Principal Software Architect

Job Summary

Telecoms companies today frequently don’t have good data on how their networks are physically connected, which means wasted time and money, plus it’s a blocker to deploying AI because the source data has holes in. At IQGeo we’re on a mission to change that, by making a digital twin of the physical network that is updated in real-time from a whole host of sources. We’re looking for a Principal Software Architect who can lead that effort, doing the initial research, be hands-on creating prototypes, and then working with multiple Engineering teams around the globe to productise the solution.

About Us

Achieving universal broadband equity and meeting net zero carbon emissions are two of the biggest social and environmental challenges that the IQGeo team is tackling. To achieve this, more than 500 innovative telecommunications and utility companies around the world are “building better networks” using our award-winning geospatial software to deploy the fibre optic and distributed energy networks of the future. We play a vital role in helping utilities plan, design, construct and maintain the complex network assets essential to the success of our businesses and well-being of our communities. As a carbon neutral software company, we invite creative and talented people to join us in our mission to transform communication and utility networks for the long-term sustainability of our shared planet. Learn more about our customer stories.

Our Engineering teams are in Cambridge (UK), Denver (USA), Salt Lake City (USA), Ghent (Belgium), and Paris (France) and are responsible for designing and developing our geospatial products which are available both as cloud services and for on-premises deployment. You will be helping to develop the next generation of innovative geospatial products that support mission-critical operations for our global customer base.

Duties/Responsibilities

We’re looking for someone hands-on who can both define the system architecture and create the first prototypes themselves, then work with our teams around the world to build a true product that runs at scale at tier 1 telcos, globally.

This is not easy: it will require true innovation as well as development of production software. It's a system-of-systems problem touching computer vision, AI/ML reasoning, heterogeneous sensor data ingestion, graph modelling, large-scale distributed systems, and workflow orchestration.

This is a role for a highly accomplished technologist who wants to help shape the next decade of telecom operations – creating the industry’s first continuously self-correcting network model.

You will work closely with a Principal Product Manager as they define the vision and goals for the product, and you determine the best ways to achieve those goals.

The outcomes we’re looking for are:

• 3 months in: you have built the first rough prototype that proves the problem is tractable.


• 6 months in: working with a team, you’ve built the first alpha of the product, and we can demo it to customers.


• 12 months in: the first customer is live.

Required Skills & Experience

Essential:

You must have all of the following:

• Experience in building large-scale distributed systems and event-driven architectures. Examples include:

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  • Complex data pipelines, ETL/ELT, and real-time streaming frameworks.
  
  
  • Sensor-driven computing: computer vision, telemetry systems, OTDR/test equipment data, geospatial data.
  
  
  • Knowledge graphs, graph databases, semantic/ontology-based modelling, or advanced schema-driven systems.
  
  
  • Designing architectures that unify heterogeneous data sources into coherent decision-making frameworks.
  
  
  
  

• Experience of building systems on at least one major cloud vendor’s platforms (AWS preferred).


• Performance and scale: you have demonstrable experience of architecting and building systems that can ingest and process millions of events per day.


• Hands-on: you enjoy writing code and building prototypes, as well as helping to guide others in the productization phase. We expect that you’ll personally write significant portions (up to 50%) of the initial prototypes, then heavily contribute to the production code base.


• Comfortable with uncertainty: there is a lot that we don’t yet know how to solve. You’ll be at the centre of finding solutions.


• Ability to lead and influence: you’ll have a track record of working with multiple engineering teams to deliver complex products, convincing them of your approach, and marshalling the work.


• Communication: you’ll be happy debating with engineering teams on a whiteboard as well as presenting to executives using a slide deck, and you’ll know how to adjust your style to each audience.


• Curiosity: you will not know everything about the domains across which you’re working (AI, fibre networks, geospatial information systems, distributed systems) so you’ll need to be good at listening and learning quickly.


• Willingness to travel to other IQGeo offices (Denver, Ghent, Paris) for ~1 week at a time, approximately one trip/quarter.


• Fluent written and spoken English.

Desirable:

Ideally, you’ll have some of the following:

• Experience of “zero to one” products. We’re not a start-up, but this is something completely new.


• A working knowledge of telco fibre networks (you do not need to be an expert).


• Experience of constraint solving systems.

Education

Bachelor’s (or higher) degree from an accredited university in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field; or equivalent industry experience.

Supervisory Responsibilities

None. This is not a management role, but you will be working with multiple managers and architects to engage their teams. Influencing skills are therefore key.

What’s In it For You

• 25 days of paid holiday, with the opportunity to purchase further days up to a total of 30.


• Paid charity/volunteering day each year.


• Company-matched pension contributions of up to 6% base salary.


• IQGeo SHINE employee ownership program.


• Private medical insurance.


• Health cash plan.


• Company life assurance (4 x gross salary).


• Incapacity benefit.


• Enhanced maternity leave policy (full-pay 3 months, then half-pay 3 additional months, then 15 weeks of SMP), after 2 years of service.


• EV company car scheme (salary sacrifice).


• Cycle scheme (salary sacrifice).


• Give as you earn charity scheme.


• Mentor program.


• Home office support for remote workers.

Flexible Working

We support hybrid and flexible working arrangements for all employees. We understand that life for many people involves school runs, care giving, or exercising!

This role is based in Cambridge, and the ideal candidate will be based near enough to be in the office 2 days a week.

Work Permits & Visas

You must already have the right to work permanently in the United Kingdom. This role does not support those requiring visas or visa transfers.

About IQGeo

IQGeo™ is based in Cambridge, UK with regional offices in the United States, Canada, Belgium, France, Germany, Malaysia, and Japan. We are supported by a global network of highly skilled partners. Originally founded as Ubisense Ltd in 2002, the IQGeo brand was launched in January 2019 after the company was split into two separate businesses. Led by a team of geospatial technology pioneers, the IQGeo Platform software was first launched in 2010 and has an impressive pedigree in the telco, communications, and utility industries. In 2020, IQGeo acquired OSPInsight, a provider of fiber network management software; in 2022 IQGeo acquired Comsof, a world leader in automated network design, headquartered in Belgium; in 2025, IQGeo acquired Deepomatic, the leading provider of AI computer vision for telcos and utilities.

Today, IQGeo is the leader in introducing modern web and mobile geospatial applications into the communications and utility industries.