At a Glance
- Tasks: Build scalable backend systems for hotel inventory and enhance customer holiday experiences.
- Company: Join On the Beach, a leading travel tech company revolutionising holiday bookings.
- Benefits: Enjoy 25 days holiday, discounts on trips, and flexible working arrangements.
- Other info: Hybrid work model with a vibrant office culture and regular social events.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in travel tech while solving exciting, large-scale challenges.
- Qualifications: Experience in .NET, AWS, and building reliable distributed systems is a plus.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 75000 £ per year.
We’re On the Beach! Since 2003, we've been rewriting the rules of how people discover, book, and experience their perfect getaway. What started as connecting people to short‑haul beach holidays has evolved into something much bigger – premium beach destinations, long‑haul adventures, and vibrant city breaks – and that’s just the beginning of our story. We send around two million holidaymakers on their dream breaks every year. And we're still growing. Powered by our deep‑rooted entrepreneurial spirit, proprietary tech, curiosity and our incredible people, we’re accelerating - delivering best in class technology, the ultimate holiday app, and experiences that keep our customers coming back for more.
About the Role
As a Senior Software Engineer in Hotels Acquisition, you will build scalable backend systems and platforms that ingest, process and distribute hotel inventory across On the Beach. We have AWS‑hosted high‑performance databases that contain billions of items. There are always interesting problems to solve! You will work on systems that support supplier connectivity, inventory acquisition, pricing and availability freshness, cache optimisation and search distribution. This is a backend and platform focused role with strong emphasis on distributed systems, cloud native technologies, operational excellence and high performance at scale. You will work closely with engineers, product managers, analysts and commercial teams to deliver reliable and commercially impactful solutions.
What you’ll be doing day to day
At On the Beach, our Hotels Acquisition team builds the platforms that power hotel choice, availability and pricing across the holiday journey. We acquire, optimise and distribute hotel inventory from multiple suppliers to ensure customers can discover the right holiday at the right price with accurate availability. Our systems sit behind hundreds of thousands of searches every day and operate in a domain where scale, data freshness, supplier reliability and customer experience are deeply connected. Our mission is deliver the best hotel choice, availability and value through scalable and intelligent acquisition platforms. This is a role for engineers who enjoy solving large scale, data intensive and distributed systems challenges that directly influence customer experience and business performance.
Required skills, knowledge and experience
- Building scalable backend systems and distributed services
- Designing and operating cloud native platforms
- Working with large scale and data intensive applications
- Messaging infrastructure, streaming technologies and event‑driven architectures
- Building reliable and observable production systems
- Working with APIs, integrations and external suppliers
- Solving scalability, latency and operational resilience challenges
- Working collaboratively across engineering, product and commercial teams
- Making pragmatic technical decisions in fast moving environments
- Curiosity to learn new technologies and continuously improve engineering practices
- Interest in AI assisted engineering, agentic coding workflows and modern developer tooling
Experience with .NET, C#, AWS, Kubernetes, APIs, observability tooling and modern cloud native engineering practices is highly desirable.
What to expect from our interview process
After a call with our Talent Acquisition Team, we will run a 3‑stage interview process all on Microsoft Teams.
- Hiring Manager meet & greet – 30 minutes
- Behavioural & ways of working – 60 minutes
- Tech Pairing & System Design – 90 minutes
We want to make sure everybody has the opportunity to perform at their best. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the interview process please let the Talent Acquisition team know and they will be happy to assist.
Ways of working
Our full‑time hours are 37.5 per week, but we don't have rigid working hours so you can find the working pattern that's right for you. We have core working hours between 10am – 4pm, so we can collaborate and enjoy the social side of work. We also have hybrid working so we all work from home and from our Aeroworks office in Manchester City Centre. You’ll be in the office one day every two weeks, and you’re more than welcome to come in more if you’d like.
Our benefits
- 25 days holiday plus your birthday off
- Generous discount on holidays, plus you will receive 2 extra days annual leave on top of your holiday allowance to use whilst you're away on your On the Beach package holiday
- Access to Learnerbly learning platform, plus workshops, courses and professional qualifications
- Enhanced maternity, paternity, shared parental leave and adoption pay, plus other family friendly support
- Employee Assistance Programme and free access to counselling
- Simplyhealth Optimise Health Plan
- Company Sick Pay scheme
- Regular wellbeing events
- Gym discount
- Share Incentive Plan (SIP)
- Death in Service cover
- Onsite subsidised coffee shop
- The Sandbox (our very own bar)
- Food and drink discounts across a number of venues in Manchester City Centre
- Regular social events
- Cycle to Work scheme
Senior Software Engineer - Flight Acquisition in Manchester employer: On the Beach
At On the Beach, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer that fosters a vibrant and inclusive work culture. Our flexible working hours and hybrid model allow you to balance your professional and personal life while collaborating with talented individuals in our Manchester City Centre office. With generous benefits, opportunities for continuous learning, and a commitment to employee wellbeing, we empower our team to thrive as we build the future of travel together.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior Software Engineer - Flight Acquisition in Manchester
✨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 On the Beach 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 On the Beach.
✨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 On the Beach.
✨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 On the Beach 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 Senior Software Engineer - Flight Acquisition in Manchester
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 On the Beach.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at On the Beach 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 On the Beach
✨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 On the Beach 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.
