Principal Engineer - Data

About Us // At Masabi, we're driving the fare payment revolution, powering the journeys of millions all over the world. We build fare collection platforms that allow riders to seamlessly buy and present tickets for public transport either on their mobile phones, from a ticket machine, or even by tapping their bank card to travel. The Role // We're looking for a Principal Engineer to join Masabi's Architecture team, a senior role for someone who combines deep technical expertise with strong judgement and the ability to operate across teams. You'll help shape the technical direction of our platform while staying close enough to the detail to design, review and deliver real technical work. A particular focus for this role is strengthening our data architecture: how we structure, use and build on the data our platform generates. You'll act as a senior technical leader across the engineering org, defining architecture, guiding complex decisions, and contributing hands-on where it matters most. It suits someone who moves easily between system-level thinking and implementation, understands trade-offs, and turns loosely defined problems into clear, practical approaches. Location // Remote, for candidates located anywhere in the UK. For London based candidates we also offer a hybrid option. Responsibilities

• Shape our platform architecture, blueprint, standards and best practices
• Help shape our data architecture and strategy: how we structure, store and use the data across our platform
• Design and deliver scalable, robust, cost-efficient services
• Stay hands-on in code and delivery, including reviews and targeted contributions
• Work through complex challenges around scalability, performance, resilience and cost
• Act as a senior technical advisor across teams, influencing decisions and upholding Masabi standards
• Contribute to technical roadmap planning and RFP estimation
• Produce clear, high-quality architecture documentation
• Help shape technical forums and working groups, including API and architecture governance About You
• Strong experience designing and evolving distributed systems and microservices architectures
• You've operated at Principal or Staff level, shaping technical direction across teams or domains
• Comfortable staying hands-on in code, design and delivery
• Strong with cloud platforms (AWS preferred) and modern infrastructure practices
• Proven experience in data architecture (data platforms, pipelines, warehousing or data lakes) and building products on top of large data stores
• You turn loosely defined problems into clear, actionable technical approaches
• You communicate complex ideas clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences
• You've contributed to engineering standards, architecture patterns or platform direction
• Interest in or exposure to AI-enabled systems and their architectural implications in production Nice To Have
• REST API design in complex, multi-service environments
• Breaking monoliths into microservices; event-driven architectures (e.g. Kafka)
• Improving cloud cost and efficiency at scale
• Familiarity with: Kotlin, Java, DynamoDB, MySQL, Snowflake, Databricks, Spark, Terraform, GitLab CI/CD Why Join Masabi?
• Driven by Purpose – We believe in journeys made simple. The work isn't always easy, but the best things never are.
• Encouraged to Accelerate – Masabi is going places and our people are in the driving seat. Whether you're taking the direct route or exploring new paths, we support your journey.
• Advancing with Empathy – We put people first and foster a culture of learning, not blame. No matter your cargo, we share the load. We're already powering journeys - are you ready to join us?