At a Glance
- Tasks: Build innovative tools and automation to enhance developer experience at Arbor.
- Company: Join Arbor, a mission-driven tech company transforming education for over 12,000 schools.
- Benefits: Enjoy 32 days holiday, wellness support, and flexible working options.
- Other info: Collaborative culture with excellent career growth and professional development opportunities.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in education while working with cutting-edge technology.
- Qualifications: Strong software engineering background and experience with developer-facing tools.
The predicted salary is between 80000 - 90000 ÂŁ per year.
Location: Remote
Salary: ÂŁ80,000 - ÂŁ90,000
About us
At Arbor, we’re on a mission to transform the way schools work for the better. We believe in a future of work in schools where being challenged doesn’t mean being burnt out and overworked. Where data guides progress without overwhelming staff. And where everyone working in a school is reminded why they got into education every day. Our MIS and school management tools are already making a difference in over 12,000 schools and trusts. Giving time and power back to staff, turning data into clear, actionable insights, and supporting happier working days.
At the heart of our brand is a recognition that the challenges schools face today aren’t just about efficiency, outputs and productivity - but about creating happier working lives for the people who drive education every day: the staff. We want to make schools more joyful places to work, as well as learn.
About the role
We are looking for an experienced and forward‑thinking Developer Experience Engineer (DevEx) to join our Engineering team and help us shape and deliver the next generation of Arbor’s developer experience. The remit and focus of the role is to build the tools, templates, and automation that improve how our engineers design, build, and deploy software, securely and efficiently. You will play a key role in establishing our Internal Developer Platform (IDP), standardising engineering workflows, embedding AI‑assisted development, and strengthening our secure‑by‑design culture through close collaboration with the DevSecOps function. It’s a broad and exciting role, so we’re looking for someone up for a challenge – if you’re a collaborative and highly technical candidate, this is the role for you.
Core responsibilities
- Internal Developer Platform (IDP)
- Design, build, and maintain Arbor’s IDP, providing self‑service tooling, consistent build pipelines, and standardised deployment workflows.
- Develop project scaffolding and templates that allow engineers to rapidly bootstrap new services with best practices built in.
- Integrate core engineering systems (CI/CD, observability, service catalogue, documentation) to provide a joined‑up developer experience.
- Collaborate with the Platform Engineering and DevSecOps teams to ensure the IDP embeds security scanning, dependency management, and compliance controls by default.
- AI‑Enabled Developer Productivity
- Embed AI‑assisted tooling (e.g. Claude Code, Codex etc) into the developer workflow.
- Partner with the Head of Developer Productivity to define and measure AI efficiency metrics.
- Develop plugins, workflows, or integrations that help engineers use AI tools safely and effectively.
- Contribute to the continuous improvement of AI onboarding, training, and developer enablement.
- Tooling & Workflow Standardisation
- Consolidate and rationalise the engineering toolchain, ensuring consistency across teams.
- Build automations and command‑line utilities to streamline repetitive development tasks.
- Maintain and improve shared build/test/deploy templates and scripts.
- Collaborate with teams to identify pain points in the development lifecycle and propose solutions.
- Collaborate with DevSecOps to build and maintain reusable secure coding templates, CI/CD guardrails, and compliance checks.
- Metrics & Continuous Improvement
- Contribute to the collection and reporting of developer productivity data (e.g. build times, PR cycle times, deployment frequency).
- Support automation and observability for key developer metrics.
- Participate in post‑implementation reviews to quantify the impact of new tooling or process changes.
About you
- Strong background in software engineering (hands‑on experience with modern backend or full‑stack development).
- Experience designing and building developer‑facing tooling, pipelines, or platform components.
- Familiarity with Internal Developer Platforms (e.g. Atlassian Compass, Backstage, or similar).
- Practical experience with CI/CD systems (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, CircleCI, etc.) and cloud‑native deployment (AWS preferred).
- Understanding of AI‑assisted development tools and enthusiasm for driving adoption in a structured, measurable way.
- Working knowledge of Snyk or equivalent security scanning tools, and understanding of how to embed these in developer workflows.
- Strong automation skills (Python, Bash, or equivalent scripting).
- Working knowledge of software delivery metrics (e.g. DORA, SPACE) and experience using data to drive improvement.
- Collaborative mindset and ability to partner across multiple engineering teams.
Bonus skills
- Experience working in SaaS or multi‑product environments.
- Familiarity with service catalogues, developer portals, or platform observability tooling.
- Exposure to AI model integration or prompt engineering.
- Experience contributing to open‑source developer tooling.
- Previous work in education technology or regulated industries.
What we offer
- The chance to work alongside a team of hard‑working, passionate people in a role where you’ll see the impact of your work every day.
- A dedicated wellbeing team who champion initiatives such as mindfulness, lunch n learns, manager training, mental health first aid training and much more!
- 32 days holiday (plus Bank Holidays). This is made up of 25 days annual leave plus 7 extra company‑wide days given over Easter, Summer & Christmas.
- Life Assurance paid out at 3x annual salary.
- Comprehensive wellness benefit provided by AIG Smart Health, which provides a 24/7 virtual GP service, Mental health support, Counselling, and personalised Health Checks.
- Private Dental Insurance with Bupa.
- Salary sacrifice Pension provided by Scottish Widows.
- Enhanced maternity and adoption leave (20 weeks full pay) and paternity (6 weeks full pay) pay.
- 5 free return to work maternity coaching sessions, helping you adapt to this new exciting time of life!
- Access to services such as Calm and Bippit (financial wellbeing coaching).
- All of our roles champion flexible working and we are happy to discuss what this means to you.
- Social committees that plan team, office and company‑wide events to bring people together and celebrate success.
- Dedicated professional development training budget (CPD courses, upskilling resources, professional memberships etc).
- Volunteer with a charity of your choice for a day each year.
- Dog friendly offices!
Interview process
- Phone screen
- 1st stage
- 2nd stage
We are committed to a fair and comfortable recruitment process, so if you require any reasonable adjustments during your application or interview process, please reach out to a member of the team at careers@arbor-education.com. Our commitment is also backed by our partnership with Neurodiversity Consultancy, Lexxic who provide us with training, support and advice.
Arbor Education is an equal opportunities organisation. Our goal is for Arbor to be a workplace which represents, celebrates and supports people from all backgrounds, and which gives them the tools they need to thrive - whatever their ambitions may be so we support and promote diversity and equality, and actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds.
Refer a friend
Know someone else who would be good for this role? You can refer a friend, family member or colleague, if they are offered a role with Arbor, we will say thank you with a voucher valued up to ÂŁ200! Simply email: careers@arbor-education.com
Please note: We are unable to provide visa sponsorship at this time.
Developer Experience Engineer (DevEx) employer: Arbor Education
Contact Detail:
Arbor Education Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Developer Experience Engineer (DevEx)
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to folks in the industry, attend meetups, and connect with Arbor employees on LinkedIn. A friendly chat can sometimes lead to opportunities that aren’t even advertised!
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! Create a portfolio or GitHub repository showcasing your projects and contributions. This gives potential employers a taste of what you can do and how you think.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for interviews by practising common questions and scenarios related to Developer Experience Engineering. Think about how you’d tackle challenges at Arbor and be ready to share your ideas.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, it shows you’re genuinely interested in joining our mission at Arbor.
We think you need these skills to ace Developer Experience Engineer (DevEx)
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter for the Developer Experience Engineer role. Highlight your relevant experience and skills that align with our mission at Arbor, especially in building developer-facing tooling and automation.
Showcase Your Technical Skills: Don’t hold back on showcasing your technical prowess! Include specific examples of your work with CI/CD systems, cloud-native deployments, and any AI-assisted development tools you've used. We love seeing how you’ve made an impact in previous roles.
Be Authentic: Let your personality shine through in your application. We’re looking for someone who’s not just technically skilled but also a great fit for our collaborative culture. Share your passion for improving developer experiences and making schools better places to work.
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website for the best chance of getting noticed. It’s super easy, and you’ll be able to see all the details about the role and our amazing team at Arbor!
How to prepare for a job interview at Arbor Education
✨Know Your Tech Stack
Make sure you’re familiar with the technologies mentioned in the job description, like CI/CD systems and cloud-native deployment. Brush up on your knowledge of tools like GitHub Actions or AWS, as being able to discuss these confidently will show that you're ready to hit the ground running.
✨Showcase Your Collaboration Skills
Since this role involves working closely with various teams, be prepared to share examples of how you've successfully collaborated in the past. Highlight any experiences where you’ve partnered with others to solve problems or improve processes, as this will demonstrate your ability to work well in a team environment.
✨Prepare for AI Discussions
Given the focus on AI-assisted development, think about how you've used AI tools in your previous roles. Be ready to discuss specific examples of how you’ve integrated AI into your workflow and the impact it had on productivity. This will show your enthusiasm for driving innovation in the developer experience.
✨Ask Insightful Questions
Prepare thoughtful questions about Arbor’s Internal Developer Platform and how they envision the future of developer experience. This not only shows your genuine interest in the role but also gives you a chance to assess if the company aligns with your values and career goals.