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