Staff Software Engineer - Engine by Starling

Starling; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

33 days holiday

Life insurance

Private medical insurance

Salary sacrifice pension scheme

Cycle to Work scheme

Job summary

Starling is looking for a Backend Software Engineer to join its Engine platform team in Manchester. As a part of a hybrid work culture, you'll lead projects, ensure technical excellence, and collaborate with stakeholders.

The role requires strong Java skills, a solid understanding of DevOps practices, and the ability to mentor teammates. With generous benefits including 33 days holiday and private medical insurance, Starling promotes a supportive work environment.

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of distributed systems and delivering change.
• Experience in a cloud-native environment.
• Able to coach and mentor teammates.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex projects and take ownership of technical challenges.
• Collaborate with various stakeholders to meet goals.
• Contribute to and build new features on the Engine platform.

Skills

Java

DevOps practices

Technical leadership

Microservices architecture

Collaboration

Tools

AWS

GCP

Kubernetes

Terraform

TeamCity

Job description

Overview

At Engine by Starling, we are on a mission to collaborate with leading banks worldwide to build rapidly growing businesses using our technology.

Engine is Starling's software-as-a-service (SaaS) business, spun off as a separate entity two years ago. The platform powers Starling and is now available to banks and financial institutions globally, delivering innovative digital features and efficient back‑office processes.

Hybrid Working

We adopt a hybrid approach to working. Our preference is that you are located within a commutable distance of our offices so we can collaborate in person.

About Engineering at Engine by Starling

We are looking for Backend Software Engineers to work on the Engine Platform, maintaining existing features for banks worldwide and building new features that have not yet been released in the UK market. Engineers at Engine are motivated to deliver new features regardless of their primary tech stack.

Staff Engineer Responsibilities

• Lead multiple complex projects from inception through to run
• Act as a Technical Leader, with or without a team to manage
• Take ownership of critical technical challenges
• Identify opportunities to enhance tooling, applications, or processes and deliver innovative change
• Collaborate with clients, solution architects, product owners, and engineers to meet client goals
• Develop a wide understanding of how banks operate worldwide
• Shape Engine’s future capabilities, including tooling, automation, and architecture
• Lead by example, setting a high bar for code quality and engineering practices

Engineer Responsibilities

• Contribute to our award‑winning platform and internal tooling
• Build new features and products from scratch in a configurable way
• Share knowledge and contribute to a learning culture
• Own projects, working in small teams across the bank to deliver collaboratively
• Pursue greatness, stay curious and inquisitive
• Participate in a scaling team and organization, changing banking for good

Requirements

We value aptitude and attitude over specific experience. We code primarily in Java and emphasize clean code, simple solutions, automated testing, and continuous deployment. If you enjoy solving complex technical problems, we want to hear from you.

• Delivering change to critical systems in a distributed environment
• Maintaining a high standard of technical excellence in your work
• Good understanding of DevOps practices
• Delivering complex outcomes across multiple domains and teams
• Working cross‑functionally with technologists and non‑technical stakeholders
• Coaching and mentoring teammates to upskill
• Leading the technical delivery of large scale projects to successful completion

Backend Tech Stack

• Java (core backend codebase)
• AWS & GCP – cloud‑native operations
• Microservice architecture
• Kubernetes (EKS)
• TeamCity for CI/CD with multiple production releases per day
• Terraform and Grafana

Interview Process

• Initial interview with an Engineer – 45 minutes
• Take‑home technical test to be discussed in the next interview
• Technical interview with Engineers – 1.5 hours
• Final interview with CTO/deputy CTO – 45 minutes

Benefits

• 33 days holiday (including public holidays)
• Extra day off for your birthday
• Annual leave increases with length of service; you may buy or sell up to five extra days
• 16 hours paid volunteering time per year
• Salary sacrifice and company‑enhanced pension scheme
• Life insurance at 4× salary & group income protection
• Private medical insurance with VitalityHealth, including mental health support and cancer care; partner benefits such as discounts with Waitrose, Mr & Mrs Smith and Peloton
• Generous family‑friendly policies
• Refer‑A‑Friend incentive scheme
• Perkbox membership granting retail discounts, wellness platform, and weekly perks
• Initiatives like Cycle to Work, salary‑sacrificed gym partnerships and electric vehicle leasing

Equal Opportunity Employer

Engine by Starling is an equal opportunity employer. We consider applicants without regard to race, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, physical or mental disability, or veteran status.

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