Lead Software Developer (SFIA 5) | NodeJS

Location: Remote/Occasional Travel Manchester
Duration: 6 months
Day Rate: £575 per day (Inside IR35)
Clearance: BPSS Required
Experience: Public Sector experience mandatory

Overview

We are seeking an experienced Full Stack Developer (Node.js/Java) to join a high-profile public sector programme operating to GDS Service Standard and DDaT capability guidelines. The successful candidate will play a key role in the design, build, and optimisation of scalable APIs and microservices within a secure, agile, and user-centred delivery environment.

This role suits a collaborative engineer comfortable working across multi-disciplinary teams, contributing to CI/CD practices, and ensuring solutions adhere to secure-by-design principles.

Tech Stack

• AWS (EC2, Lambda, S3, SQS, ECR, DocumentDB)

• Node.js and TypeScript

• Docker and Kubernetes

• GitLab (source control and CI/CD pipelines)

• Infrastructure as Code using Terraform

• Cloud-native and serverless architecture

• Event-driven and microservices-based systems

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain scalable Back End services and APIs using Node.js and Java

• Contribute to CI/CD pipelines (GitLab CI, GitHub Actions, or equivalent).

• Work in alignment with GDS Service Standards and DDaT frameworks

• Implement automated testing and maintain high code quality across delivery teams.

• Collaborate closely with DevOps Engineers, Architects, and Product Managers to ensure performant, secure solutions.

• Support integration and migration projects across public sector systems.

• Produce clear documentation and contribute to knowledge transfer across teams.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Proven hands-on experience with Node.js Back End development.

• Solid Java development experience (Spring Boot or similar).

• Strong understanding of CI/CD pipelines (GitLab CI, GitHub Actions, Jenkins).

• Demonstrable public sector experience, delivering to GDS Service Standards

• Strong experience with API development (REST/GraphQL) and microservice design

• Knowledge of automated testing frameworks (Mocha, Jest, Supertest).

• Familiarity with containerisation (Docker, Kubernetes desirable).

• Experience with secure coding practices and working with sensitive data.

• Strong Git experience (GitLab, GitHub, branching strategies, code reviews).

• Exposure to serverless or cloud-native architectures (AWS Lambda, API Gateway).

• Knowledge of logging and monitoring tools (ELK Stack, Grafana, CloudWatch).

• Understanding of GDS Technology Code of Practice and DDaT frameworks.

Additional Information

• BPSS is essential