Principal Salesforce Engineer

Job SummaryWe are seeking an accomplished Principal Salesforce Engineer to lead and scale our Salesforce CRM Practice. This is a strategic leadership role responsible for defining the Salesforce vision, shaping the enterprise CRM roadmap, building and mentoring high-performing teams, and guiding large-scale multi-cloud Salesforce implementations.The ideal candidate is a Salesforce thought leader, an expert in architecture + engineering, and a proven people leader who can grow the practice to 100+ consultants, architects, developers, and analysts over time. You will collaborate with senior executives, drive innovation, and ensure Salesforce becomes a core strategic platform across the organisation.Key ResponsibilitiesPractice Leadership & StrategyEstablish and lead the Salesforce CRM Practice, setting long-term strategy, governance, and operating models.Build and scale the practice team – architects, developers, BAs, and delivery leads – with a roadmap to grow to 100+ staff.Develop and execute Salesforce talent strategy (hiring, capability uplift, succession planning).Lead the definition of Salesforce architectural standards, patterns, and best practices.Drive continuous improvement, innovation, and adoption of new Salesforce features and clouds.Enterprise Architecture & Technical LeadershipOwn the end-to-end Salesforce enterprise architecture across Sales, Service, Experience Cloud, Marketing, and custom platform solutions.Provide architectural direction and technical leadership to project and delivery teams.Oversee complex multi-cloud implementations, integrations, data migrations, and security/governance.Ensure architectural alignment with enterprise strategy, security standards, and regulatory requirements.Review and approve solution designs, integration patterns, API strategies, and data models.Delivery GovernanceSet up and enforce delivery frameworks – Agile/SAFe, DevOps, CI/CD, environment strategy, release management.Define quality standards, coding standards, and architecture guardrails for all Salesforce projects.Oversee large, multi-stream Salesforce programs and ensure successful delivery of enterprise initiatives.Manage vendor engagement, partner relationships, and third-party delivery quality.Stakeholder & Executive EngagementAct as the senior-most Salesforce SME, advisor, and evangelist to C-level leaders.Influence and collaborate with business executives, product owners, and technology leadership.Translate strategic business outcomes into CRM capabilities and Salesforce roadmaps.Present architectural recommendations, risks, and investment priorities to governance boards.People Management & LeadershipMentor and uplift technical leaders, architects, and engineers across the Salesforce practice.Promote a strong culture of engineering excellence, collaboration, and accountability.Provide coaching and career development pathways for the team.Lead teams across multiple timezones and delivery pods, ensuring alignment and capability maturity.Required Skills & ExperienceLeadership & Management12+ years in Salesforce ecosystem with at least 5–7 years in architectural or engineering leadership roles.Proven experience leading large Salesforce teams (30–50+), with a trajectory toward scaling to 100+.Strong people leadership: coaching, mentoring, performance management, and organisational design.Salesforce ExpertiseDeep hands-on and architectural expertise across multiple Salesforce clouds:Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Experience CloudPlatform, OmniStudio/VlocityMarketing Cloud (nice-to-have)Mulesoft / Integration patterns (advantageous)Strong understanding of Salesforce security, data architecture, API-led integration, and DevOps tooling.Architecture & DeliveryDemonstrated experience designing and delivering enterprise-scale, multi-cloud Salesforce programs.Strong background in modern architecture practices: API-first, event-driven, microservices, reusable components.Experience establishing governance frameworks, standards, and delivery frameworks for Salesforce.Solid understanding of Agile/SAFe, CI/CD, automated testing, DevOps pipelines, and environment strategies.Soft SkillsExceptional communication and executive stakeholder management.Ability to influence and negotiate at senior levels across business and technology.Strategic mindset with strong problem-solving and decision-making capabilities.Passion for leadership, innovation, and growing high-performing teams.