At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead technical evolution and ensure seamless operation of our e-commerce platforms.
- Company: Join NEXT, a leading retail brand with a focus on innovation.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, supportive environment, and opportunities for personal growth.
- Other info: Collaborative culture that values your unique perspective and encourages ownership.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on millions of customers while shaping the future of digital retail.
- Qualifications: Expertise in observability tools, programming skills, and experience with high-traffic web applications.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 £ per year.
hackajob is collaborating with Next Ltd to connect them with exceptional professionals for this role.
Based at Next Head Office, Leicestershire
Salary: From £48,618
We're looking for a Senior Systems Engineer to join our Ecommerce Support Team based from the NEXT Head Office in Leicestershire!
The Role
As a Senior Systems Engineer at NEXT, you'll occupy the apex of technical expertise within our operational team, acting as the primary driver in evolving how we work from reactive incident management to a proactive engineering and observability practice. In this pivotal role, you will safeguard our retail e-commerce estate of over 140 websites and diverse customer applications, ensuring our digital storefronts run seamlessly for millions of customers. You will work hand in hand with Product Development, Cloud Engineering, and Central Infrastructure teams, using data-driven insights and advanced automation to influence architecture and eliminate operational toil. From day one, NEXT will support your journey with the tools and collaborative environment you need to lead our reliability standards and shape the future of our digital platform.
What You'll Take On
- Drive Observability & Reliability: Define and monitor Service Level Objectives (SLOs) and Error Budgets for critical customer journeys like Checkout and Search, using Dynatrace (DQL) and Grafana to build high-fidelity dashboards and real-time health alerts.
- Optimise Platform Performance: Pinpoint and resolve latency spikes across microservice architectures using distributed tracing, while conducting deep-dive profiling on application runtimes to maximise overall system throughput.
- Eradicate Toil Through Automation: Develop high-quality automation scripts in Python or PowerShell to eliminate repetitive manual tasks and build self-healing workflows that trigger programmatic remediations.
- Lead Technical Incident Response: Take the technical lead on major incidents, orchestrating cross-team diagnostics, and championing blameless Post-Incident Reviews to drive structural, long-term resolutions.
- Shape Strategy and Influence: Review proposed production changes, partner with development teams to embed robust telemetry during early feature design phases, and collaborate with InfoSec to mitigate edge-layer threats.
- Performance Testing Methodologies: Apply a solid understanding of performance testing strategies—including load, stress, and endurance testing—to monitor system resilience under varying traffic patterns, ensuring all releases align with defined performance benchmarks and reliability standards.
- Mentor and Upskill: Act as a trusted Subject Matter Expert, providing deliberate mentorship to support engineers and analysts in shifting the team's baseline skillset toward code-based automation.
What You'll Bring
- Advanced Technical Skills: Expert-level mastery of observability tools (such as Dynatrace or Grafana) and strong programming capabilities in Python, PowerShell, or equivalent languages to build internal tools and interface with REST APIs.
- High-Traffic Expertise: Proven experience supporting high-volume commercial web applications with a deep understanding of DNS, SSL, and CDN caching strategies.
- Database & Architecture Knowledge: High-level SQL expertise to investigate data performance, alongside a solid understanding of cloud services, microservices, and containerised concepts (Docker/Kubernetes).
- Incident Mastery: Strong familiarity with Incident and Problem Management frameworks, particularly within enterprise tools like ServiceNow.
- Collaborative Influence: The ability to work with a high degree of independence, communicating clearly and diplomatically to influence external engineering teams and represent the team on high-level stakeholder calls.
- An Organised, Growth Mindset: A proactive approach to managing your own workload during busy retail peaks, a passion for sharing knowledge through documentation, and a desire to foster a high-velocity, collaborative team environment.
We build on success and learn from every challenge. You will be part of a team that encourages you to own your work, take calculated risks, and help the business grow. We know everyone is at their best when they are being themselves, so you will find a supportive environment where your unique perspective is valued. Ready to lead our technical evolution? We would love to hear from you!
Senior Systems Engineer in Leicester employer: hackajob
At hackajob, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer that fosters a culture of innovation and inclusivity. Our diverse team thrives in a high-performance environment where your contributions directly impact our multi-asset platform's success. With ample opportunities for professional growth and a commitment to employee development, joining us means being part of a forward-thinking company that values your expertise and ambition.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior Systems Engineer in Leicester
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at hackajob or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to hackajob.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like hackajob.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like hackajob that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Senior Systems Engineer in Leicester
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at hackajob.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at hackajob and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at hackajob
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If hackajob uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
