Senior Software Development Engineer

Got Drive? Join AnyVan as we make moving anything, anywhere miles better and build a career that moves just as fast. Back in 2009, our CEO Angus saw half-empty vans everywhere and knew there had to be a better way! That's how AnyVan began. He set out to create the world's most efficient logistics technology and help halve the number of wasted miles by filling those empty vans. Since then we've become the nation's favourite way to move, with over 150k five-star reviews and 5 million customers in the UK and Europe. Our team of 400 AnyVanners across London, Cape Town and Bogota is proving that moving doesn't have to cost the earth by helping save 8,520 tonnes of Carbon each year.

At AnyVan, we're building one of the most sophisticated logistics optimisation platforms in Europe. We connect customer demand with real-time driver availability, using intelligent matching, dynamic pricing, and AI to deliver a world‑class service at market‑beating prices. By routing jobs to vans already on the road, we reduce wasted miles, cut emissions, and ensure drivers earn fairly. It's logistics, pricing, and marketplace dynamics, driven by software and increasingly by machine intelligence.

We're looking for a senior engineer to work with our Allocations team. This role will focus on the data, platforms and tools that enable our transport partners to access and get booked and allocated against the right jobs. We're embedding AI and machine learning across our core platform, not as experiments, but as production systems that drive real business outcomes:

• Real-time, intelligent pricing that models true job‑level costs and responds dynamically to supply, demand, and market conditions
• Predictive demand and routing models that forecast driver availability and optimise job allocation before a customer even books
• LLM‑powered tooling across our internal and customer‑facing products, from intelligent quoting to driver workflow automation
• A two‑sided marketplace where drivers can buy and sell jobs to maximise utilisation — powered by smart matching algorithms

This is genuinely leading‑edge work: production AI systems, at scale, on problems that matter.

We're product‑led and agile. Most teams run Scrum with two‑week sprints, but we care far more about outcomes than rituals. Engineers are trusted to challenge assumptions, adapt processes, and ship things that matter. Senior engineers here are not heads‑down implementers. You'll:

• Work closely with product, data, and commercial stakeholders
• Influence technical direction and architectural decisions
• Balance speed with long‑term sustainability
• Regularly ship meaningful improvements to production

Our technology is pragmatic and cloud‑first, running on AWS, with the flexibility to choose the right tool for the job:

• Exploring: Go, Rust, React, Node.js
• Core stack: Python, Vue.js & Nuxt, TypeScript
• Legacy (retiring where we can): Java, PHP, Angular

You don't need experience in everything, we value strong fundamentals and good engineering judgement over keyword matching.

What you'll be doing:

• Designing, building, and operating production‑grade systems that scale
• Tackling complex technical challenges across backend, infrastructure, data flows, and AI/ML pipelines
• Writing clean, pragmatic, well‑tested code with long‑term maintainability in mind
• Collaborating with technical and non‑technical stakeholders to shape solutions
• Championing testing, observability, and quality improvements
• Mentoring engineers and raising the technical bar across the team

You'll thrive here if you have:

• Experience in a scale‑up or fast‑growing product environment
• Strong backend engineering skills (Go, Java, Python, or similar)
• A solid understanding of distributed systems, scalability, and performance
• Experience with CI/CD, modern deployment practices, and cloud infrastructure
• Comfort working with ambiguity and evolving requirements
• A bias toward action — shipping value quickly, then iterating
• A collaborative mindset and the ability to influence beyond your code
• Bonus: exposure to AI/ML systems, marketplaces, logistics, pricing, or e‑commerce

Location and eligibility: UK‑based, able to commute to Hammersmith. Happy to be onsite at least 3 days per week. Please note we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role at this time.

What we offer:

• Highly competitive salary
• 25 days holiday + bank holidays, Christmas Eve off, long‑service perks up to 30 days
• On‑site gym, Vitality membership, enhanced sick pay
• Pension – 5% employee / 3% employer
• Enhanced maternity pay
• 2 minutes from the tube, EV schemes, cycle‑to‑work, showers & towels
• Barista coffee, free breakfast, local discounts
• Weekly drinks, socials, and unforgettable incentive trips
• High ownership, real impact, and the chance to help shape a scaling platform

Our company values are:

• Have fun, get it done
• Progress over perfection
• One team thinking big

We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse workplace where every voice is heard, every perspective is valued, and every individual has the opportunity to thrive. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds to be part of our mission and contribute to our vibrant culture.