At a Glance
- Tasks: Design and build innovative backend platforms for content and media, enhancing team efficiency.
- Company: Join M&S, a leader in digital content and media solutions with a collaborative culture.
- Benefits: Enjoy a 20% discount, competitive holidays, bonuses, and extensive wellbeing support.
- Other info: Diverse teams welcomed; excellent training and career growth opportunities available.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on digital experiences while working with cutting-edge technologies.
- Qualifications: Strong backend engineering skills, experience with Java, Azure, and GraphQL required.
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.
Benefits
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 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 employer: Marks & Spencer Plc
M&S is an exceptional employer that fosters a collaborative and innovative work culture, particularly within the Content Domain team. Employees benefit from competitive perks such as a generous discount on products, flexible holiday options, and comprehensive wellbeing support, all while working in a dynamic environment that prioritises personal and professional growth. With a commitment to diversity and inclusion, M&S empowers its staff to thrive and contribute meaningfully to the evolution of digital content and media capabilities.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Staff Software Engineer
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to current employees on LinkedIn or at events. Ask them about their experiences and the team culture. This not only gives you insider info but also shows your genuine interest in M&S.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for technical interviews by brushing up on your backend skills, especially 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 platform thinking! During interviews, share how you've enabled teams in previous roles and how you can contribute to M&S’s content domain platform. Make it clear you’re all about empowering others.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen. Plus, it shows you’re serious about joining the M&S family and ready to dive into our amazing culture.
We think you need these skills to ace Staff Software Engineer
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV:Make sure your CV reflects the skills and experiences that align with the Staff Software Engineer role. Highlight your backend engineering experience, especially with Java and Azure, to show us you’re the right fit for our platform team.
Showcase Your Projects:Include examples of past projects where you've designed or built APIs, services, or automation pipelines. We love seeing hands-on experience, so don’t hold back on sharing your achievements in event-driven architectures or GraphQL!
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter:Use your cover letter to tell us why you’re excited about the role and how your platform mindset can contribute to evolving our Content Domain platform. Be genuine and let your passion for enabling teams shine through!
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you’re considered for this exciting opportunity to join our team at M&S!
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 beyond individual features and focus on building scalable capabilities. Talk about how your work has empowered other teams and improved their workflows.
✨Understand Event-Driven Architectures
Since the role involves designing event-driven architectures, be ready to discuss your experience with Kafka or similar technologies. Bring specific examples of how you've implemented these systems and the impact they had on project outcomes.
✨Prepare for Technical Challenges
Expect to tackle complex technical challenges during the interview. Think through potential problems related to content modelling, API governance, and automation pipelines, and be prepared to share your thought process on how you would approach solving them.
