Company description
Location: London (hybrid working 3 office days per week)
Employment Type: Permanent, full time
Additional Benefits: Annual Bonus, Cash-Car Allowance & Private Medical Insurance
Think the AA is just about roadside assistance? Think again.
For over a century, we’ve been evolving and adapting. Today, as the nation’s leading motoring organisation, we offer a wide range of products and services to millions of customers. From roadside assistance to home and motor insurance, and the latest driving technologies, we have it all. As we continue to expand, diversify, and modernise, joining us as a Principal Software Engineer (Java) means you’ll play a crucial role in our success and be part of this exciting motoring journey.
Our Chief Operating Office (COO) are the backbone of The AA, providing both stability and structure to support growth and innovation. We are the drivers of change.
#LI-Hybrid
This is the job
At AA, we’re continuing to scale AA-X. Our innovation and product engineering capability focused on building and evolving the next generation of digital products and services.
We’re looking for a Principal Software Engineer (Java) who brings deep technical expertise and thrives in a hands-on leadership role. This position sits at the heart of engineering delivery within a value stream, combining technical leadership with real involvement in architecture, design and problem-solving.
You’ll play a critical role in shaping and delivering scalable backend systems, working closely with Product and Architecture to turn ideas into robust, production-ready solutions. This is a role for someone who enjoys staying close to the code, guiding teams through complex challenges, driving engineering standards, and ensuring high-quality delivery at pace.
Operating within a modern, cloud-native environment, you’ll help create the conditions for high-performing teams, balancing speed, quality and long-term sustainability while delivering meaningful outcomes for our customers.
What will I be doing?
- Lead engineering across the value stream, remaining hands-on in architecture, coding, debugging and technical decision-making to support delivery of scalable backend services.
- Provide technical leadership in Java and Spring Boot development, guiding teams through design decisions, trade-offs and complex implementation challenges.
- Design and evolve event-driven, distributed systems, ensuring solutions are resilient, scalable and aligned to modern engineering practices.
- Actively coach and support engineers, unblocking complex issues in real time and raising the overall technical capability of the team.
- Own and drive engineering standards and best practices, including code quality, testing strategy, CI/CD, observability, performance and system resilience.
- Partner closely with Product and Architecture to ensure solutions are commercially effective, maintainable and aligned to long-term platform strategy.
What do I need?
- Deep technical expertise in Java and Spring Boot, with a strong track record of designing and scaling backend systems, and guiding teams through complex design decisions, trade-offs and delivery challenges.
- Strong experience with event-driven and distributed architectures, including asynchronous messaging and microservices-based platforms.
- Hands-on technical leadership — comfortable contributing to architecture, coding, debugging and problem-solving, while coaching teams and unblocking complex engineering issues in real time.
- Strong ownership of engineering standards and best practices, including code quality, testing strategy, CI/CD, observability, performance and system resilience.
- Proven ability to partner with Product and Architecture to deliver scalable, maintainable and commercially effective solutions.
- Experience working in modern cloud-based environments (AWS/Azure/GCP) with a solid understanding of DevOps and continuous delivery practices.
Additional information
We’re always looking to recognise and reward our employees for the work they do. As a valued member of The AA team, you’ll have access to a range of benefits including:
- 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays + holiday buying scheme
- Worksave pension scheme with up to 7% employer contribution
- Free AA breakdown membership from Day 1 plus 50% discount for family and friends
- Discounts on AA products including car and home insurance
- Employee discount scheme that gives you access to a car salary sacrifice scheme plus great discounts on healthcare, shopping, holidays and more
- Company funded life assurance
- Diverse learning and development opportunities to support you to progress in your career
- Dedicated Employee Assistance Programme and a 24/7 remote GP service for you and your family
Plus, so much more!
We’re an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from everyone. The AA values diversity and the difference this brings to our culture and our customers. We actively seek people from diverse backgrounds to join us and become part of an inclusive company where you can be yourself, be empowered to be your best and feel like you truly belong. We have five communities to bring together people with shared characteristics and backgrounds and drive positive change.
#LI-HH
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