Principal Engineer

Mindful Chef; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative food startup in Greater London is seeking a Principal Engineer to lead their technical team. This hands-on role emphasizes full-stack development with Rails, requiring great communication and problem-solving skills. Candidates should have a strong background in Ruby, modern Rails, and experience at scale. The position offers flexibility in remote or hybrid work, competitive benefits, and the opportunity to positively impact people's lives while being part of a B-Corp company.

Benefits

Vitality health insurance

Access to learning resources

Mental health support

Generous holiday package (30 days + bank holidays)

50% discount on all products

Enhanced parental leave policy

Qualifications

• Deep understanding of full-stack Rails web applications and APIs.
• Experience running internet applications at scale.
• Strong leadership and mentoring skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead and guide the engineering team on complex initiatives.
• Serve as a mentor and technical authority.
• Write critical components of the system.

Skills

Ruby

Modern Rails

Problem-solving

Communication

AWS

Tools

Heroku

Job description

More Than Just A Job

The goal is simple, to make healthy eating easy. To do this we need your support, building a scalable and maintainable rails eco-system that propels one of the UK's most loved start-ups forward. As a proud B-Corp we focus on using business as a force for good. We do this by balancing out people and planet with profit. For every recipe box bought we donate the equivalent of a school meal to a less developed country (over 20 million meals donated and counting…) and we have also pledged to go Net Zero by 2030 but there are so many other initiatives that we would love to tell you about! If you would like to join one of the UK’s most loved start-ups and make a positive impact on people's lives, then we would love to speak with you.

What we are looking for

As a Principal Engineer, you will play a pivotal role in leading and driving technical excellence within our organisation. You will provide leadership, guidance and expertise to the team, whilst spending at least half of your time writing code.

This is a hands‑on role that requires a deep understanding of our full technology stack based on full‑stack Rails web application, and APIs serving our native mobile app, and numerous connected systems and services that power our warehouse operations. The ability to lead other specialist engineers when solving complex problems in these domains is key.

You are

• A brilliant communicator, effortlessly navigating both product and technical discussions.
• Fluent in Ruby, and modern Rails embracing Hotwire and Stimulus.
• A relentless problem‑solver, determined to get things done whether working independently or as part of a team.
• Infused with a passion for product engineering and solving interesting problems with the simplest solutions at scale.
• Broad experience and understanding of running internet applications at scale on platforms such as Heroku and AWS.
• Someone who takes pride in the code base and platform they work on.

You will

• Lead and guide our engineering team in the design and development of complex initiatives along with other Principals and in support of the CTO and mission.
• Serve as a technical authority and mentor for engineers within the team providing guidance on best practices, architecture, and coding standards.
• Take a hands‑on approach to coding, writing critical components of the system. You will be making significant contributions to our platform.
• Conduct pairing sessions and code reviews to ensure quality, performance, and adherence to coding standards.
• Continue our mission of reducing complexity and increasing collaboration and connected thinking.
• Ensure the maintainability and scalability of the platform.

Why us?

• A competitive package that rewards your skills and dedication.
• Flexibility of remote or hybrid working from our office based in Wandsworth.
• Be part of a Better Business (B-Corp), making a positive impact on profit, people, and planet.
• Join an award‑winning startup backed by the largest food and beverage company globally.
• Experience a workplace that feels like home, complete with free meals, a gym, a vertical farm, and pet‑friendly policies.
• Prioritise your well‑being with perks like Vitality health insurance, access to learning resources, mental health support, and a generous holiday package (30 days + bank holidays).
• Enjoy a 50% discount on all Mindful Chef products.
• Enhanced policy of 6 months full pay primary parental leave and 6 weeks full pay secondary parental leave.

The process