At a Glance
- Tasks: Join us to build innovative software that impacts millions daily.
- Company: Be part of M&S, a leading UK brand transforming retail.
- Benefits: Enjoy discounts, competitive holidays, bonuses, and wellbeing support.
- Other info: Inclusive culture with opportunities for growth and mentorship.
- Why this job: Make a real difference in a dynamic tech environment.
- Qualifications: Experience in software development and problem-solving skills.
The predicted salary is between 63000 - 77000 £ per year.
All the details
We're changing the way we do things, and putting industry leading innovation at the heart of how we operate; we need a stellar engineering team to make it happen.
You'll be joining one of the most iconic brands in the UK on its most exciting cycle yet.
We're more integrated and product led in our tech teams than ever before: learning, changing, and adapting constantly, with millions of people benefiting from your work every single day.
You'll be joining the M&S Platform team as a Staff Software Engineer within our Customer Data Platform team .
Our mission is to streamline development at M&S for 1000+ engineers and 30+ applications - covering both our customer-facing and colleague-facing applications.
What you'll do
Your key accountabilities will include
- Build and maintain high-quality, reliable software in the cloud, embracing a 'you build it, you run it' mindset.
- Lead delivery of complex features and backlog items within your team, from design to production, ensuring smooth rollout and minimal operational disruption.
- Own technical delivery within your team, helping break down ambiguous problems into clear, executable plans.
- Design and implement solutions that align with existing architecture and contribute meaningfully to team-level technical direction.
- Write, review, and release well-tested, maintainable code that ensures confidence in shipping high-quality software.
- Improve code quality and consistency by setting standards through PR reviews and best practices.
- Partner closely with Product and Design, collaborating to deliver meaningful customer outcomes.
- Work with adjacent teams when needed to align on shared components and dependencies.
- Actively participate in on-call support, contributing to operational stability, observability, and performance.
- Coach and support other engineers through pairing, reviews, and mentoring, helping raise the team's overall capability.
- Contribute to team OKRs and actively support planning, refinement, and roadmap discussions.
- Champion secure coding, reliability, and sustainable engineering practices within your team.
Who you are
- You own delivery of complex features end-to-end, ensuring quality, performance, and reliability - not just completion.
- You can take ambiguous problems and turn them into clear technical plans for the team to execute.
- You design solutions that balance speed, maintainability, and long-term scalability.
- You actively identify technical debt, risks, or inefficiencies and take action to address them.
- You use observability and metrics to validate behavior, debug issues, and improve system health.
- You regularly support and unblock teammates, helping them deliver more effectively.
- You contribute to design discussions, clearly communicating trade-offs, and influencing decisions within your team.
- You help the team operate effectively in production, supporting incidents, and driving improvements after failures.
- You can debug complex issues across multiple components, not just your own code.
- You proactively improve testing strategies and code quality, ensuring long-term confidence in releases.
- You introduce improvements to tooling, CI/CD, or workflows that increase team productivity.
- Tech Stack
- M&S utilizes a variety of technologies within the Customer Data Platform including:
- Front-end: React, Next. js, Type Script
- Back-end: Java, Node. js, Graph QL, REST APIs
- Cloud & Infrastructure: Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), m Particle, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Salesforce Data360
- Observability & Monitoring: Dynatrace, Pager Duty
- Quality & Testing: JUnit, Jest, Playwright
- Security & Scanning: Snyk, Semgrep, Sonar Cloud
- Experimentation & Analytics: Optimizely, Adobe, Tealium
- What's In It For You
Working at M&S means being part of something bigger - helping to deliver quality, value and service to millions of customers every day.
We're inclusive, fast-moving and always evolving, with a strong sense of purpose and a focus on doing the right thing.
- Here are just a few of the benefits that make working here even more rewarding:
- 20% colleague discount on all M&S products and many third-party brands for you and someone in your household, available once you've completed your probation
- Competitive holiday allowance with the option to buy more
- Discretionary bonus schemes linked to your performance and ours
- Strong pension and life assurance to help plan for the future
- Tailored induction and training to support your development from day one
- Exclusive perks and savings through our M&S Choices portal
- Market-leading family policies, including parental, adoption and neonatal leave
- 24/7 wellbeing support, including virtual GP access and mental health services
- One paid volunteer day a year to support a cause that matters to you
- 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.
- #LI-Hybrid #LI-PJ1
- #J-18808-Ljbffr
Staff Software Engineer - Customer Data Platform employer: Marks and Spencer
Marks and Spencer is an exceptional employer that fosters a culture of innovation and collaboration, particularly within the Corporate HR technology team. Employees benefit from a supportive environment that prioritises professional growth and development, alongside competitive remuneration and benefits. Working in a dynamic location, you will have the opportunity to lead impactful projects that enhance the colleague experience throughout their journey with the company.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Staff Software Engineer - Customer Data Platform
✨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 Staff Software Engineer - Customer Data Platform
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.
