Java Software Engineer

DWP Digital; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 36,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Civil service pension

Career development

Job summary

Join DWP Digital as a Java Software Engineer to help build modern cloud-first services used by the UK public. You'll work on Debt Services, delivering capable, scalable solutions with Java 21+, Spring Boot, Azure, PostgreSQL and MongoDB.

Our collaborative engineering culture empowers you to own your products, share knowledge and improve how we build and run critical public services. We offer a hybrid working model (40% home, 60% hub) with a pension and broad benefits, aimed at helping you

Qualifications

• Experience developing APIs, RESTful services and microservices.
• Experience with Azure cloud platforms.
• Knowledge of event-driven technologies and Azure Service Bus.
• Strong TDD/BDD skills.
• Experience with SQL and NoSQL databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB).
• Experience in Agile multidisciplinary teams delivering user-centred digital services.
• Proven experience building large-scale systems using Java 21+ and open-source technologies.

Responsibilities

• Develop and support cloud-first digital services.
• Contribute to design, development and operation of secure, scalable products.
• Work in a multidisciplinary team delivering Debt Management and Compensation Recovery services.
• Promote best practices and contribute to the engineering community across DWP Digital.
• Collaborate to shape the future of software engineering in one of the UK's largest digital organisations.

Skills

APIs & REST

Azure Cloud

Event-driven messaging

TDD/BDD

SQL/NoSQL databases

Java 21+

Tools

Spring Boot

Azure Service Bus

PostgreSQL

MongoDB

Java 21+

Job description

Join DWP as a Java Software Engineer and help build modern cloud-first services that support some of the UK's most important public services. 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?

• Experience developing APIs, RESTful services and microservice architectures.
• Experience working within cloud platforms such as Azure.
• Knowledge of event-driven technologies, including messaging platforms such as Azure Service Bus.
• 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 working in agile multidisciplinary teams to deliver user-centred digital services.
• Proven experience developing large-scale systems using Java 21+ and open-source technologies.

You and your role

As a Java Software Engineer, you'll help develop and support modern digital services as part of DWP's Debt Services function.

You'll be part of a multidisciplinary team delivering products that support Debt Management and Compensation Recovery services, helping recover approximately £3 billion every year while protecting some of the most vulnerable people in society.

Using technologies including Java 21, Spring Boot, Azure, Azure Service Bus, PostgreSQL, MongoDB and event-driven architectures, you'll contribute to the design, development and operation of secure, scalable and resilient products used at national scale.

We're proud of our collaborative engineering culture where teams are empowered to take ownership of their products, champion software craftsmanship, share knowledge and continuously improve the way we build and operate services.

You’ll also play an important role in DWP's wider engineering community, helping to promote best practice, support colleagues and influence the future direction of software engineering across one of the UK's largest digital organisations.

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 up to £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).

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