At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the design and build of scalable AI platform capabilities across Azure.
- Company: Join Marks & Spencer, a dynamic and inclusive retail leader.
- Benefits: Enjoy a 20% discount, competitive holidays, and generous pension schemes.
- Other info: Be part of a diverse team driving innovation in retail.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in AI while working with cutting-edge technologies.
- Qualifications: Experience in platform engineering and strong communication skills required.
The predicted salary is between 70000 - 90000 £ per year.
We are seeking an experienced Staff Platform Engineer – AI to lead the design and build of scalable, secure platform capabilities that enable AI, Generative AI, and agentic use cases across the organisation. This role is focused on deep technical design and hands-on engineering, building reusable platform services and enabling technologies across Azure (e.g. APIM, Azure AI Foundry, Databricks, MCP) that accelerate delivery of AI solutions such as Agents, RAG, and LLM-powered applications. You will work closely with architecture, AI engineering, and product teams to translate business needs into robust, platform-first solutions, ensuring alignment with enterprise standards and driving consistency, scalability, and performance across all AI workloads.
Who You Are
- A highly analytical and detail-oriented engineer, able to decompose complex problems and design scalable, platform-centric solutions.
- Deeply experienced in platform engineering across Azure, including APIs, API gateways (e.g. APIM), integrations, lakehouse architectures (e.g. Databricks), model serving, and cloud-native services.
- A strong technical leader, producing clear, high-quality designs and setting standards for engineering excellence and best practice.
- An effective communicator, able to translate complex technical concepts into clear outcomes for both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Ownership-driven, delivering end-to-end solutions while promoting reusability, automation, and codified engineering practices.
What You Will Do
- Design and build scalable platform capabilities across Azure to support AI use cases (Agents, Agentic workflows, RAG, LLMs), including APIs, integrations, and model serving layers.
- Produce high-quality technical designs and guide implementation, ensuring solutions are secure, maintainable, and aligned to architectural standards.
- Develop reusable, platform-first components (e.g. AI gateways, orchestration services, shared APIs) to drive consistency and accelerate delivery.
- Optimise performance, scalability, and cost across AI workloads, leveraging automation, policy-driven controls, and engineering best practices.
- Collaborate across architecture, engineering, and product teams to evolve platform capabilities, improve ways of working, and enable faster adoption of AI at scale.
What's in it for you
- Being a part of M&S is exactly that - playing your part to bring the magic of M&S to our customers every day.
- We're an inclusive, dynamic, exciting, and ever-evolving business built on doing the right thing and bringing exceptional quality, value, service to every customer, whenever, wherever and however they want to shop with us.
- After completing your probationary period, you'll receive 20% colleague discount across all M&S products and many of our third-party brands for you and a member of your household.
- Competitive holiday entitlement with the potential to buy extra holiday days!
- Discretionary bonus schemes awarded based on how you achieve your personal objectives and our performance as a business.
- A generous Defined Contribution Pension Scheme and Life Assurance.
- A dedicated welcome to our teams with a tailored induction and a wide range of training programmes to develop your skills.
- Amazing perks and discounts via our M&S Choices portal to maximise your financial and personal wellbeing.
- Industry-leading parental, adoption and neonatal policies, providing support and flexibility for your family.
- Access to a fantastic range of wellbeing support for all colleagues including access to our 24/7 Virtual GP and PAM Assist to support you and your family.
- A charity volunteer day to support a charity or cause you're passionate about through a dedicated day away from work.
Everyone's welcome
We are ambitious about the future of retail. We're disrupting, innovating and leading the industry into a more conscientious, inspiring digital era. We're transforming how we work together and offering our most exciting opportunities yet. Marks & Spencer strives to be an inclusive organisation, trusted and admired by our colleagues, customers and suppliers. Join us and make change happen. We are committed to building diverse and representative teams, where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and be at their best. We support each other and work together to win together. If you feel you'd benefit from any support or reasonable adjustments during any stage of the recruitment process, please don't hesitate to let us know when completing your application. This information will be picked up by our team, so we can try and put steps in place to help you be at your best through this process.
AI Staff Platform Engineer employer: Marks and Spencer
Marks & Spencer is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic and inclusive work culture that prioritises employee growth and well-being. As a Staff Platform Engineer – AI, you will be at the forefront of innovation, collaborating with talented teams to design scalable solutions while enjoying competitive benefits such as a generous pension scheme, extensive training programmes, and a 20% discount on products. Join us in transforming the retail landscape and experience a workplace where your contributions truly matter.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land AI Staff Platform Engineer
✨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 Marks and Spencer 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 Marks and Spencer.
✨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 Marks and Spencer.
✨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 Marks and Spencer 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 AI Staff Platform Engineer
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 Marks and Spencer.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Marks and Spencer 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 Marks and Spencer
✨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 Marks and Spencer 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.
