About Auto Trader
What is Auto Trader?
Auto Trader is the UK's largest automotive marketplace. It "started life as a magazine back in 1977", went "fully digital in 2013", and now describes itself as "the UK's most trusted and most visited automotive marketplace, a tech innovator, and a heritage brand that's built up trust over nearly 50 years". Cars are what it is best known for, but it also covers "pretty much everything else on wheels, from e-bikes to caravans".
Behind the marketplace sits a serious engineering operation, "handling millions of requests a day across over 600 systems" — React and Angular on the front end, Java, Spring Boot, Cloud SQL and Apache Kafka on the back end — on "our cutting edge cloud delivery platform, facilitating over 60k releases to production a year".
Where will I work?
Manchester. The registered office and headquarters is No.3 Circle Square, Hawkshaw Street. Most roles follow "Connected Working", the company's hybrid model: "You'll spend a minimum of 3 days a week in the office with your team, focused on collaboration and connection." Field-based commercial roles are advertised as remote across the UK, with a car allowance subject to eligibility.
What is the Auto Trader team like?
Product, engineering, data science, marketing, finance and commercial teams, plus an apprentice and graduate intake. Engineering is described as "a close-knit tech community where collaboration and knowledge sharing are at the core of what we do", with "regular pair programming, code reviews, and stand-ups". Six core values — Community, Determined, Humble, Curious, Decisive, Adaptable — are, in its words, "practical, achievable and lived by every day"; applicants answer two values-based questions as part of selection.
Work-Life Balance
Auto Trader publishes its reward package in full and repeats it in every job ad: "You'll have 28 days holiday per year, and that's in addition to bank holidays and half day closures on Christmas and New Year's Eve." The careers site adds "2 volunteer days on top of that".
Two things stand out for anyone after a lighter schedule. Several senior engineering roles — Principal Software Engineer, Senior Software Engineer, Technical Lead — are openly advertised as "Full or Part Time", which is unusual at that level. And alongside the three-day office week: "we have our remote-first periods at set times during summer and winter. During these periods, you can work remotely anywhere in the UK and from certain locations abroad."
There is no reduced-hours schedule here. The terms "4-day", "four-day", "32-hour", "compressed" and "9-day fortnight" appear nowhere on the careers site or in any of the 20 live job ads.
Perks and Benefits
- 28 days' holiday, plus bank holidays and 2 volunteer days
- 10% of salary awarded in shares each year, vesting over three years
- Company pension with Aviva: 7% employer, 5% employee contributions
- Comprehensive private medical cover, including a virtual GP
- 24/7 access to an online dentist
- Assisted fertility, menopause and period care support
- Maternity, adoption, shared parental and neonatal leave
- Backup care for both children and elderly family members
- Cycle-to-work scheme, EV or hybrid car salary sacrifice, discounted parking