Marks and Spencer
Principal Software Engineer- Store Operations

How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
This position is hybrid with 2 days per week in our offices in Paddington and 3 days per week remotely.
Summary
The Principal Engineer is the most senior engineer in the company and plays a crucial role in delivering our business goals. They are technical leaders responsible for setting technical direction, driving engineering excellence, and aligning technology with business strategy. This role combines deep technical expertise with strong leadership, mentorship, and cross-functional influence to deliver robust, scalable solutions and foster a high-performing engineering culture.
This role is aligned with Store Operations in Retail Domain and will partner closely with the Head of Engineering and the Solution Architect in the Store Ops sub-domain. Being creative, curious, and confident, you will be an integral part of our empowered, self-managing, multi-disciplinary Engineering teams - designing, building, releasing, and maintaining products. Full Stack and/or Native Mobile application background would align best; however, it’s your passion for designing and delivering the best tech solutions to our colleagues in stores would count the most!
What You'll Do
Technical leadership & strategy
- Lead system design and solution architecture across multiple teams and domains.
- Own and drive the technical strategy and roadmap for the area of responsibility.
- Make and communicate architectural decisions, ensuring alignment with business goals.
- Define and uphold technical standards, quality, and best practices.
Reasons to use Rodeo
I’m in my final year doing Economics and I don’t know whether to apply for grad schemes now or do a masters first. What do you think?
Honest answer — it depends on where you want to end up. A lot of top grad schemes (Big 4, civil service, banking) don’t need a masters. Let’s look at the ones you’d be competitive for now, and we can decide if a masters actually adds anything.
Also worth knowing: most autumn 2026 applications are open now. Timing matters more than you think.
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
Graduate Consultant — 2026 Scheme
Why you're a good match
StrongYour economics background and your summer at a regional bank line up with what PwC looks for on the consulting scheme. Applications close in four weeks.
See breakdownIt searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Why you're a good match
You’ve got the grades and the economics background, and your bank internship is exactly the experience this scheme looks for. Apply soon — deadlines close within the month.
Experience fit
Your summer at the bank plus your econometrics coursework map directly to the day-one responsibilities on this scheme — client modelling, market briefings, and deal support.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
Mentorship & team development
- Mentor and coach engineering managers, staff, and key engineers to develop technical and leadership skills.
- Provide actionable feedback and foster continuous improvement across teams.
- Uphold high hiring standards and contribute to talent development.
Business alignment & representation
- Act as a bridge between business and engineering, ensuring objectives are aligned.
- Influence product and business strategy by articulating technical trade-offs.
- Represent engineering in strategic discussions, planning, and external forums.
Operational excellence
- Ensure quality, reliability, and security are embedded in all engineering processes.
- Lead incident response and provide expert support for critical issues.
- Identify and address productivity bottlenecks; drive tooling improvements.
Who You Are
- Extensive experience in system design, architecture, and technical leadership across complex domains.
- Proven ability to set and deliver technical strategy and roadmaps.
- Strong mentoring and coaching skills.
- Experience aligning technology with business objectives and influencing strategy, ideally on the enterprise level or in large organisations.
- Deep understanding of engineering best practices, quality, and operational excellence.


Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
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.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills
Location