IT Principal Engineer

Job introduction

We are recruiting for an IT Principal Engineer to provide a key role in the development, implementation and optimisation of our Colleague Technology Platform. If you are a strategic but hands on technical leader, who thrives working in a fast paced and agile environment where technology is at the centre of our organisational goals, then this may be the job for you!

Who Are We?

Not just another building society. Not just another job.

We're the fourth biggest building society in the UK and what makes us a bit different is that we're a mutual organisation. We don't have shareholders; we're owned by our members.

Our colleagues say Skipton's a great place to work, and you could be one of them, bringing with you new ideas on how we can keep customers at the heart of what we do.

Whatever your background, and whatever your goals, we'll help you take the next step towards a better future.

You will be operating within our IT function as part of our Colleague Technology Platform teams, ensuring our Microsoft 365, identity and device platforms are secure, resilient, scalable and designed to deliver exceptional colleague experiences. You will act as the senior technical authority and key decision‑maker for the end‑user technology landscape, providing leadership, guidance and architectural direction to a team of around 25 engineers.

The teams work closely with the wider Technology, Transformation and Resilience functions — including Security, Architecture, Software Engineering and Data — to design and deliver modern, efficient and innovative workplace solutions. You will influence and shape how our M365 services, device platforms and colleague‑facing technologies evolve, ensuring they remain fit‑for‑purpose and capable of supporting the organisation’s strategic goals.

What’s In It For You?

Skipton values work/life balance and we are proud to support hybrid and flexible working, where possible. We have a newly refurbished head office which offers a vibrant and collaborative working space.

We have a range of other benefits available to you including;

• Annual discretionary bonus scheme
• 25 days standard annual leave + bank holidays + rising 1 day per year of service to a maximum of 30 days
• Holiday trading scheme allowing the ability to buy and sell additional annual leave days
• Matching employer pension contribution (up to 10% per annum)
• Colleague mortgage (conditions apply)
• Salary sacrifice scheme for hybrid & electric car
• A commitment to training and development
• Private medical insurance for all our colleagues
• 3 paid volunteering days per annum
• Diverse and inclusive colleague networks available for you to join including our Carers and Pride Alliance groups
• We care about your health and wellbeing – we provide a range of benefits that support this including cycle to work initiative and discounted gym membership

What Will You Be Doing?

As part of our modern workplace transformation, we are evolving and standardising our Microsoft 365 ecosystem, strengthening our identity and access foundations, and maturing our approach to end‑user technology. You will provide technical leadership and strategic oversight across the entire M365 stack, Active Directory, device platforms, and software lifecycle management. You will play a pivotal role in shaping our colleague technology experience, driving operational excellence, and ensuring secure, resilient services across the organisation.

You will be supporting multiple engineering, security, and workplace technology teams in the continual evolution of our M365 and end‑user computing platforms in the following ways:

• Serving as the organisation’s leading technical expert across the full Microsoft 365 ecosystem — including Exchange Online, SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive, Intune, Defender, Purview, Entra ID, and Active Directory — informing high‑impact design, architecture and implementation decisions.
• Setting and enforcing best‑practice standards for identity, security, device management, application packaging, patching, and software deployment, ensuring our colleague technology platforms are secure, stable, and compliant with regulatory and legislative requirements.
• Providing strategic oversight of Workplace Technology, including the build, deployment, configuration and ongoing management of end‑user devices (Windows, macOS, mobile), ensuring consistent, automated, and resilient technology experiences for colleagues.
• Partnering with Senior Leadership, Security, Engineering, Enterprise Architecture and wider IT teams to define the future state of colleague technology, ensuring our M365 and device strategies align with organisational objectives and digital transformation goals.
• Leading on software lifecycle governance, shaping how applications are packaged, deployed, monitored, supported and retired, ensuring licensing compliance, operational efficiency, and an outstanding colleague experience.
• Championing technical excellence, mentoring engineers, uplifting M365 and end‑user computing capability across IT teams, and driving a culture of continual improvement, innovation and learning.

What Do We Need From You?

You will need to hold an expert level of knowledge across the full Microsoft 365 ecosystem and identity platforms to be a credible technical decision‑making authority. Your technical skills will span core M365 services such as Exchange Online, SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive, Intune, Defender, Entra ID, and Active Directory, with deep proficiency in modern device management, automation and configuration-as-code using technologies such as PowerShell, Graph API, Intune configuration profiles, Autopilot, and packaging/deployment tooling. Hands‑on experience of Microsoft security, identity governance, conditional access, and device compliance is expected. You will also need:

• Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills, able to translate technical designs, risks and opportunities into clear business impacts.
• Proven leadership and mentoring capability, supporting engineering teams, uplifting technical standards, and fostering a culture of continual improvement.
• Strong architecture and design skills, capable of designing scalable, secure, high‑performance workplace and M365 solutions that deliver an outstanding colleague experience.
• Strategic thinking with cross‑team influence, aligning workplace technology, identity, security and collaboration platforms to a shared vision and enabling engineers to deliver technical excellence.
• A passion for innovation and ongoing professional development, staying abreast of the evolving Microsoft ecosystem and driving improvements in M365, device management and software lifecycle practices.