Senior Software Development Engineer

AnyVan; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading logistics technology company in the UK is seeking a backend engineer to design and build scalable production-grade systems. The candidate will tackle complex challenges, collaborate with stakeholders, and mentor junior engineers. This role requires strong backend skills in Java or Python and the ability to adapt in a fast-paced environment. The company offers a competitive salary, significant time off, and a commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Benefits

Highly Competitive Salary

25 days time off + bank holidays

On-site gym

Enhanced sick pay

Pension contributions

Family support benefits

Easy commute options

Daily perks like free breakfast

Culture with regular socials

Opportunities for career growth

Qualifications

• Experience with CI/CD and modern deployment practices is essential.
• Strong fundamentals in backend engineering and clean coding practices are required.
• A collaborative mindset and ability to influence technical direction are needed.

Responsibilities

• Design and build production-grade systems that scale.
• Tackle complex technical challenges across backend and data flows.
• Mentor engineers and promote quality improvements.

Skills

Strong backend engineering skills (Java, Python)

Experience in a scale-up or fast-growing product environment

Understanding of distributed systems, scalability, and performance

CI/CD knowledge

Ability to work with ambiguity

Tools

AWS

Java (Spring)

Python

JavaScript (Vue.js)

Job description

Got Drive? Join AnyVan as we make moving anything, anywhere miles better and build a career that moves just as fast.

Back in 2009, our CEO Angus saw half-empty vans everywhere and knew there had to be a better way! That's how AnyVan began. He set out to create the world's most efficient logistics technology and help halve the number of wasted miles by filling those empty vans.

Since then we've become the nation's favourite way to move, with over 150k five-star reviews and 5 million customers in the UK and Europe. Our team of 400 AnyVanners across London, Cape Town and Bogota is proving that moving doesn't have to cost the earth by helping save 8,520 tonnes of Carbon each year.

Build systems that move the real world

At the heart of our business is a sophisticated optimisation platform that connects customer demand with real-time driver availability — helping us deliver a world-class service at market-beating prices.

By intelligently matching jobs to vans already on the road, we reduce wasted miles, cut emissions, and ensure drivers earn fairly. It’s logistics, pricing, and marketplace dynamics — all driven by software.

And we’re only just getting started......

Over the next few years, we’re evolving our platform from a strong foundation into a truly intelligent logistics marketplace. You’ll help design and build systems that:

• Model true job-level costs in real time, enabling smarter, more dynamic pricing
• Deepen our driver platform, embedding into their daily workflows and unlocking new revenue opportunities
• Create a two-sided marketplace, including buying and selling non-core jobs between drivers to maximise utilisation
• Scale reliably, as we grow volume, complexity, and ambition

This is a role for engineers who enjoy solving ambiguous, high-impact problems and shaping how a platform evolves at scale.

Why this role matters

Over the next few years, we’re evolving our platform from a strong foundation into a truly intelligent logistics marketplace. You’ll help design and build systems that:

• Model true job-level costs in real time, enabling smarter, more dynamic pricing
• Deepen our driver platform, embedding into their daily workflows and unlocking new revenue opportunities
• Create a two-sided marketplace, including buying and selling non-core jobs between drivers to maximise utilisation
• Scale reliably, as we grow volume, complexity, and ambition

This is a role for engineers who enjoy solving ambiguous, high-impact problems and shaping how a platform evolves at scale.

How our engineering teams deliver

We’re a product-led, agile organisation. Most teams run Scrum with two-week sprints, but we care far more about outcomes than rituals. Engineers are trusted to adapt processes, challenge assumptions, and improve how we work.

Senior engineers here are not heads-down implementers, you’ll:

• Work closely with product, data, and commercial stakeholders
• Influence technical direction and architectural decisions
• Balance speed with long-term sustainability
• Regularly ship meaningful improvements to production

Our Technology:

We’re pragmatic and cloud-first, choosing the right tools for the problem:

• Cloud: AWS
• Backend: Java (Spring), Python
• Frontend: JavaScript (Vue.js)
• Other: TypeScript where it makes sense
• Legacy: A PHP stack we’re actively migrating away from (because scale-ups are real life)

You don’t need experience in everything - we value strong fundamentals and good engineering judgement over keyword matching.

What you'll be doing:

• Designing, building, and operating production-grade systems that scale
• Tackling complex technical challenges across backend, infrastructure, and data flows
• Writing clean, pragmatic, well-tested code with long-term maintainability in mind
• Collaborating with technical and non-technical stakeholders to shape solutions
• Championing testing, observability, and quality improvements
• Mentoring engineers and raising the technical bar across the team

You’ll thrive here if you have:

• Experience in a scale-up or fast-growing product environment
• Strong backend engineering skills (Java, Python, or similar)
• A solid understanding of distributed systems, scalability, and performance
• Experience with CI/CD, modern deployment practices, and cloud infrastructure
• Comfort working with ambiguity and evolving requirements
• A bias toward action — shipping value quickly, then iterating
• A collaborative mindset and the ability to influence beyond your code

Bonus points for exposure to marketplaces, logistics, pricing, or e-commerce systems.

Location and Eligibility:

• UK-based, able to commute to Hammersmith
• Happy to be onsite at least 3 days per week
• Unfortunately, we’re unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role at this time

What we offer:

💰 Highly Competitive Salary
🌴 Time Off - 25 days + bank holidays, Christmas Eve off, long-service perks up to 30 days
💪 Health & Wellbeing On-site gym, Vitality membership, enhanced sick pay
📈 Pension – 5% employee / 3% employer
👶 Family Support – Enhanced maternity pay
🚲 Easy Commute – 2 minutes from the tube, EV schemes, cycle-to-work, showers & towels
☕ Daily Perks – Barista coffee, free breakfast, local discounts
🎉 Culture – Weekly drinks, socials, and unforgettable incentive trips
🚀 Career Growth – High ownership, real impact, and the chance to help shape a scaling platform

Our company values are:

• Have fun, get it done (work hard play hard, satisfaction in results, do the right thing)
• Progress over perfection (Innovate and disrupt, Curious and adaptable, Work quick, learn quicker)
• One team thinking big (Collaborate and communicate, Celebrate wins, Embrace challenges)

DE&I

We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse workplace where every voice is heard, every perspective is valued, and every individual has the opportunity to thrive. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds to be part of our mission and contribute to our vibrant culture.