Java Developer (Sheffield)

Join a collaborative engineering team building a modern Developer Experience platform that helps control owners and development teams manage and view their compliance with software development controls. You will work primarily with Kotlin to develop microservice-based web applications and APIs, contributing to several applications and proofs of concept within a cloud-native, agile environment. This role suits someone proactive, detail-oriented, and comfortable working across back-end services with a small element of simple UI development.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate closely with developers, testers and colleagues across the wider organisation to build, enhance and run high-quality products.
• Design, develop and implement back-end features according to the product backlog and priorities, with a small amount of simple front-end work where required.
• Work on web applications that use a straightforward UI framework, focusing primarily on robust back-end and API development rather than complex front-end engineering.
• Contribute to the design and launch of new features in partnership with the rest of the engineering team, ensuring solutions are scalable, maintainable and secure.
• Build, maintain and optimise APIs and microservices that underpin the Developer Experience platform.
• Engage proactively with internal customers to understand their needs, resolve issues and respond to feature requests in a timely and professional manner.
• Operate within an agile CI/CD environment to deliver frequent, high-quality iterations at a sustained and predictable velocity.
• Participate actively in peer code reviews, providing constructive feedback and helping to maintain high coding standards.
• Create and maintain automated test scripts, and contribute to testing colleagues’ code to ensure reliability and quality.
• Use standard developer collaboration tools such as Git-based repositories and agile tracking platforms to manage work, documentation and collaboration effectively.

Essential Skills

• Practical experience in Java, or significant experience in a comparable modern programming language with a strong willingness to learn Kotlin quickly.
• Proven experience in at least two or three of the following areas: API development, SQL and relational databases, HTML, and JavaScript.
• Substantial hands-on experience working with microservice architectures, including designing, building and maintaining microservices.
• Strong technical and analytical troubleshooting skills, with the ability to diagnose and resolve complex issues in distributed systems.
• Experience working in an agile environment, including the use of agile methodologies and collaboration practices.
• Experience using standard developer collaboration tools such as GitHub or Bitbucket for version control, and Jira and Confluence or similar tools for work tracking and documentation.
• Excellent attention to detail and strong writing skills, producing clear, maintainable and well-documented code.
• Proactive working style, taking initiative to move work forward and resolve blockers without waiting for direction.
• Strong English communication skills, both written and spoken, enabling effective collaboration with technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Good working knowledge of cloud technologies such as AWS, Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
• Experience with Kubernetes for container orchestration in a microservices environment.
• Familiarity with Spring Boot or similar frameworks for building Java or Kotlin-based microservices.
• Experience working with CI/CD pipelines and modern DevOps practices.
• Comfort using issue tracking and documentation tools such as Jira and Confluence.
• Ability to work effectively with diverse teams across different locations and time zones.
• Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to build positive working relationships and communicate clearly with stakeholders.

Work Environment

You will work within a modern engineering environment focused on developer experience and software quality, building Kotlin-based web applications and APIs in a microservice architecture. The team uses agile methodologies and operates in a CI/CD setting, enabling frequent, incremental releases and rapid feedback. Day to day, you will use tools such as GitHub or Bitbucket for version control, Jira for work tracking and Confluence for documentation, collaborating closely with developers, testers and stakeholders across the organisation. The technology stack includes Kotlin, microservices, Kubernetes, APIs, SQL/databases, HTML, JavaScript, and cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure and GCP. The role is office-based in Sheffield with a professional environment that supports focused development work and cross-functional collaboration.