Principal Software Engineer

Business Area: Public Markets Technology       

Location: London 

Job title: Principal Software Engineer  (Python)
Who we’re looking for
Public Markets is transforming how technology, data and AI create investment advantage. We are building an AI-native investment platform that combines investor judgement with modern engineering, proprietary data and increasingly agentic capability.

We are looking for a talented software engineer who is excited by solving complex problems at the intersection of investment management, data and AI. You will help build and evolve the technology platforms that support investment teams, working alongside experienced engineers, product managers, data specialists and investment professionals.

This is not a conventional software engineering role. It requires curiosity, strong technical foundations and a willingness to embrace new ways of working, including AI-assisted development, cloud-native technologies and product-oriented delivery.

You will work closely with portfolio managers, analysts, researchers, traders, Product, Data and Operations teams, helping translate investment challenges into scalable technology solutions. The role offers the opportunity to contribute to products that directly support investment decisions and business outcomes.

About Us

Schroders is a global investment manager which provides active asset management, wealth management and investment solutions. We aim to provide excellent investment performance to clients through active management. We serve a diverse client base that includes pension schemes, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, foundations, high net worth individuals, family offices, as well as end clients through partnerships with distributors, financial advisers, and online platforms.

Established in 1804, we have around 5,500 people across 36 global locations. Schroders' success can be attributed to its diversified business model, spanning different asset classes, client types and geographies.

The base

We moved into our new HQ in the City of London in 2018. We’re close to our clients, in the heart of the UK’s financial centre and we have everything we need to work flexibly.
The opportunity 
Technology is becoming a major source of investment advantage. AI is changing how software is built and how knowledge is created and reused, while advances in data, cloud and engineering make sophisticated capabilities easier to scale.

As a Software Engineer within the Public Markets Investment Platform, you will contribute to the development of products and services that help investors make better decisions. You will work with modern engineering practices, cloud technologies and emerging AI capabilities to build solutions that are secure, resilient and scalable.

This is an opportunity to develop deep technical expertise while gaining exposure to investment management, working in multidisciplinary teams where technology, data and investment expertise come together to create value. Your contributions will help build workflows where AI augments expertise, knowledge compounds over time, and successful ideas can be rapidly scaled across the organisation.
The team
Public Markets Technology provides tooling, applications, and a platform to support the many investment desks at Schroders. The majority of our technology stack is cloud native, on AWS with front ends built in React and Python for all backend services and libraries. 

We aim to maintain a great engineering culture. Contributing to this culture will involve following good software craftmanship, TDD and writing clean code. Our systems must be well architected, designed for testability and extensibility. To achieve this, we implement mentoring and coaching through regular code reviews and pair programming. You’ll work with a team of enthusiastic individuals who are passionate about software in a financial context and evolving our investment platform. They're also keen on driving positive technology change at Schroders, ensuring that we always stay ahead of the curve.
What you'll do

• Write clean Python code to build reusable components and packages

• Work with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to build cloud-first solutions

• Refine the existing platform and products in response to business needs

• Work with business users to co-create maintainable Python code

• Coach and develop more junior team members, ensuring that best practices and methodologies are followed

What you’ll be like 

• A passionate technologist who follows the latest trends, technology, and engineering approaches

• A problem solver with a business-facing personality

• Focussed on understanding the underlying business requirements before producing concrete deliverables

• Able to work under pressure, prioritising several deliverables at once

• Great at working with other people, sharing and communicating ideas

The knowledge, experience and qualifications you need

• Strong Python development experience in a professional environment

• A solid understanding of the built-in Python libraries, as well as third-party packages

• Experience leading design of large-scale, efficient and performant analytics workflows, including ETL, orchestration, and distributed compute, using industry-standard libraries such as Pandas, Polars, and Dask.

• Experience with both SQL and NoSQL database platforms, as well as OLAP and OLTP databases

• An understanding of data structures and common data transformation methodologies

• Experience embedding agentic development tools into engineering practices, establishing standards, and sharing best practices across teams.

• A drive to deliver with an ability to own a piece of work from start to finish

• The ability to work in a modern software engineering environment, using Agile, DevSecOps methodologies and tools including Scrum, Git and CI/CD 

• The ability to deal credibly with business and technical users at all levels of the organisation

The knowledge, experience and qualifications that’ll help

• Proficiency with Linux

• Experience using Docker

• Experience with cloud (AWS or Azure)

• Experience building software solutions in the Financial Services domain[VSC1]  

• Proven track-record of driving improvement initiatives within teams, such as CI/CD optimisations, new agentic development workflows, or new testing methodologies

We Recognise Potential, Whoever You Are

Our purpose is to deliver excellent investment performance to clients through active management. We believe diverse perspectives and an inclusive culture help us make better decisions and achieve better outcomes for our clients. That's why inclusion is a strategic priority for us, and we are an equal opportunities employer. You are welcome here, regardless of your age, disability, gender identity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, socio-economic background, or any other protected characteristic.

We will consider flexible working arrangements for all roles and provide reasonable accommodations to support applicants and employees, including those with neurodiversity, disability, or physical and mental health needs. For more information, please visit our FAQs.