At a Glance
- Tasks: Design and build innovative backend platforms for content and media, enhancing user experiences.
- Company: Join M&S, a dynamic leader in retail innovation and digital transformation.
- Benefits: Enjoy a 20% discount, competitive holidays, bonuses, and extensive wellbeing support.
- Other info: Be part of an inclusive team that values diversity and personal growth.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on digital experiences while working with cutting-edge technologies.
- Qualifications: Strong backend engineering skills, experience with Java, GraphQL, and Azure cloud.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 £ per year.
We’re looking for a Staff Software Engineer to play a pivotal role in evolving M&S’s Content Domain platform. This team provides the foundational content and media capabilities that power every digital experience across the business. Your customers are product teams, engineers, and content teams – and your mission is to make them faster, more autonomous, and more confident through robust platforms, APIs, automation, and excellent developer and editor experiences.
This is a role for an engineer who is excited by platform thinking, enablement at scale, and revolutionising how digital content, media, and DAM capabilities are modelled, delivered, and accessed across a large organisation.
About the Content Domain Team
Our platform team enables product, engineering, and content teams to build and ship faster with confidence. We deliver a reliable, scalable, and intuitive content and media platform, rooted in standards, automation, and great user experience. We own the content foundation of M&S digital platforms, including:
- Structured content modelling and governance
- Federated GraphQL APIs
- Headless CMS and DAM integrations
- Automated asset and content lifecycles
- Platform tooling, documentation, and self service enablement
What You’ll Do
Your key accountabilities will include:
- Design, build, and evolve backend heavy platform capabilities for content and media, including APIs, services, automation pipelines, and developer tooling.
- Lead the design of event driven architectures (Kafka / Confluent or equivalent) to support scalable, resilient content and asset workflows.
- Own and evolve our federated GraphQL architecture, including schemas, orchestration, versioning, and standards.
- Contribute hands on production quality code, tackling the most complex technical challenges in the domain.
- Act as a technical authority on content platforms, headless CMS, DAM, and API driven architectures within M&S.
Who You Are
- A strong platform mindset: you build capabilities and tools that power many teams, not just individual features.
- Deep backend engineering experience with Java, including designing and running distributed systems in production.
- Strong experience on the Azure cloud platform, building and operating scalable, reliable services.
- Solid understanding of event driven architectures (Kafka / Confluent experience is a strong plus).
- Hands on experience with GraphQL – schema design, federation, evolution, and API governance (must have).
- Experience with headless CMS platforms and content modelling (strong plus).
- Working knowledge of TypeScript and JavaScript, particularly in API, tooling, or integration contexts.
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.
Here are some of the benefits we offer that make working for M&S just that little bit more special:
- 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. 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 win together.
If you’d benefit from any support or reasonable adjustments during any stage of the recruitment process, please let us know when completing your application.
Staff Software Engineer - Content Domain in London employer: Marks and Spencer
Joining M&S as a Staff Software Engineer in the Content Domain means becoming part of a dynamic and inclusive team that is at the forefront of digital innovation. With a strong focus on employee growth, you will benefit from tailored training programmes, competitive perks, and a supportive work culture that values collaboration and creativity. Enjoy a generous colleague discount, flexible holiday options, and comprehensive wellbeing support, all while contributing to a company that is committed to making a positive impact in the retail industry.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Staff Software Engineer - Content Domain in London
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to current employees at M&S on LinkedIn or through mutual connections. Ask them about their experiences and any tips they might have for landing a role in the Content Domain team.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for technical interviews by brushing up on your backend engineering skills, especially with Java and GraphQL. Practice coding challenges and be ready to discuss your past projects that showcase your platform mindset.
✨Tip Number 3
Showcase your passion for content platforms! During interviews, share your thoughts on how you would evolve M&S’s Content Domain platform and any innovative ideas you have for improving developer and editor 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 being part of the M&S family.
We think you need these skills to ace Staff Software Engineer - Content Domain in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application:Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter to highlight your experience with backend engineering, APIs, and event-driven architectures. We want to see how your skills align with the role of Staff Software Engineer in our Content Domain.
Showcase Your Platform Mindset:In your application, emphasise your experience in building scalable platforms and tools that benefit multiple teams. We’re looking for someone who thinks beyond individual features, so let us know how you've contributed to broader platform capabilities.
Be Specific About Your Technical Skills:When detailing your technical expertise, be specific about your experience with Java, Azure, GraphQL, and any other relevant technologies. We love seeing concrete examples of how you’ve tackled complex challenges in your previous roles.
Apply Through Our Website:Don’t forget to submit your application through our website! It’s the best way for us to receive your details and ensure you’re considered for this exciting opportunity in our Content Domain team.
How to prepare for a job interview at Marks and Spencer
✨Know Your Tech Inside Out
Make sure you brush up on your backend engineering skills, especially with Java and GraphQL. Be ready to discuss your experience with distributed systems and event-driven architectures like Kafka. The more you can demonstrate your technical expertise, the more confident you'll appear.
✨Showcase Your Platform Mindset
This role is all about building capabilities that empower teams. Prepare examples of how you've designed or improved platforms in the past. Highlight your understanding of content modelling and how it can benefit multiple teams within an organisation.
✨Prepare for Scenario-Based Questions
Expect questions that assess your problem-solving skills in real-world scenarios. Think about challenges you've faced in previous roles, particularly around API governance or automation pipelines, and be ready to explain how you tackled them.
✨Emphasise Collaboration and Communication
Since you'll be working with various teams, it's crucial to show that you can communicate effectively. Share experiences where you've collaborated with product teams, engineers, or content teams to deliver successful projects. This will demonstrate your ability to work well in a team-oriented environment.
