Senior Software Engineer

Senior Software Engineer II (Java / Spring)

London, United Kingdom (Hybrid/Flexible)

Role Overview

A Senior Software Engineer II position within a Search and AI Platform team focused on building scalable, high-performance backend systems that power search, discovery, and recommendation capabilities across large-scale scientific and research products.

The role involves designing and implementing graph-based services and distributed systems that support intelligent data traversal, entity relationships, and advanced search functionality.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and implement scalable graph-based search and discovery services
• Build backend systems using Java, Spring Boot, GraphQL, and REST APIs
• Develop and maintain GraphQL federation architectures for distributed systems
• Work with cloud-native infrastructure (AWS, Kubernetes/EKS) to support scalable services
• Integrate with data stores and messaging systems (e.g. Neo4j, DynamoDB, RDS, S3, SQS, SNS, Kinesis)
• Ensure system reliability through monitoring, logging, and performance optimisation (e.g. New Relic, Coralogix)
• Apply clean code principles, SOLID design, and modern software engineering best practices
• Collaborate with product managers, engineers, and cross-functional teams to deliver search and recommendation features
• Contribute to system design discussions and architectural decisions
• Mentor engineers and contribute to engineering standards and best practices

Required Skills & Experience

• Strong experience building scalable backend systems and APIs
• Advanced proficiency in Java and the Spring Boot ecosystem
• Experience with GraphQL and REST API design
• Background in cloud-native development, ideally AWS and Kubernetes (EKS)
• Understanding of distributed systems and microservices architectures
• Strong software engineering fundamentals (clean code, SOLID principles, design patterns, CI/CD)
• Experience working in Agile or iterative delivery environments
• Strong collaboration and communication skills

Nice to Have

• Experience with GraphQL federation (e.g. Apollo Router)
• Exposure to graph data modelling and knowledge graphs
• Familiarity with search systems or AI-driven discovery platforms
• Experience with high-throughput distributed systems

What This Role Focuses On

• Large-scale search and recommendation systems
• Graph-based data modelling and entity relationships
• Cloud-native backend architecture
• High-performance, production-grade software engineering
• Cross-functional product delivery in data-intensive environments