Engineer

Xero5 days ago

Location

UK: London (7 Devonshire Square)

Type

Full Time

Salary

GBP 65,000 – 95,000

Level

Mid

Role

Backend Engineer

Posted

Jun 4, 2026

Full TimeMid

The role

Summary

Join Xero's newly formed UK Regional Team as an Engineer to deliver critical features for UK market success while collaborating with global teams across accounting, payments, and payroll products. This role offers exposure to a diverse tech stack with opportunities to solve complex problems, influence product direction, and work with a high-calibre engineering team in a "Great Place to Work" certified environment. You'll need strong problem-solving abilities, technical excellence, resilient software design skills, and the versatility to quickly master unfamiliar codebases and domain knowledge across Xero's comprehensive platform.

What you'll do

Feature Delivery and Product Development: Independently deliver critical features across Xero's product suite including Payments, Accounting, and Payroll products. Ensure features address regional UK market needs while maintaining alignment with global product roadmaps. Participate in the complete software development lifecycle from design and implementation through testing and deployment.

Complex Problem Solving: Solve complex technical problems across Xero's cloud-based accounting platform while maintaining technical excellence. Navigate the complexity between regional customer requirements and global engineering priorities to deliver maximum business value and customer impact.

Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with product owners, Lead Engineers, and Senior Engineers across Xero's global organization to design and ship solutions. Communicate effectively with stakeholders at various levels to gather requirements, present technical solutions, and build professional influence across the engineering organization.

Code Quality and Engineering Excellence: Maintain commitment to high-quality engineering practices by writing robust, scalable, and maintainable code ready for long-term ownership by partner teams. Implement resilient software design patterns in an agile development environment to ensure fast-track delivery pace without compromising quality.

Voice of Customer Integration: Respond to the voice of Xero's UK customers to ensure product direction aligns with regional market needs. Translate customer feedback and business requirements into technical solutions that directly drive business success in the UK market.

Knowledge Acquisition and Codebase Mastery: Rapidly ramp up on new technical domains, unfamiliar codebases, and specialized domain knowledge across diverse product areas. Demonstrate versatility in learning new technologies and architectural patterns to maintain productivity across multiple product verticals.

What we look for

Technical

Proficiency in Backend DevelopmentStrong experience in building scalable backend systems and cloud-based applications. Comfortable working with distributed systems, microservices architecture, and cloud infrastructure relevant to modern accounting software platforms.

Software Design and ArchitectureDeep understanding of resilient software design patterns, clean architecture principles, and database design. Ability to design solutions that scale across multiple product domains and integrate seamlessly with existing systems.

Full Development Lifecycle ExperienceHands-on experience with the complete software development cycle including design, implementation, testing, code review, and deployment. Familiarity with version control systems, CI/CD pipelines, and agile development methodologies.

Problem-Solving and Technical AnalysisDemonstrated ability to break down complex problems, perform root cause analysis, and implement effective technical solutions. Experience debugging production issues and optimizing system performance.

Cross-Platform IntegrationExperience integrating multiple systems and APIs, particularly in financial software contexts. Understanding of payment processing, accounting systems integration, and data synchronization challenges.

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or Related FieldFormal education in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Mathematics, or equivalent field. Alternatively, equivalent practical experience demonstrating core computer science fundamentals and software engineering principles.

Continuous Learning MindsetCommitment to ongoing professional development and staying current with modern software engineering practices, cloud technologies, and industry best practices in financial software development.

Experience

Mid-Level Backend Engineering Experience3-6 years of professional software engineering experience with demonstrated progression in technical complexity and responsibility. Proven track record of independently delivering features from requirements through production.

Agile and Resilient DevelopmentHands-on experience working in agile environments with sprint-based delivery. Familiarity with building resilient systems that maintain reliability and performance under varying load conditions and complex business requirements.

Collaboration and CommunicationDemonstrated ability to work effectively in cross-functional teams, communicate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders, and influence engineering decisions through persuasive technical reasoning and proposal of solutions.

Diverse Project ExperienceBackground working on multiple different projects or product areas demonstrating versatility and quick learning ability. Experience ramping up quickly on new codebases and unfamiliar technical domains.

Skills

Required skills

Backend Development LanguagesProficiency in server-side programming languages such as Java, C#, Python, or Go. Strong coding fundamentals with ability to write clean, maintainable, and performant code.

Cloud Platforms and ServicesHands-on experience with major cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud) including compute services, databases, and managed services. Understanding of cloud-native architecture and deployment patterns.

Relational and NoSQL DatabasesPractical experience designing and optimizing database schemas using both SQL (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server) and NoSQL technologies (MongoDB, DynamoDB). Understanding of data modeling, indexing, and query optimization.

RESTful API Design and DevelopmentProficiency in designing and implementing RESTful APIs and web services. Experience with API versioning, error handling, authentication, and documentation standards that facilitate integration across systems.

Debugging and Performance OptimizationStrong analytical skills for troubleshooting production issues and optimizing application performance. Proficiency with debugging tools, logging frameworks, monitoring systems, and profiling techniques.

Version Control and DevOpsStrong proficiency with Git-based version control systems. Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), and infrastructure-as-code for managing deployment automation and system reliability.

Nice to have

Financial Software or Fintech ExperienceBackground working with accounting software, payment systems, payroll platforms, or other financial technology solutions. Understanding of financial domain concepts, regulatory requirements, and data accuracy standards.

SaaS Platform DevelopmentExperience building and maintaining Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platforms at scale. Knowledge of multi-tenant architecture, scalability challenges, and operational excellence in production environments.

Distributed Systems and MicroservicesExperience architecting and working with microservices architectures, distributed systems, and event-driven architectures. Familiarity with challenges like eventual consistency, service orchestration, and inter-service communication patterns.

Public Cloud and Infrastructure ExperienceHands-on experience provisioning and managing infrastructure on public cloud platforms. Understanding of auto-scaling, load balancing, and building highly available systems that serve global audiences.

Mentoring and Technical LeadershipExperience mentoring junior engineers, conducting code reviews, and contributing to engineering culture. Ability to communicate complex technical concepts and guide others through challenging technical decisions.

Product Thinking and Customer FocusDemonstrated ability to understand customer problems and translate them into technical solutions. Experience collaborating closely with product managers and stakeholders to drive product decisions based on data and user insights.

Compensation & benefits

Salary

GBP 65,000 – 95,000 (annual)

Benefits

Great Place to Work Certification

Xero is Great Place to Work UK accredited, indicating excellent workplace culture, employee satisfaction, and commitment to creating a supportive work environment that values employee voice and contributions.

Flexible Work Arrangements

Choose between remote, hybrid, or office-based work with office locations in London, Milton Keynes, and Manchester. Enjoy 'boost days' for team connection and collaboration while maintaining flexibility in your working location.

Global Collaboration Opportunities

Partner with colleagues across Xero's global engineering organization with opportunities for travel and cross-regional collaboration. Build your professional network across multiple engineering teams and geographic regions.

Diverse Project Exposure

Work across multiple product areas including Payments, Accounting, and Payroll, providing unparalleled exposure to Xero's entire platform. Gain experience across diverse technical domains and business verticals.

Professional Growth and Influence

High-visibility role that allows you to build professional influence, develop communication skills, and grow within a high-calibre engineering team. Opportunities to work with Lead Engineers and Senior Engineers as mentors and collaborators.

Customer-Centric Impact

Directly influence Xero's product direction by responding to the voice of UK customers. See the direct impact of your work on business success and customer satisfaction within a regional market team.

Technical Excellence Culture

Work within an environment that prioritizes high-quality engineering practices, resilient software design, and long-term code maintainability. Access to mentorship from Senior Engineers and Lead Engineers within the team.

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