Software Engineering Manager - Product Development

Join M&S Software Engineering and help shape the digital future of one of the UK’s most trusted brands. You’ll work on products and platforms that support millions of customers and thousands of colleagues, as part of an organisation investing heavily in becoming digital-first and engineering-led.

We’re looking for a Software Engineering Manager who combines strong technical judgement with a passion for building high-performing teams. This role sits within Fashion, Home & Beauty, in our Commercial Planning sub-domain. The successful candidate will work within the Product Development space, leading engineering teams and providing technical oversight across key programmes and initiatives. You’ll partner with vendors, third-party suppliers and downstream systems to ensure integrations are delivered using robust, scalable and sustainable technical solutions.

This is an opportunity to help shape a best-in-class engineering culture, environment and team. If you’re excited by modern technology, large-scale impact and the chance to influence how engineering is done at M&S, this is a place where you can do some of the best work of your career.

Due to high interest, this role may close earlier than advertised. We recommend applying as soon as possible.

What You'll Do

Your key accountabilities will include:

• Build, mentor and lead a high-performing software engineering team, creating a culture of collaboration, innovation, accountability and continuous improvement.
• Oversee the planning, execution and delivery of software initiatives, ensuring alignment with business objectives, customer outcomes, timelines and strategic priorities.
• Drive engineering excellence through the adoption of strong engineering standards, development methodologies, DevOps practices and modern software delivery approaches.
• Ensure the operational stability, resilience, security and performance of software solutions owned by the team, embedding quality throughout the software development lifecycle.
• Partner closely with Product, Design, Delivery and business stakeholders to define priorities, manage risks and dependencies, and deliver measurable business value.
• Hold vendors, partners and third-party suppliers accountable for engineering quality, delivery standards and operational outcomes, while maintaining strong collaborative relationships.
• Challenge architectural decisions and provide technical leadership to ensure the most effective and scalable solutions are delivered for business requirements.

Who You Are

Your skills and experience will include:

• Previous hands-on experience as a senior polyglot software engineer, with a strong background delivering highly scalable web and backend solutions.
• Significant software engineering experience across a variety of systems, platforms and technologies, with a strong understanding of modern engineering practices.
• Proven experience building, leading and developing high-performing teams of senior engineers who consistently deliver high-quality software solutions.
• Excellent understanding of system design, software architecture, cloud technologies and engineering best practices, with the ability to make effective technical decisions.
• Strong advocate of DevOps principles and a "you build it, you run it" mindset, supported by a solid understanding of testing strategies and reliability engineering.
• Excellent leadership, people management, communication, analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels.
• A servant leadership approach with the ability to lead senior engineers, vendors and technical partners towards successful outcomes without prescribing every detail.

Desirable Experience

• Knowledge of the retail domain, particularly around the clothing product development lifecycle, merchandise planning, commercial planning and associated business processes, would be highly advantageous but is not essential.

Tech Stack

The team uses a variety of technologies, including:

• Backend: Java, Spring, Spring Boot, Micronaut
• Frontend: React, Next.js, TypeScript, Angular
• Cloud & Infrastructure: Azure Cloud, Kubernetes
• Observability: Dynatrace
• Databases: SQL Server, MongoDB
• Caching & Performance: Ignite, Redis

What’s in it for you?

Working at M&S means being part of something bigger – helping to deliver quality, value and service to millions of customers every day. We’re inclusive, fast-moving and always evolving, with a strong sense of purpose and a focus on doing the right thing.

Here are just a few of the benefits that make working here even more rewarding:

• 20% colleague discount on all M&S products and many third-party brands for you and someone in your household, available once you’ve completed your probation.
• Competitive holiday allowance with the option to buy more.
• Discretionary bonus schemes linked to your performance and ours.
• Strong pension and life assurance to help plan for the future.
• Tailored induction and training to support your development from day one.
• Exclusive perks and savings through our M&S Choices portal.
• Market-leading family policies, including parental, adoption and neonatal leave.
• 24/7 wellbeing support, including virtual GP access and mental health services.
• One paid volunteer day a year to support a cause that matters to you.

Everyone’s Welcome

We are ambitious about the future of retail. We’re disrupting, innovating and leading the industry into a more conscientious, inspiring digital era. We’re transforming how we work together and offering our most exciting opportunities yet. Marks & Spencer strives to be an inclusive organisation, trusted and admired by our colleagues, customers and suppliers. Join us and make change happen.

We are committed to building diverse and representative teams, where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and be at their best. We support each other and work together to win together.

If you feel you'd benefit from any support or reasonable adjustments during any stage of the recruitment process, please don’t hesitate to let us know when completing your application. This information will be picked up by our team, so we can try and put steps in place to help you be at your best through this process.

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