Software Engineering Manager - AI Engineering

Team

Digital & Tech

Store

London Support Office

Location

London, Greater London

Contract type

Permanent

Position type

Full Time

Salary

Competitive + Benefits

Closing date: 10th July 2026

Intro

About the role

Meet the Team

People Stories

Make Your Mark

Colleague Networks

Benefits

How to Apply

How We Hire

Everyone is welcome at M&S. No exceptions. It’s your background, abilities and differences that make you, uniquely you. And when you’re part of M&S, that individuality has the potential to make waves.

About the role

This section tells you all you need to know about the position and its responsibilities, outlining everything we hope to see in a successful candidate.

All the details

We're changing the way we do things, and putting industry leading innovation at the heart of how we operate; we need a stellar engineering team to make it happen. You'll be joining one of the most iconic brands in the UK on its most exciting cycle yet. We're more integrated and product led in our tech teams than ever before: learning, changing, and adapting constantly, with millions of people benefiting from your work every single day.

You’ll be joining the M&S Platform team as a Software Engineering Manager. Our mission is to streamline development at M&S for 200+ engineers and 30+ applications - covering both our customer-facing and colleague-facing applications.

You will manage the team building the AI Engineering platform. You will support the team and help direct the technical vision for how we will build reusable pipelines, tooling, build plugins and frameworks that our many apps will harness to boost the developer experience, while contributing code every step of the way.

We want to make M&S one of the best places for software development, target the latest tooling and enable our engineers to focus on building the best user experience so that they don’t get held up by common engineering and continuous integration problems.

What You'll Do

Being accountable for engineering excellence within your teams, from behaviours to operations, from technical direction to solution in production and from skills and growth to reputation.

Cultivating self-management and accountability throughout the team via leadership, clear sense of purpose and thoughtful talent management.

Lead alignment with the overarching technical strategy and working with the wider Technology organisation to craft it.

Act as a platform owner, apply accurate product thinking to what is being built with a view to enable and empower as much as possible the digital product(s) that it supports through data and customer centricity, driving the related partner management.

Collaborate with the entire engineering leadership, to make us think strategically, to ensure maximum alignment and to maintain a healthy ability to “think big” within their teams.

Line management of supporting Staff and Senior Engineers, as well as driving recruitment and retention within the team.

Act as custodian of OKR’s within your hub.

Supports our engineering communities to drive bar raising and strategic alignment, by creating the space and time within teams for the agenda of these communities to be progressed efficiently.

When vendors are involved, the SEM is positioned as the key technical partner. They own it as a vital part of their platform with the same level of reliability and satisfaction as the in-house capabilities they build and run.

Who You Are

Previous polyglot hands-on senior software engineer

Excellent knowledge in AI coding tools and agentic technologies

Extensive background in software engineering with several years’ experience in a variety of systems and technologies

Experience building and leading teams of highly skilled, senior software engineers that deliver high-quality software.

Excellent understanding of system design, software architecture, cloud, and software engineering standard methodologies,

Promoter of DevOps: you build it, you run it.

Strong understanding of testing strategies and reliability engineering

Excellent people management, interpersonal, analytical, and problem-solving skills

Ability to lead and line manage senior engineers and technical partners to a desired outcome, without prescribing it.

Excellent communication skills, both written and spoken and able to adjust for different, including non-technical audiences.

A servant-leadership mentality that is willing to take ownership of problems.

Able to influence people at senior levels and from the highly technical to non-technical

Our Tech Stack

GitHub Actions, Copilot SDK, and agentic workflows

Model evaluation and quality measurement

Secure AI integrations, identity, and access control

Agent frameworks and orchestration patterns

Cloud deployment and production operations

TypeScript or Kotlin for production software development

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.

#LI-Hybrid #LI-JE1

Meet the Team

Being an in-person business

We're at our best when we're close to customers, and for many of us at M&S, that means working in store every day.

To stay close to customers, our support teams are in the office three days a week as we believe that skills are developed through collaboration, and that spending time together makes us more creative and connected. It also means we can solve problems as soon as they arise, learn and grow as a team, build trust, and get closer to our colleagues.

Deepak

Janak

Halford

Deepak

Janak

Halford

Deepak

Janak

Halford

At M&S, we have Data Scientists, Analysts, and Technical Product Managers, who all share a genuine passion for harnessing data to improve people’s lives. And we’re in a unique position where we can actually help many different kinds of people, from our customers to our colleagues in store and in our support centre.

Deepak (He / Him) | Data Scientist Read full story

I think all engineers just love solving puzzles and problems. At M&S, we’re constantly learning new things, whether it’s mastering Swift UI or understanding how customers interact with technology. But this is also a business that listens to engineers and values what we bring to the table. That’s different, believe me.

Janak (He / Him) | Staff iOS Engineer Read full story

Being in third-party brands, working on things M&S hasn’t done before… that plays to my sweet spot. I’ve worked in many organisations throughout my career, and it’s rare to see such cause and effect in your work. The way we’re structured means you’re encouraged to solve problems and you have the autonomy to make progress quickly.

Halford (He / Him) | Head of Technical Program Management Read full story

At M&S, we have Data Scientists, Analysts, and Technical Product Managers, who all share a genuine passion for harnessing data to improve people’s lives. And we’re in a unique position where we can actually help many different kinds of people, from our customers to our colleagues in store and in our support centre.

Deepak (He / Him) | Data Scientist Read full story

I think all engineers just love solving puzzles and problems. At M&S, we’re constantly learning new things, whether it’s mastering Swift UI or understanding how customers interact with technology. But this is also a business that listens to engineers and values what we bring to the table. That’s different, believe me.

Janak (He / Him) | Staff iOS Engineer Read full story

Being in third-party brands, working on things M&S hasn’t done before… that plays to my sweet spot. I’ve worked in many organisations throughout my career, and it’s rare to see such cause and effect in your work. The way we’re structured means you’re encouraged to solve problems and you have the autonomy to make progress quickly.

Halford (He / Him) | Head of Technical Program Management Read full story

At M&S, we have Data Scientists, Analysts, and Technical Product Managers, who all share a genuine passion for harnessing data to improve people’s lives. And we’re in a unique position where we can actually help many different kinds of people, from our customers to our colleagues in store and in our support centre.

Deepak (He / Him) | Data Scientist Read full story

I think all engineers just love solving puzzles and problems. At M&S, we’re constantly learning new things, whether it’s mastering Swift UI or understanding how customers interact with technology. But this is also a business that listens to engineers and values what we bring to the table. That’s different, believe me.

Janak (He / Him) | Staff iOS Engineer Read full story

Being in third-party brands, working on things M&S hasn’t done before… that plays to my sweet spot. I’ve worked in many organisations throughout my career, and it’s rare to see such cause and effect in your work. The way we’re structured means you’re encouraged to solve problems and you have the autonomy to make progress quickly.

Halford (He / Him) | Head of Technical Program Management Read full story

End of quote slider carousel

Make Your Mark

Upcoming projects

Take part in our M&S Digital & Tech team days. Grow your digital and data skills through our BEAM Academy. Or challenge yourself at one of our business-wide hackathons. We also partner with Women in Data, Databricks and Cajigo to increase opportunities for women in digital and data.

Opportunities to be heard

Your voice and your ideas matter here. Our 8 colleague networks are places to find support, listen to each other and encourage debate. You can pitch ideas ‘Straight to Stuart’, our CEO, or get involved in our BIG (Business involvement Group).

Colleague Networks

We want you to feel supported, no matter what.

Menopause Network

Initiating and encouraging open conversations about menopause by offering support and sharing experiences.

Health and Wellbeing Network

Providing a safe space for colleagues with all types of health conditions or disabilities and supporting with business initiatives to ensure our stores are truly accessible for our customers.

Cancer Network

Fostering a supportive and inclusive workplace culture, addressing stigma, providing guidance and raising awareness to empower and assist colleagues affected by cancer.

Gender Equality Network

Addressing gender-related challenges, raising awareness, and driving action to ensure equal opportunities for all.

Family & Carers Network

A support network for parents and carers, offering a space for colleagues to share experiences, exchange ideas, and access useful resources.

Culture and Heritage Network

Raising awareness of various religions and cultures through events and comms, to educate others and better represent our M&S colleagues and customers.

LGBTQ+ Network

Proactively representing LGBTQ+ issues and opportunities to deliver a truly inclusive place to work and shop for our colleagues and customers.

Forces Community Network

Supporting colleagues connected to the Armed Forces, aiding their transition to civilian life, and ensuring that they thrive in the workplace.

Menopause Network

Initiating and encouraging open conversations about menopause by offering support and sharing experiences.

Health and Wellbeing Network

Providing a safe space for colleagues with all types of health conditions or disabilities and supporting with business initiatives to ensure our stores are truly accessible for our customers.

Cancer Network

Fostering a supportive and inclusive workplace culture, addressing stigma, providing guidance and raising awareness to empower and assist colleagues affected by cancer.

Gender Equality Network

Addressing gender-related challenges, raising awareness, and driving action to ensure equal opportunities for all.

Family & Carers Network

A support network for parents and carers, offering a space for colleagues to share experiences, exchange ideas, and access useful resources.

Culture and Heritage Network

Raising awareness of various religions and cultures through events and comms, to educate others and better represent our M&S colleagues and customers.

LGBTQ+ Network

Proactively representing LGBTQ+ issues and opportunities to deliver a truly inclusive place to work and shop for our colleagues and customers.

Forces Community Network

Supporting colleagues connected to the Armed Forces, aiding their transition to civilian life, and ensuring that they thrive in the workplace.

Menopause Network

Initiating and encouraging open conversations about menopause by offering support and sharing experiences.

Health and Wellbeing Network

Providing a safe space for colleagues with all types of health conditions or disabilities and supporting with business initiatives to ensure our stores are truly accessible for our customers.

Cancer Network

Fostering a supportive and inclusive workplace culture, addressing stigma, providing guidance and raising awareness to empower and assist colleagues affected by cancer.

Gender Equality Network

Addressing gender-related challenges, raising awareness, and driving action to ensure equal opportunities for all.

Family & Carers Network

A support network for parents and carers, offering a space for colleagues to share experiences, exchange ideas, and access useful resources.

Culture and Heritage Network

Raising awareness of various religions and cultures through events and comms, to educate others and better represent our M&S colleagues and customers.

LGBTQ+ Network

Proactively representing LGBTQ+ issues and opportunities to deliver a truly inclusive place to work and shop for our colleagues and customers.

Forces Community Network

Supporting colleagues connected to the Armed Forces, aiding their transition to civilian life, and ensuring that they thrive in the workplace.

End of slider Colleague Networks carousel

Benefits

Wellbeing hub

Get access to resources to support your wellbeing, including a free virtual GP service.

Giving back

Support your favourite charities by donating through your pay or even volunteering for them.

Pay

Earn a competitive salary.

Colleague discount

After completing your probation period, you'll receive 20% colleague discount across all M&S products and many of our third-party brands for you and a member of your household.

Please note only contracts of more than 12 weeks are eligible for this benefit.

Time off

Competitive holiday entitlement with the potential to buy extra holiday days.

Bonus

We have discretionary bonus schemes depending on your role and our business performance.

Life assurance

Get cover for twice your salary up to age 70 (double with our Pension Plan).

Workplace savings

We’ll help you save through our Pension Savings Plan, Share Buy and Sharesave schemes.

My Choices

Save on everyday costs through discounts and offers and get access to great health benefits.

Cycle to work

Bike/accessory hire with Cycle to Work and save on tax and national insurance.

Smart tech

Buy the latest technology with interest-free financing directly from your salary.

Family friendly policy

Industry-leading maternity, paternity, adoption and neo-natal policies, providing support and flexibility for you and your family.

Wellbeing hub

Wellbeing hub

Get access to resources to support your wellbeing, including a free virtual GP service.

Giving back

Giving back

Support your favourite charities by donating through your pay or even volunteering for them.

Pay

Pay

Earn a competitive salary.

Colleague discount

Colleague discount

After completing your probation period, you'll receive 20% colleague discount across all M&S products and many of our third-party brands for you and a member of your household.

Please note only contracts of more than 12 weeks are eligible for this benefit.

Time off

Time off

Competitive holiday entitlement with the potential to buy extra holiday days.

Bonus

Bonus

We have discretionary bonus schemes depending on your role and our business performance.

Life assurance

Life assurance

Get cover for twice your salary up to age 70 (double with our Pension Plan).

Workplace savings

Workplace savings

We’ll help you save through our Pension Savings Plan, Share Buy and Sharesave schemes.

My Choices

My Choices

Save on everyday costs through discounts and offers and get access to great health benefits.

Cycle to work

Cycle to work

Bike/accessory hire with Cycle to Work and save on tax and national insurance.

Smart tech

Smart tech

Buy the latest technology with interest-free financing directly from your salary.

Family friendly policy

Family friendly policy

Industry-leading maternity, paternity, adoption and neo-natal policies, providing support and flexibility for you and your family.

Wellbeing hub

Giving back

Pay

Colleague discount

Time off

Bonus

Life assurance

Workplace savings

My Choices

Cycle to work

Smart tech

Family friendly policy

How to Apply

Here’s what to expect at each stage of the application process. This can change depending on the role you’ve applied to. If you need any reasonable adjustments made at any stage, let us know and we can help.

Send us your application

Fill in our short application form and hit submit.

Online assessment

Depending on the role you are applying for, you may be invited to do an assessment. Your Talent Acquisition Partner will guide and inform you along the way.

Interview

We'll invite you to join us for an interview. This could be remote or in person. Here, we'll ask you some role based technical questions and examine the behaviours we're looking for.

Decision

After we’ve made our decision, we’ll be in touch. If you’ve been successful, we’ll officially invite you to join the team and let you know the next steps.