Staff Software Engineer

Role OVO-View

Team: Attract, Engage & Retain

Salary banding: £95,000 - £138,000

Experience: Staff

Working pattern: Full-Time

Reporting to: Delivery & Growth Lead

Sponsorship: Unfortunately we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

This role in 3 words: Technical, Excellence, Influence

Top 3 qualities for this role: Communication, Delivery Expertise, Amplification

 

Where you’ll work:

Depending on the needs of your business area, we expect hub based people to be in the office at least once a week, and to go to OVO Connection events in-person. 

You’ll be assigned to the closest one of our three hub offices, Bristol, Glasgow, or London; unless your role requires field-based work. Each hub has accessible spaces to park your laptop, is designed to inspire people, help them connect and bring big ideas to life.

 

Everyone belongs at OVO

At OVO, we are on a mission to solve one of humanity's biggest challenges, the climate crisis. And we know it takes all of us to change the world. That's why we need diverse people from all abilities, gender identities, ethnicities, ages, sexual orientations, life experiences and backgrounds to join us.

 

Teamworking for the planet

Everything we do here spins around Plan Zero. So, naturally, the team you’ll be joining plays a gigantic role in making that happen. Here’s how:

As a Staff Software Engineer, you are more than a coder; you are the technical cornerstone for a major product area. You will define the roadmap and technical vision, guiding your team to build elegant, scalable, and high-impact solutions.

Your role is pivotal in shaping not just the architecture, but the engineering culture itself. You'll lead by example, mentoring engineers, driving best practices, and fostering an environment where innovation and excellence can thrive. This is an opportunity to solve complex challenges, align technical strategy with business goals, and deliver work that truly matters.

 

This role in a nutshell:

As a Staff Software Engineer, you will take technical ownership of a core product area. You will define the architectural vision, guide your team through complex challenges and champion engineering excellence to deliver high-impact solutions that meet our business objectives. This is a key leadership role for an engineer who loves to strategise, code and mentor.

 

Your key outcomes will be:

• Lead, Mentor & Develop: Lead a talented team of software engineers, fostering a collaborative and high-performance culture while supporting their career growth through mentorship, feedback, and performance reviews.
  
  
• Drive Technical Excellence: Take ownership of the team's technical direction, leading the design and architecture of scalable, high-quality software solutions and championing best practices through code reviews and automated testing.
  
  
• Innovate & Evaluate: Continuously assess and recommend new technologies, frameworks, and tools to enhance development efficiency and keep our solutions at the cutting edge.
  
  
• Collaborate & Influence: Partner closely with product managers, designers, and key stakeholders to align technical strategy with business objectives, acting as the key technical voice in project planning.
  
  
• Communicate with Impact: Clearly articulate complex technical concepts, challenges, and trade-offs to both technical and non-technical audiences.
  
  
• Champion Improvement: Proactively identify and implement process improvements to boost team productivity and drive a culture of continuous learning and knowledge sharing.
  
  
• Build the Community: Actively contribute to our engineering Community of Practice, sharing your expertise and helping to advance our collective craft across the organisation.

 

You’ll be a successful Staff Software Engineer at OVO if you…

• Project & Team Leadership: Extensive professional experience in software development, with a proven track record of leading teams and successfully delivering complex projects.
  
  
• Software Architecture & Development: Expertise in designing and building microservices-based architectures using languages like Node.js, Python, TypeScript/JavaScript, and React.
  
  
• Cloud & DevOps: Pr