Java Software Engineer

Manchester Digital; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 44,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading government department in the UK is seeking a Java Software Engineer to join their team in Manchester. This role involves designing and developing high-impact software solutions utilized by millions. Ideal candidates will possess strong expertise in Java and cloud technologies, with a focus on creating reliable systems and automated testing. Competitive salary ranging from £44,447 to £59,813, alongside excellent benefits and a hybrid work model, makes this position an attractive opportunity for career development.

Benefits

Brilliant civil service pension

Generous leave package

Flexible hours

Professional development opportunities

Interest-free loans for bike or travel tickets

Discounts and savings on shopping

Qualifications

• Strong engineering expertise in modern software development.
• Experience in TDD/BDD and delivering high-quality systems.
• Ability to design and maintain automated test suites.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain software products using Java.
• Work on large-scale systems contributing to impactful services.
• Collaborate with engineers and architects for resilient services.

Skills

APIs

RESTful services

Microservice Architectures

Cloud-based environments (AWS, Azure)

Test-Driven Development

Behaviour Driven Development

SQL databases (Postgres, MySQL)

NoSQL databases (MongoDB)

Java 8 or above

Job description

Overview

Join DWP as a Java Software Engineer and grow your skills and career in a supportive, forward‑thinking engineering community.

We're using 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 you will do

Our Java Software Engineers work on large‑scale, high‑impact systems used by millions, contributing to services that make a real difference to people’s lives. As part of a multidisciplinary agile team, you’ll design, build and maintain modern software products using Java, microservices and cloud platforms such as AWS or Azure. Your work will span developing APIs, creating accessible user interfaces, ensuring the operational stability of the products you build, and contributing to automated test suites that support continuous deployment. You’ll work closely with other engineers, architects and other specialists to shape resilient, secure and reliable services.

We want someone who can bring strong engineering expertise, advocate for best practice and help set technical direction within the team. You’ll need experience with TDD/BDD, SQL/noSQL databases, cloud-native engineering and delivering high‑quality systems using open‑source technologies.

What you’ll bring

• Knowledge and experience of APIs, RESTful services and Microservice Architectures.
• Demonstrable experience in developing on cloud-based environments such as AWS or Azure.
• A good understanding of Test-Driven Development and Behaviour Driven Development.
• Skilled in working with SQL and NoSQL databases, including Postgres, MySQL and MongoDB.
• Able to design and maintain a robust, effective automated test suite to support continuous deployment.
• Experience of developing large scale systems using open-source technologies using Java 8 or above.

Hybrid Working

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 and Benefits

Pay: We offer competitive pay for this role of £44,447 to £59,813, based on our assessment of your skills and experience at interview.

Pension: You\'ll get a brilliant civil service pension with employer contributions of 28.97%, worth over £13,484 per year.

Holidays: A generous leave package starting at 26 days 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.

Benefits

• Flexible hours and flex-friendly policies
• 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
• Professional development, coaching, mentoring and career progression opportunities

Culture and Awards

• 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. There\'ll be full instructions when you click through.
• Coding Test: details will be sent to candidates when the exercise is issued.
• Interview: a single stage interview online.

Click Apply for more information and to start your application.