Department: Engineering
Location: United Kingdom
Job Title: Senior Staff Engineer (Backend & Infrastructure)
Contract: Permanent, Full-time
Location: Fully-remote position in the UK. You must already be living in the UK and have the legal right to work here without visa sponsorship, as we’re unable to provide sponsorship for this position.
WE ARE ZIGZAG - THE WORLD’S MOST CONNECTED POST-PURCHASE AND RETURNS NETWORK
We are an award-winning eCommerce returns and post purchase specialist, founded in 2015.
With over 250 team members across the UK, Bulgaria, France, Portugal, Germany, and Spain, we are continually innovating the after-checkout experience for our retailers by reducing cost and complexity, driving sustainability, and fostering customer loyalty.
Today, our SaaS platform provides access to over 3,000 carrier lanes across 170 countries, supporting more 1,100 retailers including our leading enterprise and logistics clients The Very Group, New Look, Boden, Selfridges, Sports Direct, The Hut Group, Swarovski, L’Occitane, Photobox, Carrefour, Lands’ End and DHL.
We were the experts in returns. Now we are the experts in the whole post-purchase experience!
Discover more: https://www.zigzag.global/about-us
OUR CULTURE AND VALUES
Our culture is built on three core values, Start-up Spirit, Human Heart, and a Grown-up Mindset which guide how we collaborate and make decisions.
It isn’t something written on posters – it’s something we bring to life every day through our actions, our relationships, and how we show up for each other and our customers.
Everyone plays a role in shaping our culture through how we communicate, support one another, and celebrate success. Being a ZigZagger means taking ownership, bringing curiosity and energy to everything you do, showing resilience when challenges arise, and leading with care by putting “we before me.” You’ll use sound judgment, stay open to new perspectives, and continuously look for ways to learn, grow, and improve.
About The Role
We’re looking for an experienced Senior Staff Engineer (Backend & Infrastructure) to play a key role within the team. This position offers significant impact across the product, with broad collaboration across ZigZag as we unify our post-purchase and returns products into a single, seamless offering. As we advance this transition, you’ll be instrumental in shaping the strategy and enabling teams to execute it effectively across our most critical areas.
You will help define and model best practices, setting clear standards for behaviours, performance, and technical excellence within the backend and infrastructure domains.
Your primary objective will be to drive the development, reliability, and scalability of backend systems and infrastructure, ensuring they effectively support the organisation’s ongoing growth.
This role offers a unique opportunity to influence the direction and success of our product and tech team significantly. If you are passionate about leading backend and infrastructure efforts in a dynamic and growing environment, we would love to hear from you.
Our Tech Stack
- Ruby on Rails and Go for backend
- TypeScript, React (with Hooks), Redux, React Testing Library, CSS Modules, Webpack (with federated modules) for frontend
- Hosted on GCP
- Datadog, LogDNA, Sentry for monitoring
- Monolithic infrastructure + introduction of microservices (3 services today)
- PostgreSQL + Elasticsearch + RabbitMQ + Redis for storage
- Kubernetes + Docker for ops
Key Responsibilities
- Play a pivotal role in developing a coherent technology strategy that aligns with the organization's overall goals and product priorities.
- Ensure that architectural decisions for key product initiatives are in harmony with their objectives.
- Ensure service reliability: Managing incidents, setting & measuring service level objectives, maintaining & evolving recovery plans, evolving application observability & monitoring.
- Implement and oversee quality assurance and security processes and practices on the backend side.
- Oversee and optimize our cloud infrastructure, ensuring resource allocation is balanced, especially during high-peak periods like Black Friday.
- Actively participate in refining engineering processes such as continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) and code reviews to enhance team productivity, and efficiency, and elevate product quality and security.
- Evaluating relevance to switch from a worker-based approach to an event-driven one
- Pairing with squad developers on day-to-day product work to share knowledge & practices
- Contribute to defining and shaping tech and product initiatives.
- Responding to and troubleshooting unexpected issues that could impact business operations.
- Engage with cross-functional business teams to identify and communicate technical constraints impacting specific use cases.
What We're Looking For
- Deep experience in cloud architecture and infrastructure, ideally within GCP, with Azure or AWS experience also considered.
- Very good understanding of Ruby & Ruby on Rails.
- Fluent in English. Strong French would be advantageous.
- Expertise in managing infrastructure and associated technologies, with an emphasis on scalability and reliability. You have developed strong reflexes to calmly address incidents of various types and impacts
- High willingness and ability to transmit knowledge. Curious and keeping up to date with industry novelties.
- Strong background working across multiple environments and products, with the ability to navigate and optimise complex, distributed systems is a plus.
What We Offer
- 24 days’ annual leave plus public holidays, with additional holiday entitlement awarded for each completed year of service (up to a maximum of six extra days). Plus, to celebrate you, enjoy an extra day off on your birthday.
- BUPA Private health insurance
Explore our full range of benefits here: ZigZag UK Benefits.pdf
Application Process
This vacancy is being advertised in multiple locations; however, it represents a single opportunity with flexibility based on your current location.
Equity, Inclusion & Transparency
In line with the EU Pay Transparency Directive, we are committed to transparency and will share the salary range for this role prior to the interview stage.
A diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone feels a sense of belonging is a priority, and applications are welcomed from people of all backgrounds and experiences. Reflecting how we live our own values of meritocracy over hierarchy, even if not every requirement is met, interest in the role is encouraged.
Hiring focuses on people as well as skills—if this opportunity resonates, you’re encouraged to apply and bring your unique perspective.
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Senior Staff Engineer employer: ZigZag Global Ltd
ZigZag Global Ltd is an exceptional employer that prioritises employee growth and satisfaction, offering a fully remote work environment that fosters flexibility and work-life balance. With a strong focus on collaboration and innovation, employees are encouraged to develop their skills while contributing to meaningful projects that drive success for medium-enterprise retailers across the UK. Join us to be part of a dynamic team that values your contributions and supports your professional journey.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior Staff Engineer
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Consider participating in workshops or open days at manufacturing companies. It's a great way to show off your hands-on skills in a real-world environment and can sometimes lead to job offers right on the spot. Keep an eye on announcements from local manufacturers for these opportunities!
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Some tips for your application 🫡
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How to prepare for a job interview at ZigZag Global Ltd
✨Know Your Manufacturing Processes
Before you walk into the interview with ZigZag Global Ltd, brush up on the specific manufacturing processes relevant to the role. Understanding lean manufacturing principles or quality control techniques could give you a solid edge to discuss how you’d fit into their operations.
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Be prepared for technical questions around machinery, production scheduling, or materials handling. Make sure you can confidently explain how you've dealt with these in past experiences or internships. Knowing industry-specific software could also be a big plus!
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