Staff Software Engineer - Full-Stack

Staff Engineer · Staff · Full Time

London - The River Building HQGBP 180k – 240k3d ago
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Role

What you'll do.

Staff Software Engineer role at Deliveroo's London office leading technical architecture and strategic initiatives across a three-sided marketplace serving millions of customers. This position requires proven expertise in designing scalable web systems, operating high-traffic infrastructure handling 20,000+ requests per minute, and leading cross-functional engineering teams through complex technical challenges in a modern polyglot tech stack environment.

Responsibilities

  • Technical Authority and Expert Review: Serve as subject matter expert providing high-level technical reviews, architectural guidance, and strategic advice across multiple engineering teams, establishing best practices and raising engineering standards across the organization.
  • Scalable Architecture Design: Define and architect technical solutions for complex business problems within high-traffic environments handling 20,000+ requests per minute, ensuring systems remain performant, resilient, and maintainable at scale.
  • Technical Roadmap Leadership: Influence long-term technical strategy and roadmap direction for critical infrastructure systems, managing project timelines, identifying technical risks, and advocating for sustainable delivery paces across engineering teams.
  • Engineering Mentorship and Development: Support professional growth of engineers at all levels through mentoring, code reviews, and technical coaching; partner with emerging engineering leaders to scale engineering culture and develop future technical talent.
  • Technical Recruitment and Interview Leadership: Lead engineering interviews, contribute to hiring strategy development, conduct technical assessments, and help maintain high hiring standards to attract and retain world-class engineering talent.
  • Cross-Team Alignment and Problem Solving: Act as a bridge between non-adjacent teams, aligning multiple disciplines toward common technical objectives, and resolving ambiguous, unstructured challenges that impact the entire organization.

Qualifications

What we look for.

Technical

  • Extensive Web Application Development

    Significant production experience building and shipping web-based applications using modern technology stacks; expertise in Go, Ruby, Python, Scala, or comparable languages with demonstrated ability to work effectively across multiple programming paradigms.

  • High-Scale Web Architecture Design and Operation

    Proven track record designing and operating web architecture systems that handle substantial request volumes, specifically systems processing 10,000+ requests per minute with deep understanding of performance optimization, caching strategies, and load distribution.

  • Relational Database Expertise

    Strong hands-on experience with relational databases including PostgreSQL and MySQL, demonstrating expertise in schema design, query optimization, indexing strategies, replication, and managing databases in production environments at scale.

  • NoSQL and Advanced Data Systems

    Practical experience with NoSQL backends and specialized data systems including Redis for caching and session management, DynamoDB for distributed key-value storage, and Elasticsearch for search and analytics workloads.

  • Distributed Systems and Infrastructure

    Deep understanding of distributed systems concepts, microservices architecture, asynchronous processing, eventual consistency models, containerization, and experience working with container orchestration platforms and infrastructure-as-code approaches.

  • System Design and Architecture Patterns

    Strong competency in system design methodologies, architectural patterns for scalability and fault tolerance, API design principles, and ability to make technology trade-offs informed by business requirements and operational constraints.

Education

  • Computer Science Foundation

    Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or equivalent professional experience demonstrating computer science fundamentals including algorithms, data structures, and system design principles.

Experience

  • Staff or Senior+ Level Engineering Experience

    Minimum 10+ years of software engineering experience with at least 3-4 years in senior or staff-level positions, demonstrating progression through increasing levels of responsibility and technical complexity.

  • Large-Scale Marketplace or Platform Systems

    Experience building or operating complex systems within marketplaces, platforms, or multi-sided ecosystems with millions of concurrent users; exposure to logistics optimization, real-time data processing, or similar domain problems is valuable.

  • Technical Leadership and Mentorship

    Demonstrated ability to mentor junior and mid-level engineers, influence technical decisions across teams, contribute to hiring and culture-building efforts, and grow as a technical leader without formal management titles.

  • Cross-Functional Problem Solving

    Experience navigating ambiguous technical challenges requiring collaboration across engineering, product, and operations teams; comfort with making architectural decisions in uncertain environments with incomplete information.

Skills

Required

  • Go (Golang)

    Production-grade experience building concurrent, high-performance systems with Go, understanding of goroutines, channels, and Go's memory model for building scalable backend services.

  • System Architecture and Design

    Expert-level ability to design distributed systems, make architectural trade-offs, and translate business requirements into scalable technical solutions with consideration for performance, reliability, and maintainability.

  • PostgreSQL Administration and Optimization

    Advanced database skills including query optimization, index design, replication setup, backup strategies, and production troubleshooting to maintain high performance at scale.

  • Infrastructure and DevOps Fundamentals

    Understanding of cloud infrastructure concepts, containerization, service deployment, monitoring systems, and ability to collaborate effectively with infrastructure and platform engineering teams.

  • Technical Leadership Communication

    Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both engineering and non-technical stakeholders, influence architectural decisions, and document decisions for long-term organizational knowledge.

Preferred

  • Python Programming

    Nice to have

    Experience with Python for building backend services, data processing pipelines, or scripting; familiarity with Python frameworks like Django or FastAPI for web application development.

  • Ruby and Ruby on Rails

    Nice to have

    Experience with Ruby language and Rails framework for rapid application development, demonstrating understanding of convention-over-configuration principles and ActiveRecord ORM patterns.

  • Scala Development

    Nice to have

    Experience building systems with Scala, particularly in data processing or functional programming contexts; understanding of Play Framework or similar Scala web frameworks.

  • Redis and Caching Architectures

    Nice to have

    Hands-on experience designing and implementing caching strategies using Redis, understanding cache invalidation patterns, distributed caching, and session management at scale.

  • Elasticsearch and Search Systems

    Nice to have

    Experience designing and operating full-text search systems using Elasticsearch, including index design, query optimization, and building recommendation or search-heavy features.

  • Logistics and Marketplace Domain Knowledge

    Nice to have

    Experience working in food delivery, transportation, logistics, or multi-sided marketplace platforms, understanding unique challenges of real-time operations and resource optimization.

  • AWS Cloud Services

    Nice to have

    Hands-on experience with AWS services including EC2, RDS, DynamoDB, S3, Lambda, and CloudFront; understanding of serverless architectures and managed services for scalable systems.

  • Mentoring and Technical Coaching

    Nice to have

    Demonstrated experience mentoring engineers, conducting technical interviews, and fostering engineering culture; ability to communicate technical concepts effectively to engineers at varying experience levels.

Tech stack

Languages

GoRubyPythonScala

Frameworks

Ruby on RailsFastAPI

Databases

PostgreSQLMySQLRedisDynamoDBElasticsearch

Tools

DockerKubernetesGit and GitHubAWS

Other

Microservices ArchitectureReal-Time Data ProcessingSystem Design and ScalabilityObservability and Monitoring

Compensation

Pay and benefits.

Base·GBP 180,000 – 240,000

Equity·Stock options

Benefits

  • Competitive Equity Package

    Share in Deliveroo's success through equity options enabling staff engineers to benefit from the company's growth trajectory and long-term value creation as part of the DoorDash portfolio.

  • Flexible Work Arrangements

    Hybrid working structure with 3 days per week in London office, providing flexibility to balance focused deep work from home with collaborative in-office engineering sessions and team building.

  • Career Development and Growth

    Access to mentorship from senior leaders, technical skill development opportunities, conference attendance budgets, and clear pathways for continued growth within a high-performing engineering organization.

  • Continuous Learning Culture

    Commitment to ongoing professional development through training programs, internal tech talks, engineering blogs, and exposure to cutting-edge technology challenges at marketplace scale.

  • Global Scale and Impact

    Work on systems impacting millions of customers, riders, and restaurant partners daily; exposure to world-class engineering challenges in logistics optimization, marketplace algorithms, and infrastructure scaling.

  • Diverse and Inclusive Environment

    Culture committed to equality of opportunity welcoming candidates from all backgrounds; inclusive workplace supporting various needs including reasonable adjustments during recruitment and employment.

  • Collaborative Engineering Culture

    High-ownership, low-hierarchy environment fostering collaboration across teams; culture built for builders with strong standards, technical excellence, and supportive peer relationships.

  • DoorDash Global Network Access

    As part of DoorDash family, staff engineers gain access to global team resources, knowledge sharing across Deliveroo, Wolt, and DoorDash platforms, and expanded career opportunities across the ecosystem.

Process

Interview steps.

  1. 01

    Application and Resume Review

    Initial screening of application materials evaluating technical background, relevant experience, and alignment with staff-level engineering expectations including system design expertise and technical leadership demonstrations.

  2. 02

    Initial Screening Conversation

    Phone or video call with recruiter to discuss career trajectory, motivations for joining Deliveroo, understanding of marketplace challenges, and preliminary assessment of cultural fit and role expectations.

  3. 03

    Technical Depth Assessment

    Technical interview focusing on system design, architectural decision-making, and deep expertise in databases, scalability, or infrastructure areas; discussion of past project challenges and technical solutions implemented.

  4. 04

    Leadership and Influence Interview

    Behavioral interview exploring technical leadership capabilities, mentoring experiences, cross-team influence, how candidate has navigated ambiguous problems, and examples of raising engineering standards within teams.

  5. 05

    Final Round with Engineering Leadership

    Conversations with senior engineering managers or directors assessing strategic thinking, alignment with Deliveroo's technical vision, organizational impact potential, and mutual culture fit for collaborative environment.

Full posting

Original listing.

Staff Software Engineer - Full Stack

Join us in our mission to transform the way people shop and eat, where impact, innovation and growth drive everything we do. Our Engineering teams tackle complex technical challenges across a global, three-sided marketplace, building and scaling systems that serve millions of customers, riders and partners every day.

From real-time logistics to resilient infrastructure and marketplace optimisation, we design, build and operate technology that powers Deliveroo’s growth at scale.

We’re looking for a Staff Software Engineer - Full Stack to join our London team (hybrid, 3 days from the office). In this role, you’ll help us define technical solutions for critical business problems and lead the technical direction for complex, high-scale systems.

Get to know our Engineering team — what drives us, how we work, and what you can expect.

 

What You’ll Be Doing

You’ll be joining a high-impact engineering group focused on solving unstructured and ambiguous challenges. You will act as a technical authority, aligning non-adjacent teams to deliver results that move the needle for the entire organisation.

Here’s what your day-to-day might look like:

  • Drive Technical Excellence: Act as a subject matter expert, providing high-level reviews and technical advice across multiple teams.

  • Architect Scalable Solutions: Define and design technical solutions for complex business problems within a high-traffic environment (20krpm+).

  • Lead Strategic Direction: Influence the long-term technical roadmap and manage project timelines, risks, and sustainable delivery paces.

  • Mentor & Coach: Support the growth of engineers across all levels and partner with up-and-coming leaders to scale our engineering culture.

  • Shape the Team: Lead engineering interviews and contribute to recruiting strategy to ensure we maintain a high bar for talent.

What You’ll Need to Thrive

Our ideal candidate will bring strong expertise in some of these areas and curiosity to grow in others:

  • Significant experience building web-based applications in a modern stack; we use Go, Ruby, Python, and Scala, and we’re looking for someone keen to work across them.

  • Proven ability to design and operate web architecture at scale, specifically with systems handling significant request volumes.

  • Demonstrated ownership of relational databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL) and experience with "NoSQL" backends such as Redis, DynamoDB, or Elasticsearch.

  • High-Scale Architecture: Proven ability to design and operate systems handling massive request volumes and complex logistical workflows.

  • Strategic Leadership: Strong understanding of how to align multiple disciplines and teams to resolve ambiguous technical challenges.

Why Join Us?

At Deliveroo, you’ll do work that matters—solving real-world problems in a three-sided marketplace that’s constantly evolving. We’re food lovers, problem solvers, community builders and more, brought together by a shared drive to make things better. Working here you can expect to:

🔧 Solve meaningful problems at real scale Work on a complex, always-on marketplace that impacts millions every day.

🌱 See your impact, fast Ship, test and improve ideas quickly in a low-hierarchy, high-ownership environment.

🧠 Grow through challenge and ownership Take on big, ambiguous problems and accelerate your career with strong support.

🌎 A culture built for builders High standards, collaboration, flexible working and continuous learning.

💰 Share in the success you help create Competitive salary and equity options, so you’re rewarded for the impact you make.

➡️ Want a deeper look at how we build? Check out our Tech Blog.

We aim to create a fair process that lets your skills shine—our interview typically includes 3-4 stages. Explore our Engineering Interview Guide here to help you feel confident at each stage.


Our Global Structure

Deliveroo is now part of DoorDash, bringing together teams with even greater reach, scale, and ambition. Depending on your role, you may collaborate with teammates, systems, and leaders across DoorDash and Wolt. Together, we’re unlocking new possibilities as one global team.


Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

At Deliveroo, we know that a great workplace reflects the world around us and that true diversity and inclusion make us stronger, more creative, and better at what we do. We’re committed to fostering an environment where everyone can do their best work and feel they belong.

We believe in equality of opportunity and welcome candidates from all backgrounds regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion, or belief.

If you have a disability or long-term health condition and need support to apply for one of our roles, or require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, you’ll have the opportunity to let us know once you’ve submitted your application. We’ll share details on how to request support so we can ensure you have a fair and equitable experience.

If you’re excited about making a real impact in a fast-moving marketplace and growing your career alongside ambitious, supportive teams, we’d love to hear from you!

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