitive salaries, we offer a world-class, flexible rewards package, featuring family-friendly and planet-friendly benefits including:
• 28 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Private medical and Permanent Health Insurance
• Discretionary annual bonus
• Group personal pension scheme
• Life assurance up to 4 x annual salary
• Green travel schemes