Backend Java Developer - Birmingham • Hybrid • £50–65k • Not London

NextWave Consulting Ltd; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 65,000; Part time

Job summary

A leading consultancy firm seeks a Backend Java Developer in Birmingham to build core backend services for data access governance. The role involves heavy lifting with Java (17/21), Spring, and SQL planning. As part of a hybrid team, you will implement policies and work on high-throughput services. Strong hands-on Java experience, solid understanding of data structures and performance are essential. The salary range is £50,000 – £65,000, depending on experience, with a focus on robustness and observability.

Qualifications

• Strong hands-on experience in Java (17/21) and Spring.
• Deep understanding of JDBC, SQL parsing, and planning.
• Experience with SQL planners or query transformation layers.

Responsibilities

• Build core backend services for access control and query manipulation.
• Implement deterministic policy engines for data governance.
• Work on SQL parsing, planning, and validation.

Skills

Java (17/21)

Spring

JDBC

SQL parsing/validation

data structures

JUnit 5

Docker

Maven

Jenkins

Tools

Apache Calcite

Starburst

Job description

Backend Java Developer

Location: Birmingham (Hybrid)

Employment: Fixed Term Contract

Salary: £50,000 – £65,000 base (dependent on experience)

If your idea of backend engineering is more than CRUD APIs and microservices boilerplate — this role is for you.

We’re building the core backend services of a Data Fabric platform that governs data access, entitlements, and query policy enforcement across distributed enterprise data systems.

This is platform engineering: deterministic rule engines, SQL planning/interception, and high-throughput services that sit on the critical path of data access.

This is deep backend + data infrastructure work.

🚀 What You’ll Do

• Build core backend services in Java (17/21) for access control and query manipulation
• Implement deterministic policy / rule engines for data governance
• Work on SQL parsing, planning, validation, and transformation (e.g., Calcite or similar planners)
• Integrate with distributed data platforms / query engines (e.g., Starburst or similar)
• Own API contracts with living documentation in CI/CD
• Build production-grade, testable pipelines
• Drive observability, reliability, and performance
• Contribute to architecture decisions (modularity, DI, extensibility)

What You Bring (Must-Have)

• Strong hands-on experience in Java (17/21) + Spring
• Deep understanding of JDBC, SQL parsing/validation, query planning/optimization
• Experience with SQL planners or query transformation layers
• Strong grounding in data structures, algorithms, and backend performance
• Production-grade testing using JUnit 5, Mockito
• Experience with clean architecture, DI, modular design
• Comfortable owning CI/CD, code quality, observability
• Familiarity with Docker, Maven, Jenkins

⭐ Nice to Have

• Apache Calcite
• Starburst or federated query engines
• JVM performance tuning
• High-throughput service interfaces (REST/gRPC)
• Data governance or policy enforcement layers

👥 This Role Is Ideal If You’ve Worked On

• Data platforms, governance layers, query engines, or SQL planners
• Backend/platform services that sit in the critical path of data access
• Systems where correctness, determinism, and performance matter