Senior Java Developer

Senior / Lead Full Stack Engineer (Java) – Financial Services Location: Manchester (Hybrid) Salary: Competitive + excellent benefits

We’re working with a global financial services organisation looking to hire a Senior / Lead Full Stack Engineer to join a high-impact engineering function delivering mission-critical systems.

This is a hands-on leadership role, suited to someone who combines deep technical expertise in Java with the ability to lead teams, drive engineering standards, and deliver complex systems end-to-end.

The role

You’ll take ownership of delivering scalable, secure, and resilient software solutions, working closely with product, design and operations teams. Alongside hands-on development, you’ll play a key role in mentoring engineers and shaping best practices across the team.

There is a strong emphasis on backend engineering using Java (Spring), alongside full stack exposure and involvement in modern engineering and AI-driven initiatives.

Key responsibilities

• Lead and mentor engineering teams, supporting development, performance and growth
• Own end-to-end delivery across the full software lifecycle (design, build, test, deploy, support)
• Design and build scalable microservices and APIs using Java (Spring)
• Drive engineering best practices across code quality, testing, DevOps and automation
• Partner with stakeholders to translate business needs into technical solutions
• Contribute to architecture, system integration and modernisation initiatives
• Develop and integrate AI-driven capabilities into applications and workflows
• Ensure systems are secure, observable, and highly performant

What we’re looking for

• Strong Java development experience (Spring) within complex, enterprise environments
• Experience building distributed systems and microservices architectures
• Proven experience leading or mentoring engineering teams
• Strong understanding of DevOps practices (CI/CD, automation, testing)
• Experience with tools such as GitLab, Docker, Splunk, AppDynamics
• Exposure to frontend technologies (JavaScript / TypeScript)
• Experience working in agile environments (Scrum / Kanban)
• Experience or strong interest in AI development and integrating AI into products
• Financial services experience is beneficial

Tech environment

• Backend: Java (Spring), Groovy
• Frontend: JavaScript / TypeScript
• Architecture: Microservices
• Testing: JUnit, Spock
• DevOps & tooling: GitLab, Docker, CI/CD pipelines
• Cloud & monitoring: Private cloud, Splunk, AppDynamics

Why apply

• Join a globally recognised financial services organisation
• Work on large-scale, high-impact systems
• Opportunity to influence engineering standards and technical direction
• Exposure to AI-driven innovation
• Strong career progression within a structured environment