Senior Solutions Engineer (Customer)

CALA Homes; City of Edinburgh; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

34 days holiday (including public and

Private healthcare

Enhanced pension contributions 5%/10%

ULEV car scheme

Employee Assistance Programme

Retail discounts

Job summary

Cala Homes is seeking a Senior Solutions Engineer to own Salesforce solution design within the Customer Applications Team. You will lead architecture decisions, champion scalable, maintainable, and secure solutions, and maximise standard Salesforce capabilities while ensuring robust delivery.

You will line manage the Customer Team, coach engineers, and ensure high-quality documentation and testing across the development pipeline. Office-based in Edinburgh with two days per week at head office.

Qualifications

• 5+ years’ experience on the Salesforce platform.
• Salesforce Administrator certification at minimum; Platform App Builder and advanced certifications desirable.
• Experience in complex solution design and technical decision-making.
• Experience deploying changes from test to production; knowledge of Copado desirable.
• Knowledge of SDLC and Agile (Scrum).
• Experience with Jira and Confluence.

Responsibilities

• Lead gathering and documentation of business problems, requirements, user stories and acceptance criteria.
• Design and build solutions using Salesforce out-of-the-box functionality to meet customer needs.
• Provide technical leadership for Salesforce and govern solution design decisions.
• Set technical standards and ensure quality through reviews and testing.
• Deploy platform changes through the development pipeline following change control best practice.
• Create and maintain detailed solution documentation in a central repository.
• Manage technical health of the Salesforce platform and minimise technical debt.
• Troubleshoot and resolve technical issues; build stakeholder relationships.
• Line manage and coach Solutions Engineers, supporting performance and development.
• Plan workload distribution across the team and align with product/architecture.

Skills

Salesforce platform

Salesforce Administrator certified

Platform App Builder

Agile (Scrum)

Jira

Confluence

Copado

Salesforce managed packages

Design governance

Technical leadership

Education

Salesforce Administrator certification (minimum)

Tools

Copado

Jira

Confluence

Job description

Role Purpose:

As the Senior Solutions Engineer in our Customer Applications Team, you will own Salesforce solution design, the core Sales and Customer Service application used to deliver an outstanding customer journey. Your goal will be to ensure we deliver robust, maintainable solutions that add value to our end users and ultimately our customers.

You will be the Salesforce technical lead providing overall ownership and governance of solution architecture and design decisions. Champion the delivery of scalable, maintainable, and secure solutions, maximising the use of standard Salesforce capabilities and out-of-the-box functionality wherever appropriate. Ensure robust software delivery and quality assurance processes are established, continuously improved, and consistently adhered to across the team.

You will line manage members of the Customer Team, supporting their performance, development and wellbeing, while helping to build the capability and effectiveness of the wider team.

This role is office-based, requiring a minimum of two days per week at our Head Office in Edinburgh.

Key Responsibilities / Deliverables:

• Lead the gathering, understanding and documentation of business problems, detailed system requirements, user stories and acceptance criteria.
  
• Lead the design and build of solutions that use out-of-the-box Salesforce functionality and best practice to meet customer needs whilst supporting company and product roadmap objectives.
  
• Provide technical leadership for Salesforce and act as the final decision-maker on solution design within the platform, balancing user needs, maintainability, platform standards and technical debt.
  
• Set and uphold technical and quality standards for Salesforce solutions, including peer review, testing and assurance against acceptance criteria.
  
• Deploy platform changes through the development pipeline following change control best practice.
  
• Create and maintain detailed documentation for all solutions to ensure business problems, user stories, acceptance criteria, solution designs, test plans and support guides are thoroughly and consistently documented using standard templates and centralised repository.
  
• Own the technical health of the Salesforce platform, working with the team to minimise technical debt, improve maintainability and manage platform risk.
  
• Troubleshoot and resolve technical issues should they arise.
  
• Establish and maintain positive working relationships with internal and external customers, team members and vendors/partners, providing clear technical guidance and constructive challenge.
  
• Line manage team members, setting clear objectives, providing regular feedback and coaching, and supporting their performance, development and wellbeing.
  
• Coach and mentor Solutions Engineers, encouraging consistent use of Salesforce standards, sound engineering practices and effective documentation.
  
• Plan and oversee the allocation of technical work across the team, helping to manage priorities, dependencies and delivery risks.
  
• Work with product, architecture, engineering and delivery colleagues to ensure Salesforce decisions are understood and fit effectively with the wider technology landscape.
  
• Spend 10% of your time on personal development that supports individual and business needs.

About You

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• 5+ years’ experience working on the Salesforce platform.
• Salesforce Administrator certified as a minimum. Platform App Builder and one or more relevant advanced Salesforce certifications are desirable.
  
• Substantial experience in a Salesforce Administrator, Solutions Engineer or similar role, including responsibility for complex solution design and technical decision-making.
  
• Proven expertise in configuring scalable Salesforce solutions using out-of-the-box features, with sound judgement on when alternative approaches are appropriate.
  
• Experience of deploying changes from test to production environments – knowledge of Copado, or similar, is desirable.
  
• Working knowledge of Software Development Life Cycle and Agile (Scrum) project methodologies.
  
• Experience of Jira and Confluence desirable.
  
• Experience working with Salesforce managed packages.
• Knowledge of any of the following packages is desirable – Conga Composer & Sign, Asperato, Natterbox, Own Backup, Onfido.
  
• Strong written, interpersonal and leadership skills, with the ability to explain technical decisions clearly and collaborate effectively with stakeholders from end users to senior executives.
  
• Strong problem-solving, decision-making and attention to detail, with the confidence to provide constructive challenge and make clear technical decisions.
  
• Experience defining business requirements, writing user stories and creating detailed design and support documentation.
  
• Previous line management, coaching or mentoring experience, with the ability to support performance and professional development.
  
• Experience setting technical standards, reviewing solution designs and taking accountability for design decisions on a business-critical platform.
  

We recognise that a diverse team makes us a stronger and more successful company. We value different ideas and perspectives as it helps improve our decision‑making, products and services. And we’re striving to create an inclusive work environment, in which everyone can feel comfortable as themselves, uniquely contribute and do their best work. If we need to adjust anything in our recruitment process to support you, please contact [e-mail]

About Us

The Cala Group is a major UK housebuilder and leading provider of desirable new homes across Scotland, the South of England & Midlands. Driven by a mission to create vibrant and sustainable new communities, our homes are characterised by exceptional design and sector‑leading build quality, and we have a passion for providing our customers with a great home buying experience. This is an exciting time to be at Cala. Our approach to sustainability and technology is undergoing a dramatic transformation, and we’re aiming to create an industry‑leading experience for both our staff and customers. At Cala, you can expect to be part of an environment which allows you to do meaningful work, while offering opportunities for personal growth. Our goal is to be the favoured employer in our industry and beyond. We encourage applications from those who want to be part of a culture where they can thrive, feel a sense of belonging and be comfortable being themselves at work.

We offer an excellent benefits package of 34 days holiday (including public holidays and increasing by a day each year to a maximum of 40), the option to buy or sell up to 5 days holiday, private healthcare, enhanced salary sacrifice pension contributions of 5% employee, 10% employer, ULEV car scheme, Employee Assistance Programme, retail discounts and much more! (Some benefits will be pro‑rated if you were to join on a part time basis)