Overview

Platform Engineer - Engine by Starling

Engine by Starling is a SaaS business that powers Starling and provides its technology to banks and financial institutions worldwide. We are an engineering-led company, building a modern technology platform with a strong focus on reliability, scalability, and security. Our values are Listen, Keep It Simple, Do The Right Thing, Own It, and Aim For Greatness. We support a hybrid working model, with a preference for employees to be within a commutable distance of an office for in-person collaboration.

What you’ll get to do

• Building and Scaling Cloud Infrastructure: Design, build, and maintain cloud infrastructure across multiple providers (including GCP) and regions, ensuring scalability, reliability, and security.
• Building on Google Cloud: Contribute to the build-out and optimisation of the core Engine on Google Cloud Platform using Java and Kubernetes.
• Scaling SaaS Release Tooling: Enhance multi-tenant, multi-region SaaS release and CI/CD systems using Java, Golang, and Terraform.
• Empowering Developers: Develop and maintain internal tooling with Java and Golang to improve developer experience and on-call efficiency.
• Automating Compliance and Security: Build automation to enforce compliance and security controls across the platform.
• Driving Efficiency: Optimise performance and reliability with a focus on cost-effectiveness.
• Embracing Automation: Identify and implement automation to minimise manual processes across the platform lifecycle.
• Ensuring Security: Implement and maintain robust security practices to protect platform and customer data.
• Championing Best Practices: Stay updated on new technologies and SRE practices; share knowledge with the team.
• Maintaining Compliance: Help ensure the platform adheres to standards such as ISO27001, SOC2, and PCI-DSS.
• Collaborating and Learning: Work with cross-functional teams and contribute to a learning culture.
• Aiming for Greatness: Maintain curiosity and strive for excellence.
• Documenting Solutions: Design and document scalable internal tooling clearly and comprehensively.
• Taking Ownership: Own features and improvements across their lifecycle.
• Participate in on-call: Optional on-call rota participation to gain insights into platform behavior.

Requirements

We are open-minded about hiring; aptitude and attitude matter more than specific qualifications. For this role, additional skills include the following; if you prefer Java-only roles, check other Software Engineer roles.

What Skills Are Essential

• Proven experience as Site Reliability Engineer, DevOps Engineer, Platform Engineer, or similar.
• Strong proficiency in Golang and/or Java (flexible if you know only one; you can learn the other here).
• Hands-on experience with Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
• Solid understanding of Kubernetes.
• Experience with Terraform or other Infrastructure-as-Code tools.
• Deep understanding of SRE principles: monitoring, alerting, incident management, capacity planning.
• Strong focus on automation and reducing manual tasks.
• Experience with building and maintaining CI/CD pipelines.
• Knowledge of security best practices in cloud environments.
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Strong collaboration and communication skills.
• Proactive, continuous learning mindset.
• Ability to design and document technical solutions effectively.

What Skills Are Desirable

• Experience with other cloud providers (especially AWS).
• Contributions to open-source projects.
• Experience with database technologies, particularly PostgreSQL.
• Familiarity with observability/monitoring systems and database monitoring, analysis, DR, and performance tuning.
• Familiarity with standards such as ISO27001, SOC2, PCI-DSS is a plus.

Our Interview Process

Interviews are a two-way process; come prepared to learn about us and ask questions. Typical steps include an initial engineer chat, a take-home technical exercise, a technical interview with engineers, and a final interview with the CTO or deputy CTO.

Benefits

• 33 days holiday (including public holidays)
• Extra day off for your birthday
• Annual leave increases with service; option to buy or sell up to five extra days
• 16 hours paid volunteering time per year
• Salary sacrifice, company-enhanced pension
• Life insurance (4x salary) and group income protection
• Private Medical Insurance with VitalityHealth; mental health support and cancer care; partner benefits with Waitrose, Mr&Mrs Smith, Peloton
• Generous family-friendly policies
• Refer-a-friend incentives
• Perkbox with retail discounts and wellness benefits
• Cycle to Work, Salary-Sacrificed Gym partnerships, and EV leasing options

About Us

You don’t need to tick every box. We’re open to discussion on flexible working; we’re focused on reshaping banking with a brilliant team. Engine by Starling is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to diversity and inclusion. We consider applicants without regard to race, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, disability, military status, or any other protected characteristic. By applying, you consent to processing of your personal data for recruiting purposes in line with our Privacy Notice.

Equality and Privacy

Engine by Starling and Starling collect and process personal data for recruitment in accordance with our Privacy Notice. Our goal is to provide an inclusive, safe, and respectful workplace.