Java & Serverless API Engineer

Aflac Northern Ireland; Belfast City District; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working (4 days/week option)

Job summary

Aflac Northern Ireland is seeking a Java Engineer to help scale AI-enabled services in a serverless, cloud-first environment. You will develop Java APIs, AWS Lambda functions and microservices that power customer experiences and core business capabilities.

You will work in an Agile team, applying TDD and CI/CD practices, and you will connect applications to AI services such as Bedrock, SageMaker and OpenAI while building event-driven data flows with Kafka, SQS and SNS.

Qualifications

• 3+ years Java development with APIs, microservices and cloud-native design patterns.
• Serverless technologies (AWS Lambda preferred) or strong learning interest.
• AI/ML concepts understanding and enthusiasm for intelligent capabilities integration.
• Excellent communication skills with ability to explain technical concepts clearly.
• Collaborative mindset for fast-paced, innovative environments.
• Applicants must be located in Northern Ireland and hold the relevant right to work status. Sponsorship is not available.

Responsibilities

• Intelligent Solution Development: Delivering customer-centric solutions with embedded AI capabilities for enhanced user experiences.
• Agile Collaboration: Participating in daily stand-ups and contributing to Agile teams that value diverse perspectives and AI-augmented decision making.
• API & Serverless Development: Developing and integrating Java APIs and AWS Lambda serverless APIs, API Gateway, and Spring Boot for application integrations.
• AI/ML Integration: Implementing AI/ML integration layers connecting applications to services like Amazon Bedrock, SageMaker, and OpenAI APIs for intelligent features.
• Event-Driven Architecture: Building event-driven architectures using Kafka/MSK, AWS EventBridge, SQS, and SNS for real-time, scalable system communication.
• Test-Driven Development: Responsible for comprehensive testing including unit tests, integration tests, and AI model validation as part of TDD approach.
• AI Context Engineering: Collaborating on AI context engineering and model integration to enhance user experiences with conversational interfaces and intelligent automation.
• Problem Solving: Solving complex problems through serverless patterns and AI-powered insights alongside fellow team members.
• Infrastructure as Code: Implementing Infrastructure as Code and automated CI/CD pipelines for deployments.

Skills

Java development

Serverless technologies

AI/ML concepts understanding

Excellent communication

Collaborative mindset

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or STEM

Tools

AWS Lambda

API Gateway

DynamoDB

EventBridge

Step Functions

Docker

Kubernetes

Kafka

SQS

SNS

Job description

Aflac is building the specialist capability required to move AI from experimentation into scaled business impact. These roles will help transform customer and employee experiences, strengthen our enterprise AI, cloud and data foundations, and embed AI throughout the software development lifecycle so our teams can deliver better solutions faster, safely and responsibly.

Team Context

At Aflac Northern Ireland, our engineering teams build services that support policyholder experiences and core business capability. This team focuses on Java Spring Boot and AWS Lambda serverless solutions.

As technology changes, the team continues to explore practical uses of AI, event-driven design and intelligent automation. You will bring curiosity, engineering discipline and a willingness to learn.

Role Context

We are looking for a Java Engineer who is interested in serverless architecture, modern platforms and AI-enabled products. You will work as part of an Agile team building APIs, microservices and customer-focused features.

You will work on practical engineering problems that support real customer experiences. You will use Java, AWS and modern development practices to build services that can scale and evolve.

Key Responsibilities

• Intelligent Solution Development: Delivering customer-centric solutions with embedded AI capabilities for enhanced user experiences
• Agile Collaboration: Participating in daily stand-ups and contributing to Agile teams that value diverse perspectives and AI-augmented decision making
• API & Serverless Development: Developing and integrating Java APIs and AWS Lambda serverless APIs, API Gateway, and Spring Boot for application integrations
• AI/ML Integration: Implementing AI/ML integration layers connecting applications to services like Amazon Bedrock, SageMaker, and OpenAI APIs for intelligent features
• Event-Driven Architecture: Building event-driven architectures using Kafka/MSK, AWS EventBridge, SQS, and SNS for real-time, scalable system communication
• Test-Driven Development: Responsible for comprehensive testing including unit tests, integration tests, and AI model validation as part of TDD approach
• AI Context Engineering: Collaborating on AI context engineering and model integration to enhance user experiences with conversational interfaces and intelligent automation
• Problem Solving: Solving complex problems through serverless patterns and AI-powered insights alongside fellow team members
• Infrastructure as Code: Implementing Infrastructure as Code and automated CI/CD pipelines for deployments

Skills and Experience

We're looking for technical expertise combined with curiosity about AI, Java and serverless technologies. Don't rule yourself out if you don't have everything listed, it's your intellect, attitude, and passion for emerging technology that matter most.

Essential Criteria

• 3+ years Java development with modern application architecture understanding, including APIs, microservices, and cloud-native design patterns
• Serverless technologies (AWS Lambda preferred) or strong learning interest
• AI/ML concepts understanding and enthusiasm for intelligent capabilities integration
• Excellent communication skills with ability to explain technical concepts clearly
• Collaborative mindset for fast-paced, innovative environments
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or STEM (or comparable experience)
• Applicants must be located in Northern Ireland and hold the relevant right to work status. We are unfortunately unable to offer sponsorship

Desirable

• AWS serverless services: Lambda, API Gateway, DynamoDB, EventBridge, Step Functions
• AI/ML platforms: Amazon Bedrock, SageMaker, OpenAI APIs, or similar services
• Event-driven architecture: Messaging systems and asynchronous processing (Kafka/SQS)
• Infrastructure as Code: CloudFormation, CDK, or Terraform
• Container technologies: Docker, Kubernetes, AWS ECS/Fargate
• DevOps & observability: CloudWatch, X-Ray, Dynatrace, monitoring pipelines
• Databases: SQL (PostgreSQL, MSSQL), NoSQL (DynamoDB, DocumentDB), Graph (Neptune with Cypher)
• Frontend interest: React, Angular or mobile development understanding
• LLM integration: Prompt and context engineering patterns

We are committed to attracting diverse talent and supporting flexible working. Applications from candidates wishing to work four days per week are welcomed and will be considered in line with business and team requirements.

So, that's us. Thanks for reading this far. We're excited to hear from you if you want to help shape insurance technology through intelligent, serverless solutions.

Aflac is an equal opportunities employer