Principal Software Engineer

Fully Remote Full Time Part Time Permanent Temporary

3 Nov

Written by Dianne Fisher

Employer: Oak National Academy

Location: Remote (United Kingdom)

Temporary: Fixed-term

* 6 months, full-time (e.g. 32 - 36 hours a week)

* 3 months, part-time (e.g. 16-24 hours a week)

Working hours: 16-24 Hours & 32-36 Hours

Closing date: 11:59pm, 15th Nov 2026 GMT

* #### Job description

Principal Software Engineer (2 fixed-term roles)

Remote (UK-based) | Temporary - 6 months full-time or 3 months part-time (2 days a week) | Salary £104,732 + benefits including 4.5-day week and 11% employer pension

We’re hiring for two fixed-term roles

* 6 months, full-time (e.g. 32 - 36 hours a week)

* 3 months, part-time (e.g. 16-24 hours a week)

You can apply for one role or both. The responsibilities and what we’re looking for are the same for each.

Both roles need to start by 1 December 2026. We’ll interview as applications come in, so apply early.

Please note: Appointment to these roles is subject to Oak having a partnership agreement with an external organisation being in place. If this doesn't go ahead, we won't be able to appoint and we will let you know.

Do your best work, for the right reasons.

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

Oak is a fully remote, mission-driven organisation offering high levels of flexibility, autonomy, and purpose. We’re a national not-for-profit working in partnership with teachers to create high-quality, sequenced curriculum and lesson resources for pupils across all subjects and age groups.

Our culture has been independently recognised through:

* Flexa verified (93% overall score, including 95% for working hours and 97% for role modelling)

* Escape the City's Top 1% Employers – based on anonymous colleague reviews of culture, development, and impact

* Investors in People Gold - through external accreditation and colleague feedback

💡 About the Role

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.