Principal Software Engineer Based in Bristol Salary up to £70,000 + Bonus + Excellent Benefits Want to work on complex software that sits at the heart of advanced defence systems? We're looking for an experienced Software Engineer with strong RTI DDS and distributed systems experience to help shape the architecture, design and evolution of mission-critical software used within complex command and control environments. This is not a coding factory role. You'll influence software architecture, drive the development of core communications and data models, support system-level design decisions, and provide technical leadership across multiple software teams. You'll work closely with architects, technical leads and systems engineers to ensure software, middleware and communications frameworks continue to support highly capable, real-world defence systems. What you'll be doing * Developing and evolving RTI DDS based communications frameworks * Designing and maintaining system-wide data models and IDL definitions * Supporting software architecture decisions at system and subsystem level * Defining command and control interfaces across complex distributed systems * Creating reusable software component templates and design patterns * Providing technical guidance to software engineering teams * Driving best practice across software design, integration and implementation * Supporting the development of high-integrity, mission-critical software You'll need experience in most of the following * RTI DDS or Data Distribution Service middleware * Distributed systems design and development * Software architecture within complex engineering environments * IDL design and data modelling * System and subsystem integration * Command and control systems * Technical leadership or senior software engineering responsibilities * Working across the full software development lifecycle * Communicating effectively with software engineers, architects and systems engineers You'll stand out if you have experience in * Defence, aerospace or other highly regulated industries * Real-time systems * Mission systems * Complex systems integration * Safety-critical or high-integrity software environments If you're curious to learn more, get in touch for a confidential conversation. Even if you're not actively looking, it's worth exploring what's on offer