Staff Software Engineer – Java – React (Digital & Payments)

Wed all like amazing work to do, and real work-life balance. Thats waiting for you at Sainsburys. Think about the scale it takes for us to feed the nation. The level of data, transactions and variety it involves. Then youll realise that ours is a modern software engineering environment because it has to be. Weve made serious investment into a Tech Academy and into setting standards and principles. We iterate, learn, experiment and push ways of working such as Agile, Scrum and XP. So you can look forward to awesome opportunities in everything from AI to reusable tech.About the RoleAs aStaff Engineer, you’ll be a hands-on technical leader who drives engineering excellence across multiple teams. Youll work on complex, high-scale systems, design solutions that support millions of customer interactions, and help teams deliver highquality, robust and scalable products.This is a role for someone who loves solving tough problems, mentoring engineers, influencing technical direction, and operating across a broad architecture landscape. Youll work closely with engineering leaders, peers and stakeholders to set strategic direction, raise engineering standards, and deliver real value for our customers.Youll also help us leverage AI and automation to scale our capabilities and enhance both colleague and customer experiences.What Youll Be DoingShaping strategic technical direction alongside the Senior Head of Engineering.Partnering with engineering teams to evaluate decisions, influence design, and guide delivery.Acting as a coach and mentor to engineers at all levels, promoting strong engineering practices.Providing hands-on development expertise where it matters most.Working across domains in Sainsburys Tech to build reusable, consistent and scalable solutions.Being a trusted technical point of contact, supporting teams to achieve their best work.Helping expand our engineering career pathways and improving how we attract and develop talent.Why Join Us?Were a 150yearold organisation with the mindset of a modern tech company.We run over 1,000+ microservices in AWS, Azure and GCPStream billions of Kafka messages across our platformsServe 10+ million Nectar usersPower Argos one of the UKs biggest retail websitesOperate large-scale supply chain systems delivering products across the UKYoull broaden your technical knowledge, solve complex engineering challenges and make a genuine impact at enterprise scale.Essential CriteriaTechnical ExpertiseSignificant hands-on engineering experience across backend and frontend technologies.Strong proficiency in at least one modern programming language (e.g.Java, React, Next.js).Proven experience designing and implementing scalable, robust and secure systems.Strong knowledge of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure or GCP) and modern distributed architectures.Proven ability to guide teams in best practices, engineering principles and solution design.Leadership & InfluenceAbility to mentor, coach and technically inspire engineers at all levels.Experience influencing technical decisions and aligning teams around a clear engineering vision.Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.Ways of WorkingSolid understanding of Agile methodologies and the ability to support highperforming, longlived teams.Ability to evaluate risk, drive continuous improvement and support teams through change.MindsetCustomerobsessed, adaptable and eager to embrace new challenges.Passionate about innovation, learning, and delivering highquality solutions.Whats in It for YouFlexible working tailored to your lifestyleColleague discount across Sainsburys, Argos and HabitatHealth cover and wellbeing supportCompetitive holiday allowanceBonus scheme and pension planExclusive discounts on gyms, restaurants, travel, retail and moreIf youre ready to take the lead, push boundaries and help shape the future of technology at Sainsburys, wed love to hear from you.We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer, so youll be welcomed whoever you are and wherever you work. Around here, theres always the chance to try something new – whether thats as part of an evolving team or somewhere else across the business – and we take development seriously and promise to support you. We also recognise and celebrate colleagues when they go the extra mile and, where possible, offer flexible working. When you join our team, well also offer you an amazing range of benefits. Here are some of them:Starting off with colleague discount, you’ll be able to get 10% off at Sainsbury’s, Argos, TU and Habitat after 4 weeks. This increases to 15% off at Sainsburys every Friday and Saturday and 15% off at Argos every pay day. We’ve also got you covered for your future with our pensions scheme and life cover. You’ll also be able to share in our success as you may be eligible for a performance-related bonus of up to 20% of salary, depending on how we perform.Your wellbeing is important to us too. You’ll receive an annual holiday allowance, and you can buy additional holiday. We also offer other benefits that will help your money go further such as season ticket loans, interest free car loan of up to 10k, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, pay advance (where you can access some of your pay before pay day) as well access to a great range of discounts from hundreds of other retailers. And if you ever need it there is also an Employee Assistance Programme, you will also be eligible for private healthcare too.Moments that matter are as important to us as they are to you which is why we give up to 26 weeks pay for maternity or adoption leave and up to 4 weeks pay for paternity leave.Please see www.sainsburys.jobs for a range of our benefits (note, length of service and eligibility criteria may apply)….