At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the transformation of digital banking platforms and modernise legacy systems.
- Company: Join a leading Tier 1 financial institution in Glasgow's tech hub.
- Benefits: Competitive pay up to £600/day, with opportunities for permanent leadership.
- Other info: Flexible contract transitioning to permanent role with excellent career growth.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on large-scale digital transformation in a globally recognised organisation.
- Qualifications: 10+ years in enterprise Java and experience in Tier 1 financial institutions.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 £ per year.
A leading Tier 1 financial institution is expanding its Glasgow technology hub and seeks an experienced Lead Full‑Stack Software Engineer to play a pivotal role in the transformation of its digital business banking platforms.
About the Role
This position offers a rare opportunity to enter on a contract while transitioning into a permanent senior leadership role within a globally recognised organisation. The successful candidate will combine technical authority, architectural vision, and people leadership in a complex, regulated environment.
Responsibilities
- Technical & Modernisation Leadership: Lead the modernisation of large‑scale legacy systems, transitioning from monolithic architectures to scalable, API‑driven microservices. Drive architectural best practices across performance, reliability, security, and maintainability.
- Engineering Leadership & Delivery: Provide hands‑on technical leadership while mentoring and managing a large offshore engineering team (20+ developers). Own engineering standards, code quality, and delivery outcomes across distributed teams. Oversee the migration of enterprise platforms from legacy middleware (e.g., WebSphere) to containerised Kubernetes environments across GCP, AWS, or internal cloud platforms (IKP). Champion DevOps practices, automation, and CI/CD maturity.
- Stakeholder & Architecture Engagement: Act as a senior technical interface between engineering, architecture, product, and business stakeholders. Translate complex regulatory and financial requirements into low‑level technical designs and implementation plans. Design and build secure, high‑performance applications using Java 17+, Spring Boot, and Angular. Set standards for frontend engineering, API design, and backend service orchestration.
- Data & Platform Evolution: Support the modernisation of legacy SDLC tooling and data platforms. Lead or contribute to complex data migrations, including Elasticsearch upgrades and distributed data pipelines.
Qualifications
- MSc in International Banking & Finance and/or BSc in Computer Information Systems (or equivalent)
Required Skills
- Proven experience within Tier 1 financial institutions
- 10+ years’ experience in enterprise Java and web‑based platforms.
Preferred Skills
- Demonstrated success leading large engineering teams across onshore and offshore models.
- Strong ability to coach, mentor, and develop senior engineers while influencing technical strategy.
- Deep expertise in Agile delivery (Scrum/Kanban), TDD, and enterprise design patterns.
- Track record of delivering complex system transformations in regulated environments.
Pay range and compensation package: Rate: Up to £600/day (Inside IR35 via PAYE)
Equal Opportunity Statement
Why Join?
- Play a visible leadership role in large‑scale digital transformation
- Transition from contract flexibility to permanent leadership
- Work within a globally recognised Tier 1 banking environment
- Influence architecture, people, and platform strategy at enterprise scale
Staff Engineer in Glasgow employer: Empresaria Group plc
Join a leading Tier 1 financial institution in Glasgow, where you will have the opportunity to play a crucial role in transforming digital business banking platforms. With a strong focus on employee growth and development, this company fosters a collaborative work culture that values innovation and leadership, offering a pathway from contract to permanent senior roles. Enjoy competitive compensation and the chance to influence architectural strategies within a globally recognised organisation.
