Principal Infrastructure Engineer

We specialise in turning advances in sensing, AI, and communications into operational capability for the edge, where connectivity may be degraded or denied. Our work focuses on accelerating the deployment of technology, improving decision-making for frontline teams, and protecting people and critical assets in demanding environments.

Headquartered in Bristol, Rowden employs around 160 people and operates over 20,000 square feet of engineering and manufacturing facilities. We have a growing international footprint and are one of Europe’s fastest-growing engineering businesses.

As part of this journey, we are scaling our Infrastructure & Applications capability. This function builds intelligent, resilient, and private solutions from the cloud to the far-edge, ensuring robust and secure operations for our clients.

As a Principal Infrastructure Engineer, you will act as a senior technical authority across Rowden’s portfolio of projects, products, tools, and systems - including those relied upon by hundreds of deployed users and critical internal capabilities. You will collaborate closely with engineers, delivery teams, and customers, tackling complex technology challenges in demanding environments.

This role is hands-on, fast-paced, and impact-driven. You will provide technical leadership through architectural decision-making, system design, and deep engineering expertise, guiding teams through uncertainty and enabling the delivery of robust, mission-focused solutions. For the right person, this is an exceptional opportunity to shape infrastructure platforms and engineering standards in a growing, high-trust organisation.

You will bring broad, applicable knowledge across domains including workload virtualisation, cloud infrastructure, Linux operating systems, advanced networking concepts, and hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI). Experience with high-availability systems, fault-tolerant architectures, and software-defined networking (e.g. SD-WAN) is highly valuable. Strong troubleshooting skills, clear communication with technical and non-technical stakeholders, and the ability to decompose complex systems into manageable technical workstreams are essential.

While this role offers hybrid working options, it requires a minimum of 3 days per week on-site at our Bristol HQ, with occasional travel to customer sites.

For senior roles, compensation is tailored to the scope of the role and the specific experience a candidate brings. Because that can vary significantly, we do not always publish a fixed salary band. We will, however, discuss compensation openly at the first stage of the process and can share an indicative range before either side invests significant time. 

Candidates must be eligible for SC clearance.

More information about security clearance is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels