At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the development of innovative Payments and Fulfilment systems for a vibrant fashion marketplace.
- Company: Join Depop, a community-driven platform redefining secondhand fashion with over 35 million users.
- Benefits: Enjoy flexible working, generous leave, health support, and opportunities for personal growth.
- Other info: Be part of a diverse team that values innovation and offers excellent career progression.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in the fashion industry while working with cutting-edge technology.
- Qualifications: Proven experience in backend engineering and strong programming skills in Scala, Java, or TypeScript.
The predicted salary is between 80000 - 100000 £ per year.
Depop is the community-powered circular fashion marketplace where anyone can buy, sell and discover desirable secondhand fashion. With a community of over 35 million users, Depop is on a mission to make fashion circular, redefining fashion consumption. Founded in 2011, the company is headquartered in London, with offices in New York and Manchester, and in 2021 became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Etsy.
Our mission is to make fashion circular and to create an inclusive environment where everyone is welcome, no matter who they are or where they’re from. Just as our platform connects people globally, we believe our workplace should reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. We thrive on the power of different perspectives and experiences, knowing they drive innovation and bring us closer to our users. We’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer, providing employment opportunities without regard to age, ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy or maternity, marriage and civil partnership, or any other protected status.
We are looking for a UK based Staff Backend Engineer to be a key technical leader within the teams responsible for Depop’s Payments and Fulfilment systems, ensuring we provide our users with a best in class payments and shipping experience. You should feel equally at home around a whiteboard with a group of engineers, as you are explaining complex technical topics and why they matter to leadership and non-technical collaborators. You’ll own and drive the technical vision for how we can evolve the architecture, to fundamentally shift our product squads ability to move at speed and drive further innovation & improvements for our users in the space.
You will work closely with multiple product squads, other Staff and Backend engineers, and product & engineering leaders, providing deep technical expertise to ensure our Payment and Fulfilment systems are scalable, secure, observable, and fit for our future growth ambitions.
Responsibilities- Partner with senior collaborators across Product, Engineering, Finance and Ops to translate strategic goals into well-architected, scalable platform capabilities.
- Drive the technical design and implementation of key Payments and Fulfilment features, providing hands-on coding and architectural leadership.
- Define and evolve the technical roadmap for our Payments and Fulfilment systems, ensuring they’re extensible for Product squads, and simple for engineers to work with.
- Champion engineering excellence, setting high technical standards and advocating for best practices in system design, maintainability, performance, and building for speed.
- Lead efforts to evangelise and generate consensus for why the technical work in this area is of high importance.
- Mentor and coach engineers, elevating the technical capabilities of the teams around you and fostering a culture of technical excellence.
- Identify and address complex technical challenges and bottlenecks, proposing and implementing effective solutions.
You’ll be an excellent fit if you have:
- Experience as a Staff Engineer or equivalent senior technical leadership role working across the Backend at scale, ideally in a consumer or marketplace environment.
- Deep expertise in designing, building, and operating distributed systems and platforms at scale.
- Exceptional programming skills in Scala, Java, or TypeScript, with deep cloud platform expertise (AWS, GCP, or Azure).
- Familiarity with event-driven architectures using Kafka.
- A strong technical background with a track record of hands-on architecture and development of complex backend systems.
- Ability to think strategically and pragmatically: you can define long-term technical strategies and implement rapidly, bringing others along with you.
- Excellent communication and collaboration skills; you’re comfortable influencing technical direction and aligning diverse stakeholders across the organisation.
- You’ve previous experience in Fulfilment or Payments, including integration with vendors such as Stripe, PayPal, or shipping providers.
- Prior work in fashion, marketplaces, fintech, or sustainability-driven tech.
- Health + Mental Wellbeing: PMI and cash plan healthcare access with Bupa, subsidised counselling and coaching with Self Space, Cycle to Work scheme with options from Evans or the Green Commute Initiative, Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) for 24/7 confidential support, Mental Health First Aiders across the business for support and signposting.
- Work/Life Balance: 25 days annual leave with option to carry over up to 5 days, 1 company-wide day off per quarter, Impact hours: Up to 2 days additional paid leave per year for volunteering, Fully paid 4 week sabbatical after completion of 5 years of consecutive service with Depop.
- Flexible Working: MyMode hybrid-working model with Flex, Office Based, and Remote options *role dependant, all offices are dog-friendly, Ability to work abroad for 4 weeks per year in UK tax treaty countries.
- Family Life: 18 weeks of paid parental leave for full-time regular employees, IVF leave, shared parental leave, and paid emergency parent/carer leave.
- Learn + Grow: Budgets for conferences, learning subscriptions, and more, Mentorship and programmes to upskill employees.
- Your Future: Life Insurance (financial compensation of 3x your salary), Pension matching up to 6% of qualifying earnings, Employees enjoy free shipping on their Depop sales within the UK, Special milestones are celebrated with gifts and rewards!
Staff Backend Engineer employer: Dormont Manufacturing Co
Depop is an exceptional employer that champions a diverse and inclusive work culture, offering meaningful career growth opportunities for its employees. With a strong focus on engineering excellence, the company provides a supportive environment where staff can thrive through mentorship, flexible working arrangements, and generous benefits such as paid parental leave and a fully paid sabbatical after five years. Located in London, Depop not only fosters innovation in the circular fashion marketplace but also prioritises employee wellbeing with comprehensive health support and a commitment to work-life balance.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Staff Backend Engineer
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Get out there and connect with folks in the industry. Attend meetups, webinars, or even just grab a coffee with someone who works at Depop. Building relationships can open doors that a CV just can't.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! If you’ve got a portfolio or GitHub, make sure it’s up to date. Share projects that highlight your backend engineering prowess, especially those that relate to payments or fulfilment systems. Let your work speak for itself!
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for the interview like it’s the Super Bowl! Research Depop’s tech stack and think about how your experience aligns with their goals. Be ready to discuss how you can contribute to making fashion circular and improving user experiences.
✨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 the Depop team. Let’s get you that job!
We think you need these skills to ace Staff Backend Engineer
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application:Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter for the Staff Backend Engineer role. Highlight your experience with distributed systems and any relevant programming languages like Scala or Java. We want to see how your skills align with our mission at Depop!
Showcase Your Technical Leadership:In your application, don’t just list your technical skills; share examples of how you've led projects or mentored others. We’re looking for someone who can drive innovation and elevate the team, so let us know how you’ve done that in the past!
Communicate Clearly:Since this role involves collaborating with various teams, it’s crucial to demonstrate your communication skills. Use clear and concise language in your application to show us you can explain complex topics effectively, just like you would with your future colleagues.
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way to ensure your application gets into the right hands. Plus, you’ll find all the details about the role and our company culture there!
How to prepare for a job interview at Dormont Manufacturing Co
✨Know Your Tech Inside Out
Make sure you brush up on your programming skills, especially in Scala, Java, or TypeScript. Be ready to discuss your experience with distributed systems and cloud platforms like AWS, GCP, or Azure. They’ll want to see that you can not only talk the talk but also walk the walk when it comes to technical expertise.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
As a Staff Backend Engineer, you'll be expected to lead and mentor others. Prepare examples of how you've successfully guided teams in the past, particularly in driving technical design and implementation. Highlight your ability to influence and align diverse stakeholders across an organisation.
✨Understand Their Mission
Depop is all about making fashion circular and creating an inclusive environment. Familiarise yourself with their mission and values, and think about how your own experiences and perspectives align with theirs. This will show that you're not just a fit for the role, but also for the company culture.
✨Prepare for Scenario Questions
Expect to face questions that assess your problem-solving abilities. Think through potential technical challenges you might encounter in Payments and Fulfilment systems and how you would address them. Being able to articulate your thought process will demonstrate your strategic thinking and pragmatism.
