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JD — Technical Principal

Owner Classification Review Date Status
People Operations Internal April 2027 Active

Job Description: Technical Principal

Department: Technology & Digital
Reports to: CDO / Head of Engineering

Role Overview

The Technical Principal is the senior individual contributor track equivalent of a Head of Engineering — a G7/G8 role for engineers who drive technical excellence through deep expertise and influence rather than through people management.

At Simpaisa, Technical Principals are domain specialists. A Technical Principal in Backend Engineering sets the standard for how backend services are built, reviewed, and operated across all squads. A Technical Principal in Data Engineering owns the technical direction of the data platform. The role does not manage squads or report lines — it governs technical quality across the organisation in a specific domain, and it shapes the direction of that domain through the ARB, Chapter system, and direct mentorship of senior engineers.

Key Responsibilities

  • Define and champion the technical vision and standards for a specific domain (Backend Engineering, Data Engineering, Platform Engineering, or Security Engineering).

  • Produce and maintain the authoritative technical standards for your domain in the Architecture space — not guidelines, standards.

  • Participate in the ARB as the domain technical authority: provide deep technical input on ADRs and design decisions that touch your domain.

  • Work with Chapter Leads in your domain to ensure engineers are growing towards the standards you define.

  • Conduct design reviews and code reviews for the most complex or highest-risk work in your domain — your review is the bar that others are calibrated against.

  • Identify the most consequential technical debt in your domain; prioritise its remediation through the platform or squad backlogs.

  • Research and evaluate new technologies relevant to your domain; make recommendations to the Technology Radar.

  • Mentor senior engineers (G5/G6) who are developing towards principal-level technical depth.

  • Represent your domain in cross-functional technical discussions — your role is to ensure domain concerns are not sacrificed for delivery speed.

Required Skills and Experience

  • Domain mastery: 10+ years of progressive experience with deep, demonstrated expertise in the specific domain. Not a generalist — a specialist who happens to communicate well.

  • Standards authorship: Track record of writing technical standards that engineers actually follow — not because they are told to, but because the standards are good.

  • Code and design review: Credibility to review the most senior engineers' work and give feedback they accept. This requires both technical depth and interpersonal skill.

  • Payments domain: Deep familiarity with Simpaisa's technical environment — payment integrations, fund flows, regulatory constraints, and the consequences of getting architecture wrong in a live payment system.

  • Teaching: Ability to develop engineers who are already senior. Not training courses — working alongside, reviewing, pairing, and providing sustained technical mentorship.

  • Influence without authority: The Technical Principal does not manage people. They lead through the quality of their thinking, the clarity of their standards, and their ability to persuade skilled engineers.

General Requirements

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field. Advanced degree preferred.

  • 10+ years of progressive experience in software engineering with specialist depth in the target domain.

  • Demonstrated track record of elevating technical quality across an engineering organisation.

What We Offer

  • Competitive salary at G7/G8 band, benchmarked to your local market.

  • A role where your impact is measured by the quality of the entire domain, not just your own output.

  • Dual-track career structure: Technical Principal is the peer of Head of Engineering in the Simpaisa grade framework.

  • Flexible hybrid working.