Staff Engineer at Zola

Manchester, England, United Kingdom

Zola Logo
Not SpecifiedCompensation
Senior (5 to 8 years), Expert & Leadership (9+ years)Experience Level
Full TimeJob Type
UnknownVisa
FinTech, BankingIndustries

Requirements

  • Led large-scale technical initiatives across multiple teams or domains
  • Strong Kotlin or Java engineer with experience in modern backend systems
  • Worked with React or modern JS frameworks on customer-facing UIs
  • Love working across boundaries — connecting dots between teams, codebases, and roadmaps
  • Comfortable with ambiguity and thrive in fast-moving, scaling environments
  • Bring others with you — explaining technical ideas clearly to both engineers and non-engineers
  • Care about building inclusive teams, scalable systems, and great customer experiences

Responsibilities

  • Owning and evolving the technical vision for our Point-of-Sale systems
  • Working across teams to drive consistency, scalability and architectural alignment
  • Getting hands-on with code (Kotlin & React) when needed, and enabling others to thrive
  • Championing engineering best practices - from testing and CI/CD to observability and performance
  • Supporting engineers with mentorship, pairing and design guidance
  • Collaborating closely with product managers, designers and other engineering leads
  • Helping define standards for service architecture, frontend quality, and integration patterns
  • Shaping the technical bar and culture of our Manchester engineering hub

Skills

Kotlin
React
Backend
Frontend
System Architecture
Technical Leadership
Mentoring
Scalability
Point of Sale

Zola

Online wedding planning and registry platform

About Zola

Zola.com is an online platform designed for couples planning their weddings. It offers a variety of services including customizable wedding invitations, venue and vendor recommendations, and a gift registry that allows couples to manage gifts, experiences, and cash funds all in one place. The platform simplifies the wedding planning process by providing tools for managing guest lists, tracking RSVPs, and meal selections. Zola stands out from competitors by allowing couples to exchange gifts for credit before they are shipped, enhancing the gift-giving experience. The company generates revenue through commissions from vendors and venues booked through its platform, as well as from the sale of wedding-related products. Zola's goal is to provide a seamless and user-friendly experience for engaged couples, making wedding planning easier and more organized.

New York City, New YorkHeadquarters
2013Year Founded
$164.6MTotal Funding
SERIES_DCompany Stage
Consumer Software, Consumer GoodsIndustries
201-500Employees

Benefits

Hybrid Work Options
Flexible Work Hours

Risks

Emerging platforms offering similar services at lower costs threaten Zola's market share.
Economic downturns may reduce spending on weddings, impacting Zola's revenue.
Expansion into baby registries may dilute Zola's brand focus on weddings.

Differentiation

Zola offers a unique AI tool to balance wedding planning decisions.
Zola's comprehensive platform includes customizable invitations and vendor recommendations.
Zola's guest list management tool streamlines RSVP tracking and meal selections.

Upsides

Zola's AI tool aligns with the trend of integrating AI in wedding planning.
The rise of micro-weddings creates demand for Zola's tailored services.
Zola's digital marketing can leverage increased social media use for wedding planning.

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