At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the design and development of innovative Android applications using modern technologies.
- Company: Join Sainsbury's, a leading retailer with a commitment to work-life balance and inclusivity.
- Benefits: Enjoy discounts, private healthcare, flexible working, and a performance-related bonus.
- Other info: Collaborative environment with opportunities for personal and professional growth.
- Why this job: Shape the future of mobile platforms and impact millions of customers across the UK.
- Qualifications: Extensive experience in Android development with Kotlin and strong mentoring skills.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 £ per year.
We’d all like amazing work to do, and real work-life balance.
That’s waiting for you at Sainsbury’s.
Think about the scale it takes to feed the nation.
The level of data, transactions and variety involved.
Then you’ll realise this is a modern software engineering environment, because it has to be.
We’ve made significant investment in the standards and principles that shape how we work.
We iterate, learn, experiment and champion ways of working such as Agile, Scrum and XP.
So you can look forward to exciting opportunities across everything from AI to reusable tech.
We don't think we're exaggerating when we say we have one of the most exciting data sets in the country.
The insights we gain help us build scalable, high-performance products using cutting-edge technology, products that give our customers an amazing shopping experience, including our award-winning Smart Shop app.
In an inclusive, agile environment, you'll have the space to be curious, experiment, and solve complex real-world challenges.
Best of all, you'll see your work in the hands of millions of people across the UK.
As a
Senior Android Engineer , you'll play a key role in shaping the future of our mobile platforms.
You'll lead the design and delivery of high-quality Android solutions, influence technical direction, mentor engineers, and help establish engineering best practices across teams.
Working closely with Product, Design, and Engineering partners, you'll drive innovation and ensure our Android experiences remain scalable, resilient, and customer-focused.
- What You’ll Do
- Lead the design, development, and evolution of large-scale Android applications using modern Kotlin-based technologies
- Own complex technical deliveries, driving solutions from discovery and architecture through to implementation and production support
- Define and influence mobile architecture, engineering standards, and technical strategy across multiple products and teams
- Mentor and support engineers, fostering technical growth and a culture of continuous improvement
- Collaborate with Product Managers, Designers, Architects, and Engineers to translate business objectives into scalable technical solutions
- Drive engineering excellence through modern software practices, automation, code quality, testing, observability, and CI/CD
- Contribute to platform‑level initiatives, shared libraries, and cross‑platform capabilities, including Kotlin Multiplatform
- Identify and address technical debt, performance bottlenecks, scalability challenges, and security concerns
- Champion customer experience, accessibility, reliability, and maintainability in all engineering decisions
- Actively contribute to the wider engineering community through knowledge sharing, technical leadership, and innovation
- Extensive commercial experience developing complex Android applications using
- Kotlin , including advanced use of
Coroutines, Flows, Retrofit, Hilt, Room, Coil, Navigation Components, and Jetpack libraries
- Experience contributing to or leading adoption of
- Kotlin Multiplatform (KMP) solutions across Android platforms
- Expert understanding of modern Android architecture patterns, including
- MVVM, Clean Architecture, modularisation, and scalable application design
- Proven track record of leading the end-to-end delivery of mobile products across the full software development lifecycle
- Strong experience designing technical solutions and influencing architectural decisions within large-scale engineering environments
- Deep understanding of software engineering fundamentals, including testing, security, performance optimisation, observability, and CI/CD
- Advanced experience with automated testing frameworks including
- JUnit, Mockito, Turbine , and UI testing approaches
- Experience mentoring engineers, providing technical leadership, and driving engineering best practices within teams
- Ability to influence technical roadmaps, balancing customer needs, business goals, and long‑term platform sustainability
- Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to both technical and non‑technical audiences
- Experience collaborating effectively within cross‑functional and cross‑platform engineering teams
- Demonstrated ability to identify and resolve complex technical challenges while maintaining a focus on quality, scalability, and delivery outcomes
- Strong experience with
- Jetpack Compose and modern declarative UI development
- Knowledge of backend technologies, APIs, cloud‑native architectures, and distributed systems
- Experience building and maintaining shared mobile platforms, SDKs, or reusable engineering capabilities
- Experience working with AI, ML, or intelligent product features
- Active contribution to engineering communities through mentoring, conference speaking, blogging, or open‑source projects
- What Success Looks Like
- You are recognised as a senior technical leader within your team and broader engineering community
- Teams adopt architecture and engineering practices you've helped define
- Engineers grow through your mentoring and technical guidance
- Mobile applications remain performant, resilient, secure, and scalable for millions of customers
- You help shape the future direction of Android engineering within Sainsbury's Tech
- Generous colleague discount across Sainsbury's, Argos, and Habitat
- Private Health Care
- Pension plan
- Access to special offers on gyms, restaurants, holidays, retail vouchers and more
Work‑life balance matters to us.
We offer flexibility in how, when, and where you work, combining remote collaboration with the right balance of freedom to support your life outside work.
We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer, so you’ll be welcomed whoever you are and wherever you work.
Around here, there’s always the chance to try something new – whether that’s as part of an evolving team or somewhere else across the business – and we take development seriously and promise to support you.
We also recognise and celebrate colleagues when they go the extra mile and, where possible, offer flexible working.
When you join our team, we’ll also offer you an amazing range of benefits.
Here are some of them
Starting off with colleague discount, you’ll be able to get 10% off at Sainsbury's, Argos, TU and Habitat after 4 weeks.
This increases to 15% off at Sainsbury’s every Friday and Saturday and 15% off at Argos every pay day.
We’ve also got you covered for your future with our pensions scheme and life cover.
You’ll also be able to share in our success as you may be eligible for a performance‑related bonus of up to 20% of salary, depending on how we perform.
Your wellbeing is important to us too.
You’ll receive an annual holiday allowance, and you can buy additional holiday.
We also offer other benefits that will help your money go further such as season ticket loans, interest free car loan of up to £10k, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, pay advance (where you can access some of your pay before pay day) as well as access to a great range of discounts from hundreds of other retailers.
And if you ever need it there is also an Employee Assistance Programme, you will also be eligible for private healthcare too.
Moments that matter are as important to us as they are to you which is why we give up to 26 weeks’ pay for maternity or adoption leave and up to 4 weeks’ pay for paternity leave.
Please see www. sainsburys. jobs for a range of our benefits (note, length of service and eligibility criteria may apply).
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Senior Android Engineer - Retail (SS) employer: Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd
Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd is an excellent employer, offering a vibrant work culture where teamwork and customer service are at the forefront. Employees benefit from competitive pay, night shift premiums, and a range of perks including discounts and generous holiday entitlement, all while working in a supportive environment that encourages personal growth and wellbeing.
Contact Details:
Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd Recruitment Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior Android Engineer - Retail (SS)
✨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 Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd 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 Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd.
✨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 Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd.
✨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 Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd 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 Android Engineer - Retail (SS)
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 Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd 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 Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd
✨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 Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd 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.