Lead API Engineer in RTGS Technology | Leeds, UK

Job Description

Location: Leeds or London

Job Description

This role presents an exciting opportunity for a technically proficient API Developer to take a leading role.

As a lead engineer, you will mentor and upskill less experienced team members and lead Epics/Sprints including planning.

Reporting to a RTGS Technology Manager, you will form a central role as part of the RTGS Technology team that provides day-to-day support and development of new capabilities for the Bank of England Real Time Gross Settlement solution!

This role requires core RTGS hours to be supported and brings the opportunity for staggered starts or ends to the standard working day. The role includes out of hours working, incident support and 24×7 standby rota.

A Day in the Role

RTGS settles on an average day £800billion and is critical national infrastructure. Each day brings new challenges and opportunities, creating an environment suited for those who work well in a fast-paced setting. An individual whose approach is getting it \”right\” in tight timescales can make a real difference.

A typical day would start with the team\’s stand-up meeting for the current sprint where you\’ll discuss your workload and any blockers, or you may attend a major incident management meeting where, as the lead engineer on call, you have worked on problem root cause and resolution.

Next, you may be working on something new or a problem fix or project related activity. As this role includes support, you may have tickets to resolve requiring detailed knowledge on the application and central bank settlement.

You may draft and raise a change request through the Bank\’s formal processes or attend an audit representing technology.

As a lead engineer, you may hold learning/master class sessions so that colleagues in your team, and more widely, better understand the tools/applications you support.

Depending on the cover rota you are on, it could mean monitoring the close of the RTGS system and then standby cover. For other weeks, you will not be on a rota so can dedicate time to DevOps activities.

You will also be required to:

• Provide coaching and mentoring to junior colleagues in applying best practice to their work.
• Give guidance to solution designers with regard to product roadmaps and end-to-end architecture of the Domain.
• Inform skills and knowledge needed across the domain and work with team leaders to develop the domain wide training plan so the right skills are available to deliver new services.
• Deliver high quality software components and documentation which conform to guidelines and standards.
• Evaluate business requirements and produce estimates, solutions and functional specifications.
• Share knowledge, contribute to technical discussions and assist other team members when necessary.
• Use their technical and business experience to support the Bank\’s Live and other environments.

Role Requirements

You are a dedicated DevOps engineer within an Agile environment and meet the minimum criteria. You have a clear collaborative approach to working with others, and keen to share knowledge with colleagues.

You also understand that the RTGS environment is critical to the UK Payments Systems which requires a methodical approach and flexible to work outside core hours as required.

You use best practice in Continuous Improvement/Continuous Development and to manage environments – safely promoting code from pre-production to live including day to day procedures and recovery procedures when required.

Minimum Criteria

We\’re looking for someone who has the following key skills and experience:

• Experience of Agile project delivery (SAFe Framework)
• Researching and developing solutions that expand, modernise or improve the service and technology portfolios, automate IT operations, reduce costs or increase levels of service, to demonstrate technical ownership
• Very strong and demonstrable hands-on engineering experience of API Gateways at an enterprise scale, in particular Apigee.
• Strong awareness of SWIFT products and how they can work with APIs.
• Proficiency in API documentation tools (e.g., Swagger/OpenAPI),
• Hands-on experience with databases (e.g., SQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, Elasticsearch, nonSQL),
• Knowledge of OpenShift and RedHat Enterprise Linux
• Conversant with the modern Java and Linux development frameworks and tool stack (e.g. Micro-Services with Java, Spring/Hibernate, Oracle).
• Understanding of authentication technologies (e.g. SAML).
• Experience working in Agile environments (e.g. SAFe)
• Effective member of out of hours standby rota, providing in and out of hours support to the 24/7 production environment, resolving issues as they arise. This includes start of day and end of day working patterns.

Essential Criteria

• Excellent problem-solving skills
• Experience of building effective working relationships with others and provide challenge where appropriate
• Attention to detail with the ability to craft concise, high standard of code
• Analytical thinking with demonstrable ability for troubleshooting issues and leading change.
• Background / practical experience in payment services security, access and authentication.

Desirable Criteria

• Splunk, CtrlM Docker, Terraform, Bash scripting, preferable knowledge of NoSQL databases.
• Middleware: IBM ACE or JMS/web services experience.
• Message orchestration platform such as Kafka
• Kibana, ELK, Elastic Search
• Security skills: knowledge of modern security practices and technologies to ensure the security of applications and infrastructure.
• Bachelor\’s degree or equivalent experience in Computer Science, Software or Electronic Engineering or other related subject area.
• Working knowledge of User interface technologies (React, Node.js etc.)
• Experience with Apache Kafka or similar event streaming platforms

If you do not have all the essential or desirable criteria, your application will be considered. It is important to note that the Bank has a robust ITIL Change Management process, has business-critical processes that depend on our RTGS environment, and requires incidents on these technologies to be resolved quickly.

How This Role Fits into the Wider Bank

This role is part of the Markets, Banking, Payments & Resolution division within the Bank of England : Technology RTGS Operations.

Our Approach to Inclusion

The Bank values diversity, equity and inclusion. We play a key role in maintaining monetary and financial stability, and to do that effectively, we believe we need a workforce that reflects the society we serve.

At the Bank of England, we want all colleagues to feel valued and respected, so we\’re working hard to build an inclusive culture which supports people from all backgrounds and communities to be at their best at work. We celebrate all forms of diversity, including (but not limited to) age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. We believe that it\’s by drawing on different perspectives and experiences that we\’ll continue to make the best decisions for the public.

We welcome applications from individuals who work flexibly, including job shares and part time working patterns. We\’ve also partnered with external organisations to support us in making adjustments for candidates and employees in the recruitment process where they\’re needed.

For most roles where work can be carried out at home, we aim for colleagues to spend half of their time in the office, with a minimum of 40% per month. Subject to that minimum requirement, individuals and managers should work together to find what works best for them, their team and stakeholders.

Finally, we\’re proud to be a member of the Disability Confident Scheme. If you wish to apply under this scheme, you should check the box in the \’Candidate Personal Information\’ under the \’Disability Confident Scheme\’ section of the application.

Salary and Benefits Information

We encourage flexible working, part time working and job share arrangements. Part time salary and benefits will be on a pro-rated basis as appropriate.

We offer a salary as follows:

Leeds circa £62,640 – £70,470

London circa £69,600 – £78,300

In addition, we also offer a comprehensive benefits package as detailed below:

• A non-contributory, career average pension giving you a guaranteed retirement benefit of 1/95th of your annual salary for every year worked. There is the option to increase your pension (to 1/50th) or decrease (to 1/120th) in exchange for salary through our flexible benefits programme each year.
• A discretionary performance award based on a current award pool.
• A 8% benefits allowance with the option to take as salary or purchase a wide range of flexible benefits.
• 26 days\’ annual leave with option to buy up to 12 additional days through flexible benefits.
• Private medical insurance and income protection.

National Security Vetting Process

Employment in this role will be subject to the National Security Vetting clearance process (and typically can take between 6 to 12 weeks post offer) and the passing of additional Bank security checks in accordance with the Bank policy. Further information regarding the vetting and security clearance requirements for the role will be provided to the successful applicant, and information about how the Bank processes personal data for these purposes, is set out in the Bank\’s Privacy Notice.

The Bank of England welcomes applications from all candidates, but as a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) approved sponsor, we have a responsibility to comply with the Immigration Rules and guidance. As such, our ability to employ individuals who require sponsorship for immigration purposes is limited. The Bank cannot guarantee that you and / or the role you are applying for will be eligible for sponsorship and that any application made to UKVI will be successful. Eligibility will therefore be considered on a case by case basis.

The Application Process

Important: Please ensure that you complete the \’work history\’ section and answer ALL the application questions fully. All candidate applications are anonymised to ensure that our hiring managers will not be able to see your personal information, including your CV, when reviewing your application details at the screening stage. It\’s therefore really important that you fill out the work history and application form questions, as your answers will form a critical part of the initial selection process.

This role closes on 19 August 2025.

The assessment process will comprise of two interview stages.

Please apply online, ensuring that you complete your work history and answer ALL the application questions fully and in detail as your application will not be considered if all mandatory questions are not fully completed.

About Us

We are the UK\’s central bank – and we are a bank like no other; known by our peers for our world-leading thinking on policy and strategy.

Our mission is to promote the good of the people of the UK by maintaining monetary and financial stability. We seek to keep prices stable and people\’s money safe. We know our work matters to people, to families, up and down the UK. We are driven by curiosity and the desire to do important, challenging work.

It takes a great team to run the Bank of England. We rely on each other to play our part. We benefit from a collaborative culture and long-established flexible ways of working, supporting our colleagues balance their work and personal lives. We strive to be a place where people feel they belong and have equal access to opportunities, because different perspectives helps us make the best decisions for the public.

There\’s much to gain from working with us – from career defining work at the heart of the UK economy, being part of a fantastic team, and a rewarding compensation package.

Join us and find a bank like no other. Together, we can make a difference.

The Bank of England will use and protect the information you provide when you apply for a role with us, in line with our obligations under data protection law. This is so we can assess your suitability for the role and administer your application. If you\’re successful we\’ll use it to offer you a position and onboard you to join the Bank.

If you would like more details about how your information will be used and your information rights, please visit our recruitment privacy notice

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