Lead Java Engineer

Lead Java Software Engineer (Java / Spring Boot / Kafka / Kubernetes)

• 6 months (initially)
• Remote-working (UK-based)
• Market Rates (£550 to £575 per day)
• Outside IR35

The Opportunity: ISR Recruitment is currently supporting a leading consultancy client seeking an experienced Lead Java Engineer to design, build and deliver backend services for a national data exchange platform enabling secure data sharing between organisations. This is a hands-on technical leadership role, with no line-management responsibility where you will remain actively involved in coding and technical design while mentoring developers, supporting delivery and helping shape technical solutions. The platform is underpinned by zero-trust security principles and you will join a remote engineering team of 20+ people working on secure, scalable and production-critical services. You will take high-level or lightweight requirements, clarify what is required, translate them into technical specifications and implement production-ready backend solutions using Java, Spring Boot, REST APIs and event-driven architecture. Strong object-oriented engineering is central to the role as you will be expected to demonstrate excellent understanding of SOLID principles, software design patterns, domain modelling, interfaces and service boundaries, whilst applying these concepts pragmatically to real-world engineering problems. You will also contribute across the full software lifecycle, including testing, CI/CD, cloud deployment, production readiness, releases and operational support. Skills and Experience:

• Languages & Frameworks: Java / Spring Boot
• Architecture: REST APIs / Microservices / Event-Driven Architecture / Distributed Systems
• Messaging: Apache Kafka
• Database: PostgreSQL
• Cloud: AWS / Microsoft Azure
• Containers: Docker / Kubernetes / Amazon EKS
• Infrastructure: Terraform
• CI/CD: Automated CI/CD Pipelines / GitOps
• Security: Zero Trust / OAuth 2.0 / OIDC / Mutual TLS / Policy-Based Access Control
• Engineering: OOP / SOLID / Design Patterns / Domain Modelling / TDD/Automated Testing

Role and Responsibilities:

• Design and develop backend services using Java and Spring Boot.
• Apply strong OOP, SOLID principles and design patterns to create maintainable, testable software.
• Translate requirements into technical specifications, development tasks and acceptance criteria.
• Design and implement secure REST APIs.
• Build event-driven services using Apache Kafka.
• Design and optimise PostgreSQL data models and data access.
• Provide technical leadership through hands-on development, design discussions and code reviews.
• Mentor and support developers, helping resolve technical issues and remove blockers.
• Work with Kubernetes and Amazon EKS to deploy and operate containerised services.
• Work across AWS and Azure, using Terraform for infrastructure management.
• Develop and troubleshoot CI/CD pipelines and automated testing.
• Ensure services are production-ready, with appropriate logging, monitoring, tracing and alerting.
• Support releases and investigate production issues to improve reliability.
• Apply secure development practices and zero-trust security principles.

NB: Candidates must be eligible for BPSS security clearance which will processed following successful interviews (5-7 days). Applications: To learn more about this newly created opportunity consulting as an Lead Java Engineer for delivering Government Digital Services on an initial 6 month engagement, operating on a remote-working basis for a prominent UK government agency; please call and speak with Edward Laing here at ISR Recruitment or please send through a copy of your latest online profile and/or CV for an immediate call back in the strictest confidence. Please contact Edward here at ISR Recruitment to learn more about our client and how they are leading the way in developing the next generation of technical solutions through innovation and transformational technology?