At a Glance
- Tasks: Design and build innovative backend platforms for content and media.
- Company: Join M&S, a dynamic leader in retail innovation.
- Benefits: Enjoy 20% discount, competitive holidays, and wellness support.
- Other info: Inclusive culture with excellent career development opportunities.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on digital experiences across a large organisation.
- Qualifications: Strong backend engineering skills with Java and experience in GraphQL.
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 City of Westminster employer: Marks & Spencer Plc
Marks & Spencer is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic and inclusive work culture that empowers employees to innovate and excel. With a strong focus on professional development, competitive benefits including a generous pension scheme, and a commitment to wellbeing, M&S provides a supportive environment for Staff Software Engineers to thrive in their careers while contributing to the evolution of digital experiences across the business.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Staff Software Engineer - Content Domain in City of Westminster
✨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 the Staff Software Engineer role. Personal connections can give you insights that a job description just can't.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for technical interviews by brushing up on your backend engineering skills, especially in Java and GraphQL. Practice coding challenges and system design questions that focus on scalable architectures. We want to see your problem-solving skills shine!
✨Tip Number 3
Showcase your passion for platform thinking! During interviews, share examples of how you've built or improved platforms in the past. Highlight your experience with automation and APIs, as these are key to the role. Let us know how you can make teams faster and more confident!
✨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 joining the M&S team. Let's get you on board!
We think you need these skills to ace Staff Software Engineer - Content Domain in City of Westminster
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 empower teams. We’re looking for someone who thinks beyond individual features and focuses on enabling others to succeed.
Be Specific About Your Technical Skills:Don’t just list your skills; provide examples of how you’ve used Java, GraphQL, and Azure in real projects. We love seeing hands-on experience, so share any relevant challenges you’ve tackled in your previous roles.
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to submit your application directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your details and ensures you’re considered for this exciting opportunity in our Content Domain team!
How to prepare for a job interview at Marks & Spencer Plc
✨Know Your Tech Stack
Make sure you’re well-versed in the technologies mentioned in the job description, especially Java, Azure, and GraphQL. Brush up on your backend engineering skills and be ready to discuss how you've used these technologies in past projects.
✨Showcase Your Platform Mindset
Prepare examples that demonstrate your ability to think at a platform level rather than just focusing on individual features. Discuss how your work has enabled other teams and improved their workflows, as this aligns with the role's focus on enablement at scale.
✨Understand Event-Driven Architectures
Since the role involves designing event-driven architectures, be ready to explain your experience with Kafka or similar technologies. Share specific instances where you’ve implemented such systems and the impact they had on scalability and resilience.
✨Prepare for Hands-On Coding Challenges
Expect to tackle some coding challenges during the interview. Practice writing production-quality code and be prepared to discuss your thought process. This will showcase your problem-solving skills and technical expertise, which are crucial for this position.
