Staff Software Engineer in London

Staff Software Engineer in London

London Full-Time 70000 - 90000 ÂŁ / year (est.) Home office (partial)
The Stepstone Group

At a Glance

  • Tasks: Design and build cutting-edge AI systems that reshape the recruitment landscape.
  • Company: Join The Stepstone Group, a global leader in job matching technology.
  • Benefits: Enjoy 29 days holiday, competitive salary, and a supportive work-life balance.
  • Other info: Collaborative environment with opportunities for mentorship and professional growth.
  • Why this job: Make a real impact by developing AI solutions that help people find their perfect job.
  • Qualifications: Strong software engineering skills in Python and experience with cloud platforms like AWS.

The predicted salary is between 70000 - 90000 ÂŁ per year.

At The Stepstone Group, we have a simple yet very important mission: The right job for everyone. Using our data, platform, and technology, we create opportunities for jobseekers and companies around the world to find a perfect match in a fair and equitable way. With over 20 brands across 30+ countries, we strive for fair and unbiased hiring.

About our Marketplace Enablement Org and User Dialogue Team

Within Marketplace Enablement, we build the technology that helps candidates and recruiters find the right match. Our teams deliver data products, search and recommendations, and intelligent user dialogue capabilities using modern engineering practices, AI and cloud-native technology. Within this org, our User Dialogue team are building the next generation of conversational and agentic AI experiences. This includes intelligent candidate engagement, personalised outreach, messaging journeys, and AI‑powered systems that support users through complex recruitment journeys.

The Role

We are recruiting for a Staff Software Engineer (AI) to help design, build and evolve production‑grade agentic AI systems. This is a strategic, hands‑on engineering leadership role focused on integrating Large Language Models into scalable, secure, reliable and observable architectures. This is an individual contributor leadership role with no direct line management responsibility.

You will help move our agentic AI capabilities beyond experimentation and into dependable products that operate safely and effectively at scale across our global marketplace. Working closely with software engineers, machine learning engineers, data scientists, product managers, analysts and technical leaders, you will shape how we build, test, deploy, monitor and govern AI‑powered systems.

Success in this role will depend as much on influence and communication as on technical depth. You will need to create alignment across teams, explain complex concepts clearly, and help others make confident, pragmatic decisions.

Your responsibilities

  • Design, architect and build agentic and LLM‑powered systems within our AWS environment, with a focus on production readiness, reliability, security and scale.
  • Provide technical leadership across teams, helping move AI capabilities from R&D and experimentation into maintainable, observable and operationally robust products.
  • Work closely with product managers, engineers, machine learning engineers, data scientists and technical leaders to align technical decisions with user needs, business priorities and long‑term platform direction.
  • Define and improve engineering standards, reusable patterns, tools, templates and best practices for building agentic AI systems responsibly and consistently.
  • Lead the implementation and deployment of systems at scale, ensuring strong approaches to testing, monitoring, evaluation, guardrails, observability and operational support.
  • Communicate architectural choices, trade‑offs and technical risks clearly to technical and non‑technical stakeholders.
  • Mentor and coach engineers, raising the engineering bar across design, delivery, code quality, security, maintainability and pragmatic technical decision‑making.
  • Contribute to tech‑wide initiatives, collaborating across the organisation to promote standardisation, responsible AI practices and strong engineering design.

Qualifications

We are looking for a versatile Staff‑level engineer with strong software engineering foundations and practical experience designing and delivering production‑grade systems.

  • Strong software engineering experience in Python and at least one of Java, TypeScript or .NET.
  • Experience designing, building and operating distributed systems in AWS or comparable cloud platform.
  • Practical experience integrating Large Language Models into production systems.
  • Understanding of prompt orchestration, tool usage and LLM interaction patterns.
  • Experience implementing state management, memory strategies, evaluation approaches and guardrails in AI systems.
  • Experience with evaluation, observability and performance optimisation for LLM‑powered systems.
  • Experience using LLM APIs such as OpenAI, Bedrock or similar.
  • Understanding of secure software development, data protection, compliance and enterprise architecture principles.
  • Experience deploying and operating solutions on cloud platforms, preferably AWS.
  • Excellent communication and influencing skills, with the ability to create shared understanding across technical and non‑technical audiences.
  • Experience mentoring engineers and raising standards across teams.

Additional Information

We’re a community here that cares as much about your life outside work as how you feel when you’re with us. Because your job shouldn’t take over your life, it should enrich it.

Staff Software Engineer in London employer: The Stepstone Group

At The Stepstone Group, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer that values work-life balance and employee growth. Our collaborative culture fosters innovation and inclusivity, providing ample opportunities for professional development while working on cutting-edge AI technologies in a dynamic global environment. Join us to be part of a mission-driven team that is reshaping the labour market and making a meaningful impact worldwide.
The Stepstone Group

Contact Detail:

The Stepstone Group Recruiting Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫

We think this is how you could land Staff Software Engineer in London

✨Tip Number 1

Network like a pro! Reach out to folks in your industry on LinkedIn or at meetups. A friendly chat can lead to opportunities that aren’t even advertised yet.

✨Tip Number 2

Show off your skills! Create a portfolio or GitHub repo showcasing your projects, especially those involving AI and cloud technologies. This gives potential employers a taste of what you can do.

✨Tip Number 3

Prepare for interviews by practising common technical questions and scenarios related to AI systems. We recommend doing mock interviews with friends or using online platforms to get comfortable.

✨Tip Number 4

Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, it shows you’re genuinely interested in joining our team.

We think you need these skills to ace Staff Software Engineer in London

Python
Java
TypeScript
.NET
AWS
Large Language Models (LLMs)
Distributed Systems
Prompt Orchestration
Tool Usage
State Management
Memory Strategies
Evaluation Approaches
Guardrails in AI Systems
Observability
Performance Optimisation
Secure Software Development

Some tips for your application 🫡

Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV reflects the skills and experiences that align with the Staff Software Engineer role. Highlight your experience with AI systems, cloud platforms, and any relevant projects you've worked on. We want to see how you can contribute to our mission!

Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Your cover letter is your chance to shine! Use it to explain why you're passionate about AI and how your background makes you a great fit for our User Dialogue team. Keep it engaging and personal – we love getting to know our candidates!

Showcase Your Technical Skills: In your application, don't forget to mention your technical expertise, especially in Python and cloud technologies like AWS. We’re looking for someone who can hit the ground running, so make sure we see your strengths clearly!

Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way to ensure your application gets into the right hands. Plus, it shows us you’re serious about joining our team at The Stepstone Group!

How to prepare for a job interview at The Stepstone Group

✨Know Your Tech Inside Out

Make sure you’re well-versed in the technologies mentioned in the job description, especially Python and cloud platforms like AWS. Brush up on your experience with Large Language Models and be ready to discuss how you've integrated them into production systems.

✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills

Even though this is an individual contributor role, they’ll want to see your ability to lead and influence. Prepare examples of how you've guided teams or projects, particularly in moving AI capabilities from R&D to production-ready systems.

✨Communicate Clearly and Confidently

You’ll need to explain complex concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Practice articulating your thoughts on architectural choices and trade-offs, ensuring you can convey your ideas simply and effectively.

✨Prepare for Scenario-Based Questions

Expect questions that assess your problem-solving skills and decision-making process. Think of scenarios where you had to make tough technical decisions or manage risks in AI systems, and be ready to walk through your thought process.

Staff Software Engineer in London
The Stepstone Group
Location: London

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