Principal Platform Engineer || Agentic AI
IFS · Staines-upon-Thames, United Kingdom
- Salary
- Not stated
- Job type
- Full-time
- Level
- Mid level
- Location type
- On-site
This role is hosted on Indeed. The Apply button opens the employer's own application page there — CareerHub does not collect your application for this listing.
What this role actually involves
CareerHub analysis
IFS is hiring a Principal Platform Engineer || Agentic AI on a full-time basis in Staines-upon-Thames, United Kingdom. The role is on-site and pitched at mid level, so the hiring team will expect working familiarity with the core skills listed below rather than classroom exposure. The responsibilities below are the ones worth rehearsing before an interview. IFS operates in general, which shapes both the pace of the work and the kind of examples that land well in an interview.
About the job
As Principal Platform Engineer - Identity & Access Management, you will be the technical authority on authorisation (AuthZ) and authentication (AuthN) across the Kairos and Nexus platforms. You will architect, engineer, and operate enterprise-scale identity and access solutions that secure the IFS platform while remaining frictionless for the developers and end-users who rely on them. This is one of two Principal Platform Engineers being hired into the Identity & Access Management domain, with a strong emphasis on unifying authorisation across IFS hosting environments. The authorisation problem is complex and high-stakes: it must work consistently across Nexus, F1, and LEC, it must scale to enterprise, multi-tenant workloads, and it is currently a blocker for NGA (Kairos) adoption. You will work directly with the team building this today (the Authorisation subdomain under Udayanga Silva) and own the technical outcome. This is a hands-on engineering role with significant architectural scope. You will design and implement IAM patterns that are adopted as standards across IFS, and you will work closely with platform, product, and security teams to ensure identity and access are enablers, not bottlenecks. Architect and engineer the unified, enterprise-scale authorisation platform across Nexus, F1, and LEC, built on SpiceDB Design and implement fine-grained authorisation models: relationship-based access control (ReBAC / Zanzibar-inspired), alongside RBAC and ABAC where appropriate Model authorisation schemas, relationships, and permission checks that are correct, performant, and maintainable at scale Own the operation of the authorisation engine: SpiceDB on PostgreSQL, including the migration to cloud-native Postgres (CNPG) and blue-green deployment support Build the authorisation APIs and SDKs that product teams consume, making correct access control the path of least resistance Architect and engineer enterprise-scale AuthN solutions, and own the implementation, configuration, and operation of identity provider infrastructure, specifically Curity and/or Keycloak Implement and enforce OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect (OIDC), and SAML patterns at scale, including token lifecycle management and claims-based authorisation Define IAM patterns, standards, and golden paths for product teams to implement securely and consistently Integrate identity and access services with the Internal Developer Platform (IDP) to enable self-service authentication and authorisation configuration Provide subject-matter expertise on identity and access security to product teams, architects, and security stakeholders Maintain platform identity and access service reliability, performance, and security posture Contribute to the broader platform engineering roadmap with an identity-and-access-first perspective
Responsibilities
Requirements
Salary insight
IFS has not published a salary for this Principal Platform Engineer || Agentic AI role. That is common, and it is not a red flag by itself. Ask for the band at the first screening call — most recruiters will share it, and it saves both sides time. Before that call, decide on your own number for a mid level role in Staines-upon-Thames, United Kingdom. Our salary guides give a starting point, and it is far easier to negotiate from a figure you have already justified to yourself.
Where this role leads
- 1Senior Platform Engineer || Agentic AI — depth in one area plus reliable delivery
- 2Lead Platform Engineer || Agentic AI or Platform Engineer || Agentic AI Manager — the branch point between people and craft
- 3Head of General function — three to six years out
How to apply for this role well
Tailoring your CV
- Put the listed skills in the top third of page one. Most screens for a Principal Platform Engineer || Agentic AI take under a minute, and recruiters read top-down.
- Mirror the language of the listing where it is honest to do so. If the advert says "Principal Platform Engineer || Agentic AI", write "Principal Platform Engineer || Agentic AI" — not a synonym an applicant tracking system will miss.
- Lead each bullet with a verb and close it with a number. "Managed reporting" is invisible; "Rebuilt weekly reporting for 12 branches, cutting prep time from 6 hours to 40 minutes" is not.
- Keep it to two pages and export as PDF so your layout survives.
Your cover letter
- Open with the specific role and where you saw it: "I am applying for the Principal Platform Engineer || Agentic AI role at IFS." No suspense, no throat-clearing.
- Paragraph two is the one that matters. Take a single requirement from the listing and give a concrete example of doing it, with the outcome.
- Show that you know something about IFS beyond its homepage — a product decision, a market they operate in, a recent change in general.
- Close with availability and a clear next step. Three to four short paragraphs, under 300 words, in the body of the email if you are applying by email.
- Never send the same letter twice. Reviewers can tell, and a generic letter is worse than none.
Before you hit send
- A CV tailored to this listing, saved as PDF with your name in the filename.
- A short cover note that names the role and one relevant result.
- Two referees who have agreed in advance to be contacted.
- An account on Indeed — the employer takes applications there.
Interview preparation
- Prepare a two-minute answer to "why this role at IFS?" that references the company's work in general.
- Have three STAR stories ready — situation, task, action, result — that cover your core skills.
- Expect at least one question about working on-site, especially how you keep work visible to people who cannot see your screen.
- Prepare two questions of your own. Good ones: what does success look like in the first 90 days, and what does the team find hardest right now?
Industry context
IFS works in General. As the organisation, that affects how the Principal Platform Engineer || Agentic AI role is scoped: smaller teams tend to want breadth and a bias to action, larger ones want depth and evidence that you can work across functions. Candidates who research the sector — its customers, its regulation, its current pressures — interview noticeably better than those who research only the company.
IFS is hiring in Staines-upon-Thames, United Kingdom. This profile was created from a job posting and has not yet been expanded by the employer.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Principal Platform Engineer || Agentic AI role at IFS remote?
No. It is an on-site role in Staines-upon-Thames, United Kingdom.
What salary does this role pay?
No salary has been published for this listing. Ask the recruiter for the band during the first call — it is a reasonable question and most will answer it.
How do I apply?
This listing is hosted on Indeed. The Apply button sends you to the employer's own application page there. You can also save the job here and track it from your dashboard.
How long does a response usually take?
Two to three weeks is typical. If you have heard nothing after ten working days, a short, polite follow-up to the recruiter is appropriate and will not count against you.
What experience level is required?
Mid level. If you meet roughly 70% of the requirements it is still worth applying — very few candidates match every line of a job advert.
How to apply for this role
IFS takes applications for this role on Indeed. Use the Apply button at the top of this page — it opens their application form directly. Save the job here first if you want to track it in your dashboard.
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Listing last updated August 15, 2026. The analysis, skills breakdown, salary insight and interview guidance on this page were written by the CareerHub editorial team and are independent of the employer. Always verify pay and conditions with the employer before accepting an offer.