Head of Software Engineering - Store Operations

Join to apply for the Head of Software Engineering - Store Operations role at Marks and Spencer. As part of the M&S Software Engineering team, you’ll be joining a well‑loved historic brand, working on solutions that serve millions of loyal customers and thousands of colleagues. With ethical values that run right through the company’s core and technology leaders who truly understand software engineers, it’s an exciting time as we’re redefining ourselves into a digital‑first, engineering‑led organisation. The quality of our engineering team is a key differentiator.

What You’ll Do

• Lead Software Engineering Managers to build and maintain high‑quality, reliable software.
• Champion engineering excellence in Store Ops: championing best practices including agile methodologies, DevOps, continuous integration and deployment, test automation, and code quality.
• Drive modernisation of legacy systems whilst ensuring stability and security across our technology estate.
• Line‑manage and develop Engineering Managers to ensure they have the right skills, development plans and bias to learning.
• Maintain and cultivate effective relationships with Product, Delivery, Architecture and InfoSec counterparts to prioritise, problem‑solve & maximise value to market.
• Work with the wider Technology function to implement the technical strategy, adopting the North Star principles. Define and execute the software engineering strategy aligned with our broader business objectives, establishing technical vision, architecture standards and engineering practices that enable scalability, reliability and innovation across our digital platforms, e‑commerce and POS systems, supply‑chain technology and in‑store solutions.

Who You Are

• Previous polyglot hands‑on senior software engineer.
• Excellent knowledge in TechOps/DevOps, Infrastructure, and/or IoT.
• Excellent knowledge across all stack areas, from front‑end through to back‑end.
• Extensive background in software engineering with several years’ experience in a variety of systems and technologies.
• Consistent track record in delivering, operating, leading, hiring and shifting at Product Group level and above.
• Excellent understanding of System Design, Software Architecture, Cloud and Infrastructure best practices.

Tech Stack

• Java, Micronaut, PL/SQL
• ReactJS, Next.js
• Mule, Kafka, MQ
• Cloud – Azure
• CI/CD – AzureOps and GitHub Actions
• Observability – Dynatrace

Benefits

• 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.

Seniority level

Mid‑Senior level

Employment type

Full‑time

Job function

Engineering and Information Technology

Industries

Software Development and Retail