Job Specifications
About Us
In a nutshell, we're all about making the world of wine a better place. We fund and source directly from independent winemakers to bring customers better quality wine for a better price. No thirsty middlemen as far as the eye can see.
It's a different way of doing things, sure. But it works. We're one of the UK's favourite wine clubs, shipping over 1 million (!) cases a year to curious wine lovers. And with an ambitious road ahead, we've got no plans on plugging the cork on growth.
Our global team (we have offices in the US and Australia, too) is entrepreneurial by nature, obsessive about customer experience and driven by performance. All things that make Naked a great place to grow both personally and professionally. And yes, we like wine. A lot.
It takes a village to be Naked and now our Engineering team is looking for a Senior Staff Engineer. You'll be stepping into a high-impact role where your ideas shape the way we build, scale and evolve our technology. From guiding cross-team architecture to enabling faster, safer delivery, you'll influence some of the most important technical decisions we make. If you're motivated by solving meaningful problems and raising the engineering bar, you'll thrive here. So if you're keen to help us take the guesswork out of enjoying great wine (that's what we're passionate about), there's a Naked welcome pack with your name on it. Together, we'll take Naked Wines to the next level - and share our not-so-well-kept secret with the world.
Location & Flexible Working - Hybrid - Norwich or London (1-2 days per week at primary office)
Requirements
What you'll do:
Lead architecture, system design and technical strategy across several squads
Define and embed technical standards, patterns and best practices
Improve software performance, reliability, security and maintainability
Oversee engineering workflows, including release processes and architecture review
Act as a technical escalation point for complex issues and cross-team decisions
Partner with product and technology leaders to prioritise work and allocate resources
Facilitate design reviews, workshops and knowledge-sharing sessions
Provide hands-on engineering support for high-impact or high-risk projects
Manage, coach and mentor engineers at all levels
Lead hiring, onboarding and development for your direct reports
Join squads when needed to deliver strategically important initiatives
Help evaluate and adopt new tools, technologies and processes
Shape cross-discipline architecture and contribute to company-wide technology strategy
What you'll bring:
10+ years of experience in software engineering (backend, frontend or full-stack)
Strong knowledge of modern architectures (API-first, microservices, composable)
Proven experience leading system design, architecture reviews and technical decision-making
Ability to debug, optimise and improve complex distributed systems
Experience with modern engineering practices (CI/CD, automation, DevOps principles)
Clear and inclusive communication skills with technical and non-technical stakeholders
Ability to influence decisions, build alignment and collaborate across squads
Strong coaching and mentoring capabilities, especially for senior engineers
Strong planning, estimation and forecasting skills
Steady judgement and calmness during high-stakes or time-critical incidents
A strategic mindset, understanding how technical decisions impact business outcomes
Breadth across the full technology stack (backend, frontend, mobile)
Ability to set and guide multi-year technical direction
Ability to navigate complex organisational environments and build trusted relationships
You have...
Ambition (dream big): you translate the strategy into action (projects, tasks and processes)
Judgement (make good decisions): you identify the need for tactical change and lead on implementation
Discipline (adhere to high standards): you follow results closely and adapt plans as necessary
Influence (have a big impact): you facilitate collaboration and manage talent efficiently
Accountability (take full responsibility): you deliver results and identify issues, setting up ways to avoid them
And finally you live by our Naked values...
You support all stakeholders from the Winemaker, through to the Customer. We are Naked Together
You embrace growth, pushing yourself out of your comfort zone to overcome obstacles
You always start with our customers and winemakers
You keep it simple and are data-led, from the wine itself to the ways of working
You do the right thing, holding yourself accountable with honesty and openness
Recruitment Process
Screening interview > System Design Interview with Engineering Leaders > Team Leadership Interview with Staff Engineers > Final Interview with Head of Engineering
Benefits
As part of the Naked family, we want you to know we've got your back. Here are a few of the perks you'll enjoy when you join the team...
A competitive salary (depending on experience) plus
About the Company
Discover great wine, your way. We directly support world-class, independent winemakers for a fairer price all round. No tie-ins. No time-limits. You choose how to shop and we’ll credit you back for a wine you didn’t love. You’ll get tailored recommendations to suit your taste buds, get to know the faces behind the bottles and have your say on every sip. This is the world of wine, on your doorstep.
Know more