Java Software Engineer

DWP Digital; Leeds; Hybrid; GBP 54,000 - 66,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Civil service pension

Generous holiday allowance

Flexi time

Job summary

DWP Digital is hiring a Java Software Engineer to build secure, scalable digital services used by millions of people across the UK. You’ll work in agile, multidisciplinary teams and use Java, AWS, Kubernetes, Python and CI/CD pipelines to design, develop and maintain software that matters.

Hybrid working: split time between home and a UK hub. The package includes competitive pay (£59,813) and a civil service pension. Join a thriving engineering community and help transform public services.

Qualifications

• Develop APIs, RESTful services and microservices.
• Experience deploying apps in cloud (AWS or Azure).
• Strong understanding of TDD/BDD.
• Experience with SQL/NoSQL databases (PostgreSQL/MySQL/MongoDB).
• Experience building automated test suites supporting CI/CD.
• Proven Java 21+ experience developing large-scale systems.

Responsibilities

• As a Java Software Engineer, you'll build and support digital services used by millions of citizens across the UK.
• Work within agile, multidisciplinary teams to design, develop and maintain software products for users.
• Collaborate with architects, engineers and product teams to develop secure, resilient applications using Java, AWS, Kubernetes, Python and CI/CD pipelines.
• Contribute to an engineering community by sharing knowledge and promoting best practices.

Skills

APIs & Microservices

Cloud (AWS/Azure)

TDD/BDD

Databases (SQL/NoSQL)

CI/CD & Testing

Java 21+

Tools

Kubernetes

Python

Job description

Join DWP as a Java Software Engineer and help build secure, scalable digital services that support millions of people across the UK. Working with modern technologies and talented multidisciplinary teams, you'll develop solutions that make a real difference to people's lives every day.

Our DWP Digital teams use fresh ideas and leading-edge tech to build and maintain digital solutions that will be used by nearly every person in the UK, every day and at key moments in their lives.

DWP is the UK's largest government department. We help people into work and make payments worth over £195bn a year to support and empower millions of people.

The scale of what we do is extraordinary, and our purpose is unique. We'd love you to join us.

What skills, knowledge and experience will you need?

• Knowledge and experience of developing APIs, RESTful services and microservice architectures.
• Experience building and deploying applications in cloud environments such as AWS or Azure.
• A strong understanding of Test Driven Development (TDD) and Behaviour Driven Development (BDD).
• Experience working with SQL and/or NoSQL databases such as PostgreSQL, MySQL or MongoDB.
• Experience building and maintaining robust automated test suites that support continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD).
• Proven experience developing and supporting large-scale systems using Java 21+ and open-source technologies.

You and your role

As a Java Software Engineer, you'll build and support digital services that are used by millions of citizens across the UK.

Working within agile, multidisciplinary teams, you'll help design, develop and maintain software products that work better for our users and help transform public services.

You'll collaborate with architects, engineers and product teams to develop secure, resilient and scalable applications using modern technologies including Java, AWS, Kubernetes, Python and CI/CD pipelines.

You'll also be an important role of DWP's thriving engineering community, sharing knowledge, promoting best practice and helping teams deliver high-quality software that meets the needs of millions of users.

Hybrid Working:

We work a hybrid model - you'll spend some time working at home (40%) and some time collaborating face to face in a hub (60%).

Pay:

We offer competitive pay for this role of £59,813.

Pension:

You'll get a brilliant civil service pension with employer contributions of 28.97%, worth over £13,266 per year.

Holidays:

A generous leave package starting at 26 (rising to 31 days over time).

You can also take up to 3 extra days off a month on flexi-time. You'll also get all the usual public holidays.

We have a broad benefits package built around your work-life balance which includes:

• Time off volunteering and charitable giving
• Bring your authentic self to work with 'I Can Be Me in DWP'
• Discounts and savings on shopping, fun days out and more
• Interest-free loans to buy a bike or a season ticket, so it's even easier for you to get to work and start making a difference
• Professional development, coaching, mentoring and career progression opportunities.

And we have an award-winning environment and culture:

• DWP have been recognised as 2024 Diversity Employer of the Year at the Computing Women in Tech Excellence awards
• Diverse and Inclusive Leadership at Digital Leaders Awards 2024
• Commended as Best Place to Work in Digital category in the Computing Digital Technology Leaders awards 2025
• Recognised as one of the Best Public Sector Employers at 2025 Women In Tech Employer Awards

Process:

We know your time is valuable, so our application and selection process is just three stages:

• Apply: Complete your application on Civil Service Jobs.
• Coding Test: Complete a remote coding assessment.
• Interview: A single stage interview online.