Principal Architect- Software Development

For more than 40 years, Accelya has been the industry’s partner for change, simplifying airline financial and commercial processes and empowering the air transport community to take better control of the future. Whether partnering with IATA on industry-wide initiatives or enabling digital transformation to simplify airline processes, Accelya drives the airline industry forward and proudly puts control back in the hands of airlines so they can move further, faster.  

Role Purpose As Principal - Software Architecture at Accelya, you will lead the Software Architecture function, defining the technical strategy, managing the engineering team and ensuring the airline software platform is built to the highest standards of quality, security and performance.

Duties & Responsibilities • Define and own the technical strategy for Software Architecture, ensuring the airline platform is engineered to the highest standards • Lead AI-powered engineering transformation, implementing GitHub Copilot, Claude and AI-powered architecture modelling tools for design documentation, ADR generation and technical review acceleration at scale to improve velocity and quality • Build and lead a high-performing engineering organisation with strong technical depth and Agile practices • Partner with product, cloud, security and architecture on the platform technical roadmap • Set architectural standards and oversee technical design of major platform capabilities • Drive talent development, building Accelya's engineering capability in key technical domains • Report on engineering strategy, platform capability and transformation to the CTO and executive leadership

Required Experience & Skills • 10–12+ years of Software Architecture experience with significant time in technical leadership • Expert-level knowledge of distributed systems design, microservices, event-driven architecture, API design, AWS and cloud-native patterns and system architecture • Proven track record of defining engineering strategy and leading high-performing engineering organisations • Outstanding leadership, communication and executive stakeholder management • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field; Master's preferred

Preferred Experience & Skills • Strategic expertise in AI-powered Software Architecture transformation, implementing GitHub Copilot, Claude and AI-powered architecture modelling tools for design documentation, ADR generation and technical review acceleration at enterprise scale • Deep understanding of the airline technology engineering landscape and competitive positioning of providers including Amadeus, Sabre and FLYR • Track record of using AI-driven engineering analytics to demonstrate platform quality and velocity improvement to executive leadership • Vision for the future of AI-powered engineering and the strategic implications for Accelya's platform competitiveness

What do we offer? • An open culture with a creative and challenging opportunity to satisfy your intellectual needs • Flexible working hours • Smart working: a hybrid remote/office working environment • Work-life balance • An excellent, dynamic and multicultural environment to work in

About Accelya Accelya is a leading global software provider to the airline industry, powering over 200 airlines with an open, modular software platform. Owned by Vista Equity Partners, we bring together 2,000+ employees across 10 global offices. We are proud partners of AWS and pioneers in NDC expertise. Find out more at www.accelya.com What does the future of the air transport industry look like to you? Whether you’re an industry veteran or someone with experience from other industries, we want to make your ambitions a reality!