At Places for People, we hire People, not numbers! So, if you like the sound of one of our jobs, please apply - you could be just who we're looking for! Of course, experience and track record are important, but we're more interested in hiring someone that embodies our People Promises. That's someone that does the right thing, is enthusiastic and motivated to grow, believes in Community spirit, is respectful and enjoys their work. As the UK's leading Social Enterprise we're dedicated to creating inclusive and thriving Communities for both our Customers and Employees.    

So, what are you waiting for? Join a Community that cares about you!  

More about your role   

We are recruiting a Principal Network and Security Engineer to join our Infrastructure Engineering function at a pivotal point in our technology journey.

This is a new, senior technical authority role with accountability for the build, improvement, release, decommissioning and security of all network and security capabilities across our infrastructure and database platforms. You will sit at the apex of network and security engineering within the organisation, setting direction, standards and patterns that enable teams to deliver safely, consistently and at scale.

Reporting to the Head of Infrastructure Engineering, you will own the end‑to‑end technical lifecycle of network and security services across hybrid environments, embedding security‑by‑design, automation and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) as default. You will provide architectural leadership, assurance and formal peer review across the Infrastructure Engineering and Database/Linux Engineering teams, ensuring solutions meet our technical, security and regulatory standards before they are released into live service.

This role is not about operational firefighting. It is about engineering excellence designing, governing and evolving resilient and secure platforms that other talented engineers can build upon with confidence.

The journey you'll be joining

We are embarking on a deliberate journey towards infrastructure excellence, delivered through Infrastructure as Code. That means repeatable builds, automated environments, strong controls, and measurable standards not heroics or manual fixes.

You will join a highly capable Principal Engineering community, working alongside established Principals across Cloud, Data Platform and Database Engineering. This role is the final piece of that principal engineering capability, completing our authority layer across infrastructure engineering.

To succeed, you will need to be at the top of your game technically, with deep hands‑on experience of modern network and security engineering and the confidence to act as an approver, mentor and challenger to other engineers.

What you'll be responsible for

• Acting as the organisation's technical authority for network and security engineering
• Defining, owning and enforcing network and security standards, architectures and patterns
• Embedding security‑by‑design and IaC‑driven delivery across infrastructure and database platforms
• Providing peer review, assurance and technical sign‑off for complex or high‑risk initiatives
• Driving continuous improvement in resilience, reliability, automation and recovery
• Governing the build, release and decommissioning of network and security services
• Partnering with other Principal Engineers to shape a coherent, end‑to‑end engineering strategy

What we're looking for

You'll be a very senior engineer or technical leader who:

• Has deep expertise in network and security engineering across hybrid or cloud‑first environments
• Is highly proficient in Infrastructure as Code, automation and modern engineering practices
• Is comfortable setting standards, challenging designs and holding quality lines
• Thrives working with other highly skilled engineers in a principal‑level community
• Cares deeply about reliability, security and doing engineering properly

Interview process

This role has a two‑stage interview process:

• Stage 1: Online interview
• Stage 2: Face‑to‑face interview in Preston

For long‑distance travel, we will cover reasonable travel costs.

Safer recruitment

At Places for People, we are committed to safer recruitment. A basic DBS check is required for this role.

For more information, please download the full job description.

We are a large diverse and ambitious business, which will give you all the challenge you could wish for.   

We know that there's always more we can do to make you smile, that's why we offer a  comprehensive benefits package with each role, yours will include:   

• Competitive salary, with a salary review yearly
• Pension with matched contributions up to 7%
• Excellent holiday package – 35 days annual leave with the option to buy or sell leave
• Cashback plan for healthcare costs – up to £500 saving per year
• A bonus scheme for all colleagues at 2%
• Training and development
• Extra perks including huge discounts and offers from shops, cinemas and much more.  

What's next?

If you meet the criteria and are ready to make the next step in your career then apply following our simple 5 minute application process, upload a CV and a supporting statement which demonstrates how you meet the requirements of the role. If you have any questions please email the recruitment team recruitment@placesforpeople.co.uk 

As part of our commitment to diversity and inclusion, we offer a guaranteed interview to candidates who are disabled, neurodiverse, or have served in the Armed Forces, provided you meet the essential criteria for the role. If you would like to be considered under this scheme, please indicate this in your application. 

We are committed to creating an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application or interview experience, please let us know. We're happy to work with you to ensure you have the opportunity to perform at your best.

If you are a Places for People customer and you're looking for support with your application, please contact our skills and employment team on skillsemployment@placesforpeople.co.uk. 

Please note that we may bring the closing date forward, if we receive a large number of quality applications. If you are interested in this role we would advise applying immediately to avoid disappointment.

If you are using a mobile device such as an iPad then ensure your CV is stored in the cloud, we currently support Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox.

We understand the importance of a supportive and inclusive work culture so please talk to us at interview about flexibility you may need. We can't promise to give you exactly what you want, but we promise not to judge you for asking. For this role we are open to discussing the possibility of reduced hours, flexible start and finish times or compressed hours.  

If you are a recruitment agency please note we operate a PSL and do not take cold calls

Safeguarding

At Places for People, safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. We are committed to creating safe communities for our customers and colleagues by protecting children, young people, and adults at risk from harm, abuse, and neglect. 

We follow robust safeguarding policies and procedures, ensuring all employees, volunteers, and contractors uphold the highest standards of safeguarding and accountability. Our recruitment process includes pre-employment checks, including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks where applicable, to promote a safe and secure working environment. 

By joining Places for People, you are expected to contribute to our safeguarding culture, following our policies and reporting concerns to protect those in our communities