Backend Developer

The opportunity:

WPP is undergoing an exciting global transformation, and we're looking for a passionate and driven Backend Developer to join our dynamic and innovative team building Unite — a large-scale, cloud-native AI platform powering multiple WPP products. We encourage applications from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences.

What you’ll be doing:

As a Backend Developer, you will:

• Design and build serverless microservices: Develop, deploy, and maintain AWS Lambda functions across a large TypeScript monorepo with 80+ backend services and 150+ shared packages.

• Own data and API layers: Design and implement REST APIs via API Gateway, work with DynamoDB and PostgreSQL (Aurora) for data storage, and integrate event-driven architectures using SQS and EventBridge.

• Scale AI-powered features: Contribute to backend services that orchestrate LLM-based agents, AI evaluation pipelines, and real-time content generation workflows.

• Collaborate and grow: Join a supportive and inclusive team focused on engineering best practices and continuous improvement. Share your knowledge and learn from others.

• Gain business exposure: See the direct impact of your work and gain valuable business insights through regular interaction and feedback.

• Contribute to technical excellence: Uphold high code-quality standards in a strict TypeScript codebase, write well-tested code with >85% coverage, and participate in code reviews.

• Shape the future: Contribute your ideas and expertise to shape the future direction of our platform and development practices. We value diverse perspectives and encourage everyone to contribute to our ongoing innovation. 

What we want from you:

We understand that candidates may not have every single skill listed below. We encourage you to apply if you possess a strong foundation in backend development and a willingness to learn and grow.

• Practical experience developing backend services and APIs using Node.js 18+ and TypeScript.

• Strong proficiency in TypeScript (strict mode) and modern JavaScript (ES2022+). Hands-on experience with AWS serverless services, especially Lambda, API Gateway, DynamoDB, S3, SQS, and EventBridge.

• Experience designing and developing REST APIs and event-driven microservices. Familiarity with relational databases (PostgreSQL / Aurora) and NoSQL databases (DynamoDB), including schema design, migrations, and query optimization.

• Experience working in a large-scale monorepo with shared packages and multiple deployable services. • Ability to write clean, well-tested, and maintainable code following best practices — including Jest for unit/integration testing.

• Good understanding of serverless architecture, deployment workflows, and infrastructure-as-code (Serverless Framework).

• Experience working with Agile methodologies and contributing to Agile teams. Strong problem-solving skills and a proactive approach to addressing challenges. 

If you know some of this even better:

• Experience with Serverless Framework 3+ or AWS CloudFormation for infrastructure definition.

• Familiarity with OpenSearch / Elasticsearch for search and indexing workloads. Experience with AWS AppSync, Cognito, Step Functions, or Bedrock.

• Exposure to AI/LLM orchestration — building backends that integrate with large language models or agent frameworks.

• Experience with Python (boto3, Lambda) for supporting microservices.

• Familiarity with Docker and LocalStack for local development and testing.

• Experience with CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions and build orchestration tools like Turborepo.

• Understanding of Yarn 4+ workspaces, monorepo dependency management, and package publishing.

• Familiarity with multi-region deployments.

What we can offer you:

Alongside the opportunity to work with some of the most exciting brands around the world, we’ll also prioritise your career development and help you grow your skills. We’ll empower you to make a difference, allow you to be yourself, and respect who you are.

Our culture thrives on our core values, designed for impact-driven individuals: Heart, Brains and Courage.

We lead with Heart, fostering empathy and trust where genuine connections and human-centric work flourish.
We empower your Brains for innovation, valuing relentless curiosity and collaborative intelligence to solve complex challenges.
And we champion Courage, inspiring you to speak up, embrace experimentation, and advocate for bold solutions that push our thinking to be better than yesterday.

AT VML Enterprise Solutions

Our Enterprise Solutions division houses strategic consultants, creative and technical architects and skilled developers and operators that together help some of the world’s leading organisations to deliver outstanding digital experiences across all major routes to market worldwide: marketplaces, online retailers, D2C, B2B and social platforms. With over 4,200 experts in 55 operational centres across 34 countries, our capabilities span the entire buying journey from customer acquisition, through engagement, to conversion and loyalty, driving multi-channel growth for world-leading brands.

We work with some of the most exciting brands such as The Coca-Cola Company, EY, Bosch, Unilever, Ford, DFS, Mercedes-Benz, Johnson & Johnson, Nestlé, Sainsbury’s, Selfridges, Shell and Tiffany & Co. We’ve built over 500 platforms for brands and retailers and generate in excess of $29bn annually for our clients and work with over 50 strategic partners including Adobe, SAP, Salesforce, HCL, Shopify, Sitecore, BigCommerce, commerce tools and Acquia. Our reputation is based on our people, and we believe we have some of the best in the business.

As our business grows internationally, we’re looking for new people to join us on our journey to inspire and take a key role in shaping some of the best commerce solutions, services, and websites in the world. Working as a team, no problem is insurmountable; we share in our client’s successes and believe that anyone can show creative bravery no matter what their role is in the team.