Senior Java Developer

Lead Java Developer

Rate: Up to £700/day Inside IR35
Location: Leeds – 3 Days Onsite Per Week
Contract: 12 Months
Clearance: Must be eligible for SC clearance

About the Role

We’re looking for a Lead Java Developer to join a major national digital transformation programme. The successful candidate will help build and improve high-traffic citizen-facing services used by millions across the UK.

You’ll lead or mentor a team of Java developers, deliver robust, scalable solutions, and contribute to modernising a complex digital estate. This is a hands-on technical leadership role for someone who thrives in collaborative, Agile environments and wants their work to have a tangible impact on society.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead or guide a team of Java developers on large-scale digital services.
• Design, build, and enhance server-side applications and APIs for internal and external use.
• Build and maintain automated test suites to support continuous deployment.
• Contribute to scaling and improving high-traffic web platforms.
• Provide 2nd-line support for applications and platforms, including occasional out-of-hours support.
• Communicate technical concepts clearly to non-technical audiences.

Required Skills and Experience

• Strong recent experience with Java 21 or later.
• Solid understanding of TDD, BDD, and Agile delivery.
• Experience with microservices architecture and responsive web design.
• Proven track record building APIs and automated test frameworks for continuous deployment.
• Familiarity with Unix-like operating systems (Linux/Mac OS X).
• Comfortable with collaborative development practices such as pair programming.

Desirable

• Experience with MongoDB, messaging tools (ActiveMQ/Kafka), and frameworks such as Jackson, JAX-RS, Mockito.
• Knowledge of scaling high-traffic websites and managing large data sets.