Job Description

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Senior Principal Engineer - Third Party

Job Requisition ID: 38635
Job Closing Date: 26/02/2026
Birmingham, GBR, B1 1AY
| Cardiff, GBR, CF10 1FT
| Glasgow, GBR, G511DA
| Nottingham, GBR, NG2 4UU
| Salford, GBR, M50 2BH
JOB DETAILS
JOB BAND: E
CONTRACT TYPE: Permanent, Full-time
DEPARTMENT: Product Group
LOCATION: ALL Locations (domestic travel expected +some travel around Europe may be required)
PROPOSED SALARY RANGE: Up to 103k depending on relevant skills, knowledge and experience. The expected salary range for this role reflects internal benchmarking and external market insights.
We're happy to discuss flexible working. If you'd like to, please indicate your preference in the application - though there's no obligation to do so now. Flexible working will be part of the discussion at offer stage.
PURPOSE OF THE ROLE
As a Senior Principal Software Engineer, you will work with Product Group leadership to guide and enable strategic decisions on third-party engineering solutions. You will support our platform-first strategy and provide insight and guidance on buy vs build. Through your curiosity and continued professional development, you will bring thought leadership and innovation to the Third Party team and wider Enablement Organisation within Product Group.
The role requires deep technical expertise and a track record of software engineering at scale. The ideal candidate will have experience evaluating third party supplier solutions, working with suppliers on the delivery of solutions using FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) or COTS (Commercial Off-The-Shelf) products and an appreciation of the benefits and challenges of integrating third party solutions.
Strong verbal and written communications skill as well as stakeholder management skills are essential. This is a new role and the right candidate will have the opportunity to shape and steer.
WHY JOIN THE TEAM

• Shape the future of BBC digital products and platforms.
• Influence decisions that impact millions of users worldwide.
• Work on complex, high-scale systems with cutting-edge technologies.
• Champion innovation and platform-first strategies in a globally respected organisation.

YOUR KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND IMPACT
Third-party sourcing and value realisation

• Support the mobilisation of new initiatives with suppliers, including the implementation of new software, tools or work packages
• Contribute to governance and continuously improve engineering guidance and guardrails for consistency across teams.
• Act as a senior engineering point of contact for a limited number of strategic third-party contracts and work packages.
• Providing engineering support to Procurement, Finance and Legal partners within the BBC to support value realisation and ensuring our partnerships with suppliers deliver the quality, performance, and contract outcomes we expect.
• Participate in governance processes with suppliers to improve the visibility of performance, progress, risks, and value delivered.
• Contribute to the build and ongoing operation of a framework for assessing value in relation to new solution builds involving COTS or FOSS products and third party investments.
• Advise engineering leaders on optimal third-party sourcing strategies (resource augmentation, work packages, software/services) using market insight and technical expertise.

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:

• Deep understanding of the SDLC, demonstrated through hands on experience as an engineering manager, technical programme manager or in an engineering role (including data and quality assurance roles)

• Market awareness, and a proven record of using data to inform a product or service's engineering strategy and plan

• Excellent communication and leadership skills, with the ability to influence and collaborate across teams.

• A strategic thinker able to make decisions considering the short, medium and long term aims and outcomes

• Experience manging suppliers or relationships with partners

DESIRED BUT NOT ESSENTIAL:

• Experience working with cloud native solutions
• Experience leading the technical requirements of a procurement
• Experience embedding a new off-the-shelf software or SaaS product deeply within an organisation
• Operational management experience, eg from on-call roles or as part of a service management team

Before your start date, you may need to disclose any unspent convictions or police charges, in line with our Contracts of Employment policy. This allows us to discuss any support you may need and assess any risks. Failure to disclose may result in the withdrawal of your offer.
Disclaimer
This job description is a written statement of the essential characteristics of the job, with its principal accountabilities, incorporating a note of the skills, knowledge and experience required for a satisfactory level of performance. This is not intended to be a complete, detailed account of all aspects of the duties involved.
Please note: If you were to be offered this role, the BBC will conduct Employment screening checks which include Reference checks; Eligibility to work checks; and if applicable to the role, Safeguarding and Adverse media/Social media checks. Any offer made is conditional on these checks being satisfactory.
For any general queries, please contact:
Redeployment
The BBC is committed to redeploying employees seeking suitable alternative employment within the BBC and they will be given priority consideration ahead of other applicants. Priority consideration means for those employees seeking redeployment their application will be considered alongside anyone else at risk of redundancy, prior to any individuals being considered who are not at risk.
Information at a Glance
This is your BBC
At the BBC you can create and innovate in an inclusive environment while contributing to some of the world's best loved content, and the BBC's mission to inform, educate and entertain.
Life at BBC
Here you will benefit from:

• Fair pay and flexible benefits including a competitive salary package, a flexible 35-hour working week, 25 days annual leave with the option to buy an extra 5 days, a defined pension scheme and discounted dental, health care and gym.
• Excellent career and professional development.
• Support in your working life, including flexible working which you can discuss with us at any point during the application, selection or offer.
• A values-based organisation where the way we do things is important as what we do.

Benefits may vary if you are joining on an FTC basis or on an orchestra conditions contract.
Learn more about life at the BBC and our values in our candidate pack.
You belong
We have a working environment where we value and respect every individual's unique contribution, so all our employees feel that they can belong, thrive and achieve their full potential.
We want to attract the broadest range of talented people to join us. The more diverse our workforce, the better able we are to respond to and reflect our audiences in all their diversity.
We welcome applications from individuals, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief.
Find out more about diversity, inclusion and belonging in our strategy below.
Disability confident
We are a disability confident employer. If you need to discuss adjustments or access requirements for the interview process, or to carry out this role, please contact us via email and we'd be happy to discuss:
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Skills Required