At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the technical direction of our core SaaS platform and mentor engineering teams.
- Company: Join a forward-thinking tech company with a focus on innovation and collaboration.
- Benefits: Enjoy a competitive salary, hybrid work options, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Embrace a culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by shaping scalable and secure solutions in a dynamic environment.
- Qualifications: Extensive Java experience and strong leadership skills are essential.
The predicted salary is between 63000 - 77000 £ per year.
- Principal Java Engineer
- Department: Tech
- Description
Mission: As Principal Java Engineer, you will provide technical leadership for GTI's core Saa S platform.
Reporting directly to the CTO, you will own the technical direction, architecture and engineering standards of the platform without direct line management responsibility.
You will work closely with Product, Data, Operations, Dev Ops and QA teams to deliver secure, resilient and scalable solutions while mentoring engineers through technical leadership and best practice.
Outcomes
Platform architecture is scalable, resilient, secure and supports current and future business needs
- Own the application architecture and technical direction across multiple products and services.
- Design, implement and review high-quality Java and full-stack solutions, APIs and integrations.
- Lead performance optimisation, scalability and resilience initiatives.
- Drive security best practices, vulnerability remediation and secure software development lifecycle (SDLC) practices.
- Work closely with Data, Operations, Dev Ops and QA teams to ensure architectural alignment and operational excellence.
Product roadmap is delivered successfully through strong technical leadership and effective engineering execution
- Provide technical leadership across multiple Agile development teams.
- Translate business and product requirements into robust technical solutions.
- Support engineering teams in the successful delivery of roadmap commitments.
- Facilitate collaboration across teams to remove technical blockers and mitigate delivery risks.
- Mentor and guide developers to improve capability, quality and delivery outcomes.
Engineering standards, architecture principles and best practices are consistently applied across development teams
- Define, maintain and champion engineering standards, architectural principles and development best practices.
- Conduct design and code reviews to ensure quality, maintainability and consistency.
- Author new development processes and continuously improve existing engineering practices.
- Promote secure, scalable and maintainable software design across all teams.
- Support and mentor team members to drive technical excellence and continuous improvement.
- Production systems are reliable, observable and operationally excellent
- Lead root cause analysis and resolution of complex production issues.
- Drive improvements in system observability, monitoring and operational performance.
- Ensure applications are designed and operated to meet reliability, availability and performance targets.
- Partner with Operations, Dev Ops and QA teams to maintain production stability and service quality.
- Embed a culture of operational excellence, continuous improvement and proactive issue prevention.
- Technologies you will be using
- Java 21 (LTS)
- Spring Framework 6 / Spring Boot 3.5
- Hibernate ORM 6.6+, JPA
- Apache Tomcat 11, Intelli J IDEA
- AI Tooling (Claude. Codex, Gitlab Duo, etc)
- REST APIs, Open API, Microservices, Event-driven architecture (Rabbit MQ)
- Containers, Docker, AWS, Linux
- CI/CD with Git Lab Pipelines & Jenkins
- Observability: logging, metrics and monitoring
- My SQL, Apache Solr
- Front-end UI (e. g. Angular)
Person Specification
- Strategic and systems-thinking mindset
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
- Ability to influence through technical leadership rather than line management
- Proactive, pragmatic and outcome-focused
- Strong mentoring and collaborative working style
- High standards of engineering excellence and continuous improvement
- Trusted technical advisor
- Excellent attention to detail
- Work Experience, Knowledge & Skills
- Degree in Computer Science (or equivalent experience)
- Extensive Java software engineering experience with significant experience in technical leadership
- Expert knowledge of Java, JVM performance and modern language features
- Deep experience with Spring Boot, Hibernate/JPA and enterprise application architecture
- Strong understanding of distributed systems, scalability, resilience and performance tuning
- Experience with cloud-native applications, Docker, Kubernetes and CI/CD
- Strong knowledge of application security, OWASP principles and secure development practices
- Knowledge of a modern front-end node-based framework
- Other Information
- Permanent role – 37.5 hours per week. Monday to Friday 9am-5:30pm.
- 3-month probationary period.
- Candidates applying for roles at GTI will be subject to background screening.
You can find out more about our background screening and the recruitment of ex-offenders by reading our policies.
#J-18808-Ljbffr
Principal Java Engineer in Oxford employer: Group GTI
Group GTI is an exceptional employer that fosters a dynamic and innovative work culture in Wallingford, UK. With a strong emphasis on employee growth and collaboration, you will have the opportunity to shape cutting-edge product experiences while enjoying the flexibility of a hybrid work model. Join us to be part of a forward-thinking team dedicated to enhancing user engagement and performance for Gen Z, all within a supportive environment that values your contributions.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Principal Java Engineer in Oxford
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at Group GTI or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to Group GTI.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like Group GTI.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like Group GTI that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Principal Java Engineer in Oxford
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at Group GTI.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Group GTI and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at Group GTI
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If Group GTI uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.