Principal Software Engineer - Retail

Very Group; Liverpool; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading retail technology company is seeking a Principal Software Engineer based in Liverpool. The role involves designing scalable software solutions and leading a team of engineers. Candidates should have extensive experience in Java and cloud technologies, with a strong focus on code quality and best practices. The company offers a flexible hybrid working model, a competitive salary, and a comprehensive benefits package, including a £1,000 flexible benefits allowance and generous holiday entitlement.

Benefits

Flexible, hybrid working model

30 days holiday + bank holidays

£1,000 flexible benefits allowance

Udemy learning access

Bonus potential

Up to 25% discount on Very.co.uk

Matched pension up to 6%

Qualifications

• Significant experience in hands-on software engineering roles.
• Strong appreciation for code quality, testing, and engineering best practices.
• Experience with cloud platforms, ideally AWS.

Responsibilities

• Design and build front-end and/or back-end software solutions.
• Lead and mentor team members to ensure high-quality solutions.
• Proactively drive the enhancement of continuous integration.

Skills

Java

JavaScript

React

Kubernetes

Docker

AWS

Microservices

CI/CD

Education

Degree in Computer Science or related field

Job description

About us.

We areThe Very Groupand we’re here to help families get more out of life. We know that our customers work hard for their families and have a lot to balance in their busy lives. That’s why we combine amazing brands and products with flexible payment options onVery.co.ukto help them say yes to the things they love. We’re just as passionate about helping our people get more out of life too; building careers with real growth, a sense of purpose, belonging and wellbeing.

About the role

As a Principal Software Engineer, you will be responsible for designing, building and running front-end and/or back-end software solutions in an agile delivery squad. This role is hands-on, you’ll be actively involved in designing, implementing and running the products and services that your squad are responsible for. You’ll help shape best practices in software engineering, then both work to and coach other Squad members into driving and ensuring high quality solutions.

Key responsibilities

• Work with and sometimes lead other Engineers, Application Specialists in your Squad/ Performance Unit, Business Analysts, Product Owners and Architects to envision, design and deliver industry leading systems.
• Design and build software that balances the commercial needs of the business alongside delivering the future tech roadmap.
• Lead and actively participate in application and database design, data flows and detailed technical design. Ensure that analysis includes the wider view of technical and business impact.
• Own your code quality. Work with other Engineers to drive this behaviour in them
• Own non-functional requirements around performance, security and scalability to ensure we deliver a great customer experience. Driving best practice around real-time logging, monitoring, alerting.
• Proactively drive the enhancement of continuous integration to improve deployment processes in the squad.
• Identify obstacles, risks and issues that may/ do impact the technical product and work with all stakeholders required to mitigate them.
• Adhere to policies and standards that impact solutions.
• Provide Run support for technical products within Squad.
• Proactively support and mentor other team members, working with them to help them improve their skills.
• Champion your Squads engineering successes and best practices both internally and externally
• Understand the external Technology landscape and look to leverage this knowledge to enhance software engineering in your Squad/ Tribe and across The Very Group.

About you.

You’re someone who thrives in a hands-on technical role and has a passion for building scalable, high-quality solutions. You’ve worked in a similar capacity and have a strong track record of enabling teams to deliver robust, secure, and observable systems.

You’re a natural collaborator who enjoys mentoring others, sharing knowledge, and influencing engineering culture. You’re comfortable working across squads and disciplines, and you’re always looking for ways to improve processes, reduce toil, and drive automation.

You’ll be confident in contributing to platform, application, and database design, and you’ll take ownership of non-functional requirements like performance, security, and scalability.

What you’ll bring:

• Significant experience of building, integrating, maintaining and managing complex software architectures, ideally across multi-cloud environments.
• Demonstrable experience of providing clear direction, coaching, mentoring and development support.
• Be passionate about code quality, testing and other engineering best practices.
• Significant experience of building software applications that have security, reliability, scalability, high availability and concurrency built-in from the outset.
• A strong collaborator and communicator.
• Proven ability to influence and negotiate with Technical Stakeholders from all Software Engineering levels, to Architects, to Heads of Tech, to Technical Operations, to external 3rd parties.
• A background and relevant current experience in a hands-on software engineering role is essential.
• Confident and comfortable to share stories internally and externally to build our Very Group brand and credibility to attract and retain talent.
• Be constantly interested in the Technology and Engineering landscapes internally and externally.
• Proven experience with software engineering, particularly in Java technologies.
• Strong appreciation for DevOps tooling with exposure to the likes of CI/CD, Kubernetes & Docker.
• Experience with cloud platforms ideally AWS.
• Experience of multiple development technologies, ideally including Java, JavaScript,
• Node.js, React, Spring/Springboot, Kafka, AWS, Python, Jenkins, GitLab, microservices, secure RESTful API’s, JSON, API Gateways, event-driven architectures, messaging.
• Technical knowledge of Oracle Retail Cloud Applications such as MFCS, OIC, Smart Item Hub (SIH) preferred
• Knowledge of a retail ecommerce environment
• Passion for quality & observability, an ability to understand complex systems and a desire for constant improvements

Our benefits.

• Flexible, hybrid working model
• Inclusive culture and environment, check out our Glassdoor reviews
• £1,000 flexible benefits allowance to suit your needs
• 30 days holiday + bank holidays
• Udemy learning access
• Bonus potential (performance and business-related)
• Up to 25% discount on Very.co.uk
• Matched pension up to 6%
• More benefits can be found on our career site

How to apply

Please note that the talent acquisition team are managing this vacancy directly, and if successful in securing this role, you may be required to undertake a credit, CIFAS and DBS check.

What happens next?

Our talent acquisition team will be in touch if you’re successful so keep an eye on your emails! We’ll arrange a short call to learn more about you, as well as answer any questions you have. If it feels like we’re a good match, we’ll share your CV with the hiring manager to review. Our interview process is tailored to each role and can be in-person or held remotely.

You can expect a three-stage interview process for this position:

1st stage - An informal 45-minute video call with the hiring team to discuss your skills and relevant experience. This is a great opportunity to find out more about the role and to ask any questions you may have.

2nd Stage – A one-hour formal interview where you can expect both competency and technical questions

As an inclusive employer please do let us know if you require any reasonable adjustments.

If you'd like to know more about our interviews, you can find out here.

Equal opportunities

We’re an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.