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- Tasks: Lead the design and delivery of high-quality software for product detail pages.
- Company: Join Holland & Barrett, a leader in health and wellness eCommerce.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, flexible working, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Why this job: Shape the online shopping experience for millions while working with cutting-edge technology.
- Qualifications: Fluent in Java and Go, with strong API and database skills.
- Other info: Dynamic team environment with a focus on innovation and customer empathy.
The predicted salary is between 36000 - 60000 £ per year.
Help build the best health & wellness shopping experience on the web. As Lead Engineer in our OCX (Online Customer Experience) vertical, you'll own the product detail page journey across web and mobile - the place where customers discover, compare and decide what goes in their basket. This squad sits at the heart of our eCommerce platform, shaping how millions of customers explore products, understand ingredients and find what's right for their goals. We're nearing the end of a multi-year technical transformation and moving into the next phase: shipping new propositions at pace, modern architecture, and deeply personalised experiences across our PDPs and wider journey.
Responsibilities
- Lead the design and delivery of high-quality, cross-functional software across a core set of PDP and OCX domains, operating independently without day to day technical oversight.
- Consistently ship resilient, observable services that improve page performance, conversion, and customer experience.
- Work closely with Product, UX, Data and CX to ensure initiatives land on time and solve real customer problems.
- Act as a multiplier: mentor and develop engineers in your squad, levelling up technical skills, code quality and delivery practices.
- Stay curious - bring new ideas, patterns and techniques from engineering, product and UX into the team.
- Communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, including senior leadership.
- Understand how H&B's strategy and commercial priorities connect to the work your squad delivers.
- Keep the customer front and centre - build empathy for their needs and behaviour into technical decisions.
- Own security, reliability and compliance in your area, and plan how upcoming work will impact them.
Skills and experience
- Fluent in Java (17+) and the Spring ecosystem (Spring Boot or similar: Quarkus, Micronaut).
- Equal fluency in idiomatic Go (Golang), including effective use of concurrency, robust error handling, and building/operating production-grade services.
- Strong understanding of HTTP and REST as an architectural style for building APIs.
- Confident with asynchronous programming in Java and event driven patterns.
- Fluent in SQL with experience of RDBMS such as Postgres and Oracle.
- Hands-on with Docker and docker compose.
- Exposure to AWS services such as S3, Aurora and ElastiCache.
- Experience with modern CI/CD platforms such as GitLab, GitHub Actions or CircleCI.
- Strong focus on monitoring and observability, proactive in detecting and resolving issues before they impact customers.
- Fluent with testing frameworks such as JUnit and RestAssured.
Nice to have
- Experience with monitoring/alerting platforms such as Datadog, PagerDuty, Grafana, Prometheus.
- Exposure to Python scripting.
- Experience with deployment platforms like Kubernetes and tooling such as Helm.
This description is intended to outline the scope and level of the role rather than list every possible responsibility. The right person will help shape it as we grow.
Interview process
- Recruiter screen - 15-30 minutes
- Hiring Manager interview - 30-45 minutes
- Technical session (pair programming & system design) - 90 minutes
Lead Engineer - Backend in London employer: Holland and Barrett
Contact Detail:
Holland and Barrett Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Lead Engineer - Backend in London
✨Tip Number 1
Get to know the company inside out! Research Holland & Barrett's mission, values, and recent projects. This will help you tailor your conversations and show that you're genuinely interested in being part of their team.
✨Tip Number 2
Practice your technical skills before the interview. Brush up on Java, Go, and any other relevant tech. You might even want to do some mock pair programming to get comfortable with the format of the technical session.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare to discuss how you've tackled real customer problems in the past. Think about specific examples where your work improved user experience or performance, as this aligns perfectly with what they're looking for.
✨Tip Number 4
Don't forget to ask questions during your interviews! Show your curiosity about the team dynamics, ongoing projects, and how they measure success. This not only helps you gauge if it's the right fit but also demonstrates your engagement.
We think you need these skills to ace Lead Engineer - Backend in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV reflects the skills and experiences that match the Lead Engineer role. Highlight your Java and Go expertise, as well as any relevant projects you've worked on that showcase your ability to lead and deliver high-quality software.
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Use your cover letter to tell us why you're passionate about health and wellness tech. Share specific examples of how you've improved customer experiences in previous roles, and don’t forget to mention your mentoring experience!
Showcase Your Technical Skills: In your application, be sure to highlight your fluency in Java, Go, and any other relevant technologies. We want to see your hands-on experience with Docker, AWS, and CI/CD platforms, so don’t hold back on the details!
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website for the best chance of getting noticed. It’s the easiest way for us to keep track of your application and ensure it reaches the right people!
How to prepare for a job interview at Holland and Barrett
✨Know Your Tech Stack
Make sure you’re well-versed in Java, Go, and the Spring ecosystem. Brush up on your knowledge of HTTP, REST, and SQL, as these will likely come up during technical discussions. Being able to discuss your experience with Docker and AWS services will also show that you’re ready for the role.
✨Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills
Prepare to discuss specific challenges you've faced in previous projects and how you overcame them. Use examples that highlight your ability to improve performance and customer experience, as this aligns with the responsibilities of the Lead Engineer role.
✨Communicate Clearly
Practice explaining complex technical concepts in simple terms. You’ll need to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders, so being able to break down your ideas will be crucial during the interview.
✨Demonstrate Leadership and Mentorship
Be ready to talk about your experience mentoring others and how you’ve contributed to team growth. Highlight any instances where you’ve acted as a multiplier, helping to elevate the skills and practices of your squad.
