Mercator Academy – Software Developer in Crowborough

About us Mercator Digital is an award-winning digital consultancy, ranked at number four among the Best Medium Sized Workplaces in the UK and recognised as one of Europe’s top 100 Best Workplaces. We’re also celebrated for our commitment to employee wellbeing, professional development, diversity and excellence in tech. Leveraging nearly 20 years’ experience, Mercator Digital designs, builds, and delivers innovative digital services for clients across the public and private sectors worldwide. With a global presence spanning the UK, US, France, and Singapore, the Mercator team comprises over 400 specialists. We provide an environment where talented professionals can grow, collaborate, and deliver innovative solutions that make digital services more innovative, effective, and accessible for all.

The Academy is delivered as a 6.5-month fixed-term contract designed to develop candidates from training into real project experience. The purpose of the Academy is to deliver commercially viable developers ready to tackle the complexities of project work from the moment they graduate. This is achieved by the following two phases:

• Phase 1 – Training, participants complete instructor-led, fully remote training covering Java development and Cognigy, building the technical foundations needed to succeed in delivery roles.
• Phase 2 – Shadowing, candidates gain hands‑on experience in a live project environment, working alongside experienced professionals to apply and refine the skills learned during the Academy.

Candidates who successfully complete the programme are offered the opportunity to become permanent members of the Mercator Digital team, subject to passing all required examinations and assessments throughout the Academy, successful internal performance reviews, and demonstrating a consistently high quality of their project work.

This is an exciting time to join Mercator Digital. We’re growing fast, winning new clients, expanding our teams and creating new opportunities for development. We’re proud of our culture – one that’s lively, inclusive, and forward‑thinking, and as we grow, preserving that culture remains a priority. That’s why we have an annual survey for feedback, an open‑door policy for communication and a wide variety of social events to foster connections.

Our brand values are at the core of who we are, and each Mercator team member lives these values as brand ambassadors:

• We don’t stand still - We’re always evolving, making bold choices, and seeking improvement.
• We keep it real - We’re straightforward, open, and honest in everything we do.
• We take care - We support each other, our work, our clients, and partners.
• It’s a joint effort - We work together, trust each other, and build strength in unity.
• We own our actions - We empower accountability for our words, actions, and results.
• We bring out the best - We share knowledge and enthusiasm, helping everyone reach their fullest potential.

What we’re looking for: We are looking for a highly motivated individual with a clear and genuine desire to learn and grow within the technology industry. Ideal candidates will have some prior exposure to tech, whether through self‑study, personal projects, formal education, or completing a bootcamp. They must also be eager to build on that foundation through the Mercator Academy with a positive, can‑do attitude; a growth mindset is essential, along with the ability to be proactive, self‑driven, and committed from the outset. Successful candidates will be ambitious, flexible, resilient, and ready to take ownership of their learning while contributing to a collaborative team environment.

As part of the Mercator Academy, participants will undertake an intensive 9‑week Java development programme designed to build strong, industry‑ready engineering skills. The course combines core Java knowledge with modern backend development practices and integration frameworks used in enterprise environments. During this phase, candidates will:

• Develop a solid foundation in core Java programming and object‑oriented design
• Learn to build modern backend services using Spring Boot
• Develop a strong understanding of data security and security testing
• Foster an understanding of microservice architecture
• Understand integration patterns and enterprise messaging using Apache Camel
• Employment and utilisation of MongoDB, Docker, D4D, RabbitMQ and other tools
• Work with APIs, microservices, and service‑based architectures
• Apply best practices in testing, debugging, and clean code
• Gain experience through practical exercises and real‑world inspired development tasks
• Prepare to contribute to live projects following completion of the Academy training
• Cultivate strong collaboration skills and experience working in an Agile environment

Following the core 9‑week Java training (including Spring Boot and Apache Camel), participants will complete a 2‑week specialist overlay course focused on Cognigy. This module introduces candidates to building and managing conversational AI solutions, combining practical development skills with real‑world use cases. The training concludes with the Cognigy Specialist Certificate examination. During this phase, candidates will:

• Learn the fundamentals of conversational AI and conversation design
• Build and manage intents, flows, and automated interactions in the Cognigy platform
• Integrate conversational solutions with external systems and services
• Explore advanced tools for automation, optimisation, and deployment across channels
• Apply their learning through hands‑on exercises and guided project work
• Work towards achieving the Cognigy Specialist Certificate

What is in it for you: 25 days holiday (pro rata) + Bank Holidays + your birthday off (Note: Block Leave cannot be taken throughout Phase 1 Training)