Staff Engineer - Comparison Capabilities

Compare the Market; Peterborough; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

Compare the Market is seeking a Staff Engineer to lead comparison capabilities and platform scale. You will own end-to-end technical outcomes, define architecture, and drive guardrails enabling rapid product delivery.

You will mentor engineers, evaluate new technologies, and partner with product leaders to align technical strategy with business goals. London or Peterborough, hybrid work may be considered.

Qualifications

• Proven hands-on software engineering with scale-out platforms.
• Experience defining platform architectures and shared services.
• Ownership of technical outcomes across multiple teams.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end technical outcomes for new product platforms.
• Define strategy, roadmaps, and guardrails for rapid product scaling.
• Lead and mentor engineers in architectural thinking and decision making.
• Evaluate new technologies and approaches to support growth.
• Collaborate with managers, architects, and stakeholders to align direction.

Skills

Software architecture

Distributed systems

Cloud-native technologies

AI-assisted tooling

Spec Driven Development

Engineering governance

Stakeholder management

Tech leadership

Job description

Staff Engineer – Comparison Capabilities

Job Description

Function: Technology

Location: London/ Peterborough

Curious about what's next?

So are we. Join Compare the Market and help to make financial decision making a breeze for millions. At Compare the Market, we're a purpose-driven business powered by tech and AI. We're building high-performing, results-driven teams with the skills, mindset, and ambition to deliver outcomes at pace. Every role here plays a part in driving our mission forward, and we create an environment where you can bring your authentic self, grow a truly characterful career, and see the direct impact of your work on the lives of our customers. We've carved a meerkat-shaped niche and we're looking for ambitious, curious thinkers who thrive in a fast-moving, high-impact environment. If you love accountability, embrace challenge, and want to make a real difference, you'll fit right in.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Own and deliver end-to-end technical outcomes for new product platforms and shared capabilities, ensuring alignment with business objectives and long-term strategic goals.
• Define, evolve, and communicate technical strategy, target architectures, domain roadmaps, and engineering guardrails that support the rapid creation and scaling of new products.
• Champion and scale our agentic, Spec Driven Development operating model, leveraging specifications and AI-assisted tooling to improve engineering quality, consistency, and delivery speed.
• Design and implement platform capabilities, services, APIs, and integration patterns that enable product teams to build and launch new customer propositions efficiently.
• Lead the technical discovery and definition of emerging product opportunities, helping teams navigate ambiguity and make informed architectural decisions.
• Drive initiatives that simplify the technical estate, reduce duplication, increase platform adoption, and create reusable building blocks across the organisation.
• Take end-to-end accountability for significant technical decisions, balancing customer value, engineering quality, scalability, speed, cost, and risk.
• Act as a technical leader and escalation point for complex platform, architecture, or delivery challenges.
• Evaluate and introduce new technologies, frameworks, and approaches that support innovation, experimentation, and future business growth.
• Raise engineering capability by mentoring senior engineers and supporting the development of architectural thinking, technical leadership, and decision-making.
• Partner closely with engineering managers, product leaders, architects, and stakeholders to align technical direction with strategic business outcomes.
• Contribute to organisation-wide engineering standards, best practices, and communities of practice, influencing through expertise and leadership.

What We’d Like To See From You

• Extensive hands-on software engineering experience, with a strong track record of designing and delivering scalable platforms, products, or complex distributed systems.
• Strong experience defining platform architectures, shared services, APIs, integration patterns, and reusable capabilities that enable multiple teams to deliver efficiently.
• Proven experience owning technical outcomes across multiple teams, programmes, or domains, influencing strategic direction beyond direct reporting lines.
• Deep understanding of software architecture, cloud-native technologies, distributed systems, reliability, observability, security, and performance engineering.
• Experience designing platforms that support rapid product innovation, experimentation, and scalable growth.
• Strong ability to navigate ambiguity and make sound technical decisions within evolving business and product environments.
• Practical experience applying AI-assisted tooling and agentic ways of working, ideally with Spec Driven Development or a comparable specification-led approach, alongside a clear perspective on scaling these practices effectively.
• Experience establishing engineering standards, governance, and technical guardrails whilst empowering teams to move quickly and independently.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence senior leaders and align technical strategy to business priorities.
• Demonstrated contribution to organisation-wide technology standards, architectural direction, and engineering communities of practice.

Why Compare the Market?

We’re a business built for pace and performance. Here, you’ll be encouraged to think differently, act boldly, and deliver brilliantly in a culture that values results and rewards progress.

We believe diverse teams make better decisions, and we’re committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone feels empowered to grow, contribute, and thrive.

If you’re ready to stretch yourself, raise the bar, and grow with a team that’s serious about performance, innovation, and purpose.