Java Software Engineer - Remote First - up to £85k

Java Software Engineer (Developer/Senior/Principal)

Complex Systems | Modern Stack | Agile & XP Culture

Remote First (office visit approx. once per month - South Manchester)

£50,000 - £85,000 + Bonus + Excellent Benefits (level dependent)

We're partnering with a long-established technology business building modern platforms at the heart of a complex, highly regulated domain. With continued growth across their product suite, they're now hiring Java Software Engineers across multiple levels - Developer, Senior, and Principal - to join their Scrum teams and help deliver software that genuinely makes a difference.

The Opportunity

This isn't a traditional enterprise development role. You'll be working on large-scale, business-critical systems in an environment that genuinely values engineering craft, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Agile and XP practices are Embedded across the organisation, with a strong focus on TDD, pairing, continuous integration, and shared ownership. Engineers are encouraged to contribute ideas, challenge the status quo, and help shape both technical direction and team ways of working.

You'll be part of a cross-functional Scrum team, working closely with Product Managers, UX Designers, Test Analysts and fellow Engineers to deliver reliable, scalable software that evolves with customer needs.

Role Scope by Level

Java Developer (£50,000 - £60,000)

• Solid Java experience and a desire to grow within complex systems
• Comfortable contributing to production code within Agile teams
• Keen to develop skills in testing, modern tooling, and cloud technologies

Senior Java Engineer (£60,000 - £70,000)

• Strong experience delivering features end-to-end
• Advocate for clean code, TDD and XP practices
• Enjoys mentoring, pairing and raising engineering standards within the team

Principal Java Engineer (£70,000 - £85,000)

• A hands-on senior engineer who combines technical leadership with coaching
• Still actively coding as part of a Scrum team
• Supporting and developing other engineers through mentoring and 1-to-1s
• Contributing to technical decision-making and continuous improvement
• Helping shape good engineering practices rather than owning enterprise-wide architecture

(Level is based on experience and impact, not job title alone.)

Tech Stack & Environment

The core platform is Java-based, supported by a modern and evolving stack:

• Java (JDK 17), Spring Boot
• React, TypeScript
• AWS, including serverless approaches
• Terraform, Docker, Kubernetes, Chef, Vagrant, Packer
• CI/CD pipelines and DevOps tooling

You won't be expected to be an expert in everything - curiosity, good fundamentals, and a willingness to learn matter far more.

There's a strong internal engineering culture with communities of practice, regular knowledge sharing, and dedicated innovation days focused on learning and experimentation.

You'll Enjoy This Role If You

• Enjoy working on complex, long-lived systems
• Care about code quality, testing and sustainable delivery
• Thrive in collaborative, Agile environments
• Like mentoring others and sharing knowledge
• Want meaningful work with real-world impact

Bonus points for experience with:

• Cloud-native or serverless architectures
• DevOps and Infrastructure as Code
• Building scalable, secure platforms

What's in It for You?

• Remote-first working with minimal office travel
• Clear salary bands and progression across levels
• Bonus and excellent benefits package
• Strong investment in learning and career development
• Inclusive, sociable culture with regular team and company events

Interested?

Apply now or get in touch for a confidential chat. Even if you're unsure which level you'd sit at, we're happy to talk it through.

Cathcart Technology is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.