At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead technical strategy and deliver innovative personalisation solutions for M&S.
- Company: Join M&S, a dynamic leader in retail innovation and customer experience.
- Benefits: Enjoy 20% discount, competitive holidays, and industry-leading parental policies.
- Other info: Inclusive culture with opportunities for personal and professional growth.
- Why this job: Shape the future of retail with cutting-edge technology and impactful projects.
- Qualifications: Strong background in Java/Python and experience with Machine Learning systems.
The predicted salary is between 43200 - 72000 € per year.
As a Principal Engineer at M&S, you’ll play a critical role in shaping our technical direction and delivering against our strategic goals. Acting as a senior technical leader, you’ll drive engineering excellence, influence architecture, and align technology decisions with business priorities. You’ll join our Personalisation product group, responsible for delivering on-site and in-app personalisation, search, and recommendation capabilities. This includes some of our most innovative customer experiences, such as 1:1 personalised search and AI-powered styling. Working within highly cross-functional teams spanning engineering, data science, product, and design, you’ll help deliver our vision of making every M&S digital experience feel tailored to the individual customer.
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.
What you’ll be doing
- Define and drive technical strategy, architecture, and engineering standards across the Personalisation domain.
- Design and deliver scalable systems supporting personalisation, search, recommendations, and ML-powered features.
- Partner closely with Product, Data Science, and Design to deliver customer-centric solutions.
- Lead and influence technical decision-making across multiple teams and platforms.
- Mentor and support senior engineers, helping to raise the overall engineering capability.
- Improve engineering quality, reliability, and productivity through best practices, tooling, and platform enhancements.
Who you are
- An experienced technical leader with a strong background in Java/Python and large-scale production systems.
- Strong experience working with Machine Learning systems and collaborating with Data Science teams.
- Skilled in system design and architecture, with the ability to deliver scalable, high-quality solutions.
- Comfortable working across cross-functional environments with multiple stakeholders.
- Passionate about growing others and driving engineering excellence.
- A strong communicator who can influence technical and business decisions at all levels.
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.
Principal Software Engineer - Personalisation employer: Marks & Spencer
At M&S, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive and dynamic employer that values innovation and excellence. As a Principal Software Engineer in our Personalisation product group, you'll not only shape the future of customer experiences but also enjoy a range of benefits including a generous colleague discount, competitive holiday entitlement, and extensive training programmes to support your professional growth. Join us in London and be part of a team that is committed to making every digital interaction feel uniquely tailored to our customers.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Principal Software Engineer - Personalisation
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to folks in your industry on LinkedIn or at meetups. A friendly chat can open doors that a CV just can't.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! If you’ve got a portfolio or GitHub, make sure it’s up to date. Let your work speak for itself and impress potential employers.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for interviews by practising common questions and scenarios related to personalisation and machine learning. The more you rehearse, the more confident you'll feel!
✨Tip Number 4
Apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen. Plus, we love seeing candidates who are keen to join us directly.
We think you need these skills to ace Principal Software Engineer - Personalisation
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV:Make sure your CV reflects the skills and experiences that align with the Principal Software Engineer role. Highlight your experience in Java/Python and any work with Machine Learning systems, as these are key for us.
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter:Use your cover letter to tell us why you’re passionate about personalisation and how you can contribute to our vision at M&S. Share specific examples of your past achievements that demonstrate your technical leadership.
Showcase Your Collaboration Skills:Since this role involves working closely with cross-functional teams, make sure to mention your experience collaborating with Product, Data Science, and Design teams. We love seeing how you’ve influenced technical decisions in the past!
Apply Through Our Website:Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you’re considered for this exciting opportunity. We can’t wait to see what you bring to the table!
How to prepare for a job interview at Marks & Spencer
✨Know Your Tech Inside Out
As a Principal Software Engineer, you'll need to showcase your expertise in Java/Python and large-scale production systems. Brush up on your technical knowledge and be ready to discuss specific projects where you've implemented these technologies, especially in personalisation or machine learning.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
This role requires you to influence technical decisions and mentor other engineers. Prepare examples of how you've led teams, improved engineering practices, or mentored colleagues in the past. Highlight your ability to communicate effectively across cross-functional teams.
✨Align with Business Goals
Understand M&S's strategic goals and how the Personalisation product group fits into them. Be ready to discuss how your technical decisions can align with business priorities and enhance customer experiences. This shows that you're not just a techie but also a strategic thinker.
✨Prepare for Scenario-Based Questions
Expect questions that assess your problem-solving skills in real-world scenarios. Think about challenges you've faced in system design or architecture and how you overcame them. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure your answers clearly.
