At a Glance
- Tasks: Design and build a robust experimentation platform to empower teams across the business.
- Company: Join M&S, a leading retailer committed to innovation and inclusivity.
- Benefits: Enjoy a 20% discount, competitive holidays, strong pension, and wellbeing support.
- Other info: Be part of a diverse team driving the future of retail.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by revolutionising experimentation capabilities in a dynamic environment.
- Qualifications: Deep backend engineering experience with Java/Kotlin and strong Azure cloud skills.
The predicted salary is between 70000 - 85000 £ per year.
- Description
- Staff Software Engineer – Experimentation team
- We’re looking for a
- Staff Software Engineer to play a pivotal role in evolving M&S’s
Experimentation platform .
This team provides the experimentation capabilities that empower teams across the business to identify savings and drive revenue.
Your customers are product teams, engineers, content teams – everyone who works on customer-facing functionality – and your mission is to enable them to run more experiments, more easily and confidently, by creating a robust experimentation platform.
This is a role for an engineer who is excited by platform thinking , enablement at scale , and revolutionising how experimentation capabilities are modelled, delivered, and accessed across a large organisation.
Due to high interest, this role may close earlier than advertised. We recommend applying as soon as possible.
What you’ll do
Your key accountabilities will include
- Design, build, and evolve backend‑heavy platform capabilities for experimentation, including APIs, services, automation pipelines, and developer tooling.
- Set technical direction for the Experimentation platform, influencing architecture and standards beyond your team.
- Champion a self‑service platform model , building tools, scripts, and automation (including emerging agentic AI use cases) that reduce toil and dependencies.
- Partner closely with product, engineering, and content teams to understand needs, pain points, and future demand.
- Mentor engineers at all levels, helping develop strong technical judgement, platform thinking, and engineering craft.
- Demonstrate a production‑first mindset: observability, resilience, and safe change are core design concerns.
- Produce clear, high‑quality documentation for APIs, systems, standards, and operational processes.
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/Kotlin , including designing and running distributed systems in production.
- Strong experience on the
Azure cloud platform , building and operating scalable, reliable services.
- Solid understanding of experimentation solutions
( Optimizely experience is a strong plus).
- Hands‑on experience with
- Graph QL
— schema design, federation, evolution, and API governance (must have).
- Working knowledge of
Type Script and React , particularly in API, tooling, or integration contexts.
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
- 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.
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.
- #hybridrole
- #LI-CJ1
- #LI-HYBRID
Staff Software Engineer - Experimentation employer: Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer is an exceptional employer that prioritises inclusivity and employee growth, making it a fantastic place for those looking to thrive in the retail sector. With flexible working hours and a commitment to personal development, employees are encouraged to take ownership of their roles while contributing to a dynamic and supportive work culture. Join us in shaping a greener, more inspiring future in retail, where your contributions truly matter.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Staff Software Engineer - Experimentation
✨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 & 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 & 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 & 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 & 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 - Experimentation
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 & 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 & 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 & 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 & 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.
