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

NextWave Consulting Ltd; City Of London; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

A technology consulting company is seeking a Backend Java Developer to build core backend services in a hybrid role based in Birmingham. You will implement policy engines for data governance and work with distributed data platforms. The ideal candidate has strong Java and Spring experience, expertise in SQL parsing, and familiarity with CI/CD processes. This role offers a salary of £50,000 – £65,000 depending on experience.

Qualifications

• Strong hands-on experience in Java (17/21) and Spring.
• Deep understanding of JDBC, SQL parsing, validation, query planning.
• Production-grade testing using JUnit 5 and Mockito.

Responsibilities

• Build core backend services for access control and query manipulation.
• Implement deterministic policy/rule engines for data governance.
• Drive observability, reliability, and performance.

Skills

Java (17/21)

Spring

JDBC

SQL parsing

CI/CD

Docker

JUnit 5

Mockito

Tools

Docker

Maven

Jenkins

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