Job Description
ABOUT SOTHEBY’S
Established in 1744, Sotheby’s promotes access and ownership of exceptional art and luxury objects through auctions, private sales and retail. Our deep expertise across 70 selling categories is supported by a leading technology platform and a global network of specialists spanning 40 countries. Selling categories include Contemporary Art, Modern and Impressionist Art, Old Masters, Chinese Works of Art, Jewelry, Watches, Wine and Spirits and Design, as well as collectible cars and real estate through RM Sotheby’s and Concierge. Sotheby’s Financial Services is a leading art lender and provides capital solutions for collectors around the world, having originated more than $12 billion in loans since its inception. Sotheby’s new global headquarters is now open at the iconic Breuer building at 945 Madison Avenue in New York City.
About the role
Established in 1744, 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.
What we’re looking for
You’ve shipped production systems. 5+ years of experience, with real ownership of services or products that other people depend on. You’ve dealt with incidents, made trade-offs under pressure, and learned from what went wrong.
You solve problems for the business, not just yourself. You’re pragmatic. You look for the best course of action given the constraints, not the most technically interesting one. You can weigh options, make a call, and move forward together with the people around you.
You communicate clearly. Whether that’s justifying a technical decision on a call, writing up a proposal, or talking through an approach in a review. You can discuss specifics without getting lost in the detail, and you’re comfortable working across teams to get things done.
You’re comfortable wearing many hats. The day to day here can vary a lot. You’re the kind of engineer who sees that as a feature, not a bug.
You take craft seriously and use modern tools to amplify it. You write code that others can maintain and build on. You’re happy using AI and modern tooling to move faster, but you understand the systems deeply enough to know when the tool is wrong.
Technical experience
We don’t expect you to know the full stack coming in. We do expect strength in at least one of Go, React/TypeScript, or Scala, comfort with distributed systems thinking, and readiness to pick up whatever the work requires.
Required:
- Strong experience with (at least one; more is a plus)
- Experience designing, deploying, and operating distributed systems and microservices
- Solid relational database knowledge (PostgreSQL preferred)
- Familiarity with cloud infrastructure (we use AWS) and containerisation
Useful:
- 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
How we work
Our engineering teams are remote-first and globally distributed. It’s how we’re built, and it’s how we intend to stay.
We’re not async-only. There are regular calls, cross-team meetings, and plenty of direct collaboration alongside the written communication you’d expect from a distributed organisation. The balance works because the people here are good at both.
This role is London or remote within the UK.
What we offer
- Competitive salary with discretionary bonus
- Private health insurance
- Health cash plan and dental insurance
- Workplace nursery benefit
- Generous holiday allowance, Christmas shutdown, summer Fridays, and volunteer and wellbeing days
- Great hardware
- Cycle to work scheme and eye care vouchers
- Regular social events, meetups, and use of our London space (the summer and Christmas parties are worth showing up for)
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The Company is an equal opportunity employer and considers all applicants for employment without regard to race (including, without limitation, traits historically associated with race, such as natural hair, hair texture, and protective and treated or untreated hairstyles), color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, marital or civil partnership/union status, national origin, age, disability, pregnancy, genetic predisposition, genetic information, reproductive health decision, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, alienage or citizenship status, domestic violence victim status, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state/province or local law. The Company complies with applicable state and local laws prohibiting discrimination in employment in every jurisdiction in which it operates.
