Principal Software Engineer - Service Experience

TN United Kingdom; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to lead the modernization of critical fulfilment systems. This role offers the chance to collaborate with multifunctional teams, ensuring robust and scalable solutions while championing engineering excellence. You will drive technical direction, influence product strategy, and foster a culture of innovation. With a focus on clean code, cloud computing, and performance engineering, this position is perfect for those looking to make a significant impact in a dynamic environment. Join a forward-thinking company that values inclusion, diversity, and flexible working arrangements.

Benefits

Industry-leading pension contribution of up to 12%

Bonus up to 40%

20% discount on M&S products

Up to 2 weeks working abroad

Learning days once a month

Wellbeing support including free counselling

25% off gym memberships

Online fitness classes

Discounts on health services

Hackathons bi-annually

Qualifications

• Proven track record of strategic and innovative thinking.
• Expertise in clean code and design patterns.
• Strong leadership skills to guide senior engineers.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical excellence from design to launch of core product features.
• Drive DevOps practices to automate the product development lifecycle.
• Mentor senior engineers and promote innovation within engineering.

Skills

Strategic Thinking

Clean Code

Information Security

System Design

Process Improvement

Cloud Computing

Performance Engineering

Reliability Testing

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

ReactJS

Kafka

MongoDB

Kubernetes

Dynatrace

Job description

Social network you want to login/join with:

Principal Software Engineer - Service Experience, United Kingdom

Client: Marks and Spencer

Location: United Kingdom

Job Category: -

EU work permit required: Yes

Job Reference: 309126261847

Job Views: 15

Posted: 28.04.2025

Expiry Date: 12.06.2025

Job Description:

The Product

We have a genuine ambition to become engineering first, building and operating an elite digital platform. We are looking for people to join our community of engineers to support this transformation, build a modern digital ecosystem.

Scope:

We are seeking a passionate Principal Software Engineer to join us working across Fulfilment systems at M&S, where you will be a driving force behind the modernisation of critically important systems for M&S, as we scale. As a technical leader, you will collaborate with multiple multi-functional teams to design, build, and maintain the software that powers our fulfilment operations: order and returns management, fulfilment optimisation, stock management, in-store fulfilment and collections, supplier and carrier management. Your expertise will help us create a best-in-class engineering environment while ensuring our systems are robust and scalable.

The Principal Software Engineer role embodies ‘solving problems through technology’ with key responsibilities including:

• Leading technical excellence from design to operations and launch of core product features or strategic programmes
• Driving technical direction and influencing overall strategy concerning Technology and Product investments as well as team setup
• Championing Communities of Practice to establish engineering excellence at M&S
• Leading by example through contributions to our engineering ecosystem
• Pioneering and promoting methodologies like clean code and clean architecture
• Advocating for engineering productivity, delivery quality, and operational excellence via a continuous ecosystem
• Driving DevOps practices to automate the Product development life cycle and foster ownership
• Partnering with Engineering, Technology, and Product leadership to align strategies
• Developing and mentoring other senior engineering roles across the landscape
• Promoting innovation within engineering
• Strategizing for continuous industrialisation and product-minded tech capabilities
• Inspiring ideas to foster purpose and mastery, leading teams towards autonomy and maturity
• Unblocking engineering teams efficiently with guidance, leadership, and alignment
• Raising the profile of MS Tech through public content and open-source contributions
• Supporting recruitment, onboarding, and internal/external brand outreach activities

What We Need From You:

• A significant track record of strategic and innovative thinking, execution, and implementation
• Expertise in clean code and implementation of design patterns for common problems
• Deep knowledge of Information Security, capable of designing, reviewing, and assuring solutions with embedded security controls
• Confidence in system design discussions, especially for high-risk, impactful, and complex systems
• Ability to analyze processes, identify improvements, and lead teams to implement service enhancements
• Experience with prototyping methods, sharing methodologies, and mentoring others, with a strategic view of service design end-to-end
• Strong influence on industry models for new technology development, with effective implementation and procurement strategies aligned with business needs
• Understanding of QA, testing quadrants, and the testing pyramid, and how to apply them
• Leadership skills to guide senior engineers and technical stakeholders towards outcomes without prescriptive directives
• Authoritative knowledge of cloud computing (network, security, serverless, Kubernetes) and automation
• Experience implementing Observability and Reliability using market technologies (e.g., Dynatrace)
• Good experience with Performance Engineering (load testing, tuning, core web vitals, page speed)
• Expertise in reliability testing
• Able to influence both technical and non-technical stakeholders at senior levels

Working for Us Means:

• Hybrid Working
• Industry-leading pension contribution of up to 12%
• Bonus up to 40%
• 20% discount on M&S products
• Up to 2 weeks working abroad
• Learning days once a month, Tech/Ed days quarterly, Hackathons bi-annually
• Wellbeing support including free counselling and virtual GP for you and immediate family
• 25% off gym memberships, online fitness classes, and discounts on health services
• Technologies used across Fulfilment systems include ReactJS, Kafka, MongoDB

M&S is committed to leading industry into a greener, faster, more inspiring digital future. We value inclusion, diversity, and equal opportunities, starting from our recruitment process. We welcome flexible working arrangements and reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.