At a Glance
- Tasks: Build tools and automation to enhance developer experience and streamline workflows.
- Company: Join Arbor, a mission-driven tech company transforming education for over 12,000 schools.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, 32 days holiday, wellbeing initiatives, and remote work flexibility.
- Other info: Collaborative environment with opportunities for personal and professional growth.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in education while working with cutting-edge technology and passionate teams.
- Qualifications: Strong software engineering background and experience with developer-facing tooling.
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. We also offer:
- 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...
Developer Experience Engineer (DevEx) in London employer: Arbor Education
Contact Detail:
Arbor Education Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Developer Experience Engineer (DevEx) in London
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to folks in your industry on LinkedIn or at meetups. A friendly chat can lead to opportunities that aren’t even advertised yet.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! Create a portfolio or GitHub repo showcasing your projects. This gives potential employers a taste of what you can do and sets you apart from the crowd.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for interviews by practising common questions and coding challenges. Mock interviews with friends or using online platforms can help you feel more confident when it’s showtime.
✨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, we love seeing passionate candidates who are eager to join our mission!
We think you need these skills to ace Developer Experience Engineer (DevEx) in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV is tailored to the Developer Experience Engineer role. Highlight relevant experience and skills that align with our mission at Arbor, especially in building developer-facing tools and CI/CD systems.
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Your cover letter should tell us why you’re passionate about improving developer experiences. Share specific examples of how you've contributed to similar projects in the past and how you can help us create happier working lives for educators.
Showcase Your Technical Skills: Don’t hold back on showcasing your technical skills! Include any hands-on experience with modern backend development, automation skills, and familiarity with AI-assisted tools. We want to see what you can bring to the table!
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply through our website for a smoother application process. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and get to know you better. We can’t wait to hear from you!
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 well as any relevant programming languages. This will show that you’re not just a fit for the role but also genuinely interested in the tech they use.
✨Showcase Your Collaboration Skills
Since this role involves working closely with various teams, be prepared to discuss your past experiences collaborating with others. Think of specific examples where you’ve successfully partnered with different engineering teams or contributed to cross-functional projects. Highlighting your collaborative mindset will resonate well with their team-oriented culture.
✨Prepare for Problem-Solving Questions
Expect questions that assess your problem-solving abilities, especially related to developer experience and tooling. Be ready to discuss how you’ve identified pain points in previous roles and the solutions you proposed. This will demonstrate your proactive approach and ability to improve workflows, which is key for this position.
✨Emphasise Continuous Improvement
The role focuses on metrics and continuous improvement, so come prepared to talk about how you’ve used data to drive enhancements in your previous work. Share specific metrics you’ve tracked and how they influenced your decisions. This will show that you understand the importance of measuring success and are committed to ongoing development.