Senior Software Engineer

Sotheby's is the world's premier destination for art and luxury. The engineering that powers it today reflects that same ambition, built on modern technologies and modern practices. Auctions are the most visible part of what we do, but every sale that runs through Sotheby's is backed by the entire engineering organisation. The work starts months before a lot crosses the block, from the systems that support how we acquire and value inventory, through to the platforms our clients and specialists interact with daily, the identity and compliance infrastructure that keeps it all trustworthy, and the services that make the live event itself possible. That breadth is what makes the engineering here different. Whether you're working on internal tooling, client-facing products, platform infrastructure, or the real-time systems behind a sale moving hundreds of millions of dollars, your work connects to something tangible. We're looking for senior engineers who want real ownership of the systems they build, who care about quality and craft, and who are curious enough to learn a domain that will surprise them.

Responsibilities

Working on internal tooling, client-facing products, platform infrastructure, or the real-time systems behind a sale moving hundreds of millions of dollars; Taking real ownership of the systems you build; Collaborating across teams; Communicating clearly; Writing code that others can maintain and build on

Requirements

5+ years of experience shipping production systems with real ownership of services or products; Experience dealing with incidents and making trade-offs under pressure; Pragmatic problem solving for the business; Clear communication across teams; Comfortable wearing many hats; Takes craft seriously and uses modern tools including AI; Strength in at least one of Go, React/TypeScript, or Scala; Comfort with distributed systems thinking; Experience designing, deploying, and operating distributed systems and microservices; Solid relational database knowledge (PostgreSQL preferred); Familiarity with cloud infrastructure (AWS) and containerisation; Located in the United Kingdom (London in-person, or remote UK)

Nice to have

Event-driven architectures and streaming platforms; API design across GraphQL, gRPC, or REST; Authentication, authorisation, or compliance-related systems; E-commerce, marketplace, or auction domain experience

Benefits

Competitive salary with discretionary bonus; Private health insurance; Health cash plan and dental insurance; Workplace nursery benefit; Generous holiday allowance; Christmas shutdown; Summer Fridays; Volunteer and wellbeing days; Great hardware; Cycle to work scheme and eye care vouchers; Regular social events, meetups, and use of London space