Lead Engineer

Pulse Group; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 108,000 - 132,000; Full time

Job summary

Pulse Group is seeking a Lead Software Engineer to take technical ownership of its payments and FX platform. You will stay hands-on and drive architectural decisions within a small, highly capable engineering team.

You will design and maintain Java applications (Spring Boot), lead the move to cloud-native microservices on AWS and Kubernetes, and define engineering standards and best practices. Hybrid working in Central London with regular office days, focusing on scalable, event-driven systems

Qualifications

• Extensive experience developing backend applications using Java & Spring Boot.
• Strong experience delivering microservices and distributed systems.
• Hands-on experience with AWS, Kubernetes and Terraform in production.
• Experience modernising legacy applications and improving architecture.
• Experience with Kafka or similar event-driven technologies.
• Confidence working across application development, infrastructure and production troubleshooting.
• Previous experience operating as a Technical Lead or autonomous Senior Engineer.
• Experience in fintech/payments or regulated environments is valuable.

Responsibilities

• Taking technical ownership of a complex payments platform consisting of approximately 30 backend services.
• Designing, developing and maintaining scalable Java applications using Spring Boot.
• Leading the modernisation of legacy Java systems into modern, cloud-native microservices.
• Working hands-on with AWS, Kubernetes, Terraform and Helm to manage and improve cloud infrastructure.
• Designing event-driven architectures using Kafka, with a focus on reliability, resilience and performance.
• Setting technical standards, driving best practices and supporting other engineers across the team.
• Working closely with product leadership to influence technical priorities and the engineering roadmap.
• Identifying technical risks, improving platform stability and driving continuous improvements.
• Remaining actively involved in coding, architecture, troubleshooting and technical delivery.

Skills

Java

Spring Boot

Microservices

AWS

Kubernetes

Terraform

Kafka

System design

Technical leadership

Cloud-native architectures

Tools

Terraform

Helm

Job description

Role: Lead Software Engineer - Java, AWS & Kubernetes

Salary: Up to £120,000

Pulse Group is exclusively partnered with a growing fintech business that's looking for an experienced Lead Software Engineer to take technical ownership of its payments and foreign exchange platform.

This is an opportunity to join a business at an exciting stage of growth, where technology is central to its future ambitions.

You'll be joining a small, highly capable engineering team responsible for developing and maintaining the systems that power international payments and FX transactions.

The business is investing in modernising its existing platform, moving towards a more scalable, event-driven microservices architecture, while continuing to develop new products and services.

This isn't a traditional management role. We're looking for someone who loves engineering, wants to remain hands-on and enjoys having genuine ownership over technical decisions, architecture and engineering standards.

What You'll Be Doing

• Taking technical ownership of a complex payments platform consisting of approximately 30 backend services.
• Designing, developing and maintaining scalable Java applications using Spring Boot.
• Leading the modernisation of legacy Java systems into modern, cloud-native microservices.
• Working hands-on with AWS, Kubernetes, Terraform and Helm to manage and improve cloud infrastructure.
• Designing event-driven architectures using Kafka, with a focus on reliability, resilience and performance.
• Setting technical standards, driving best practices and supporting other engineers across the team.
• Working closely with product leadership to influence technical priorities and the engineering roadmap.
• Identifying technical risks, improving platform stability and driving continuous improvements.
• Remaining actively involved in coding, architecture, troubleshooting and technical delivery.

What We're Looking For

• Extensive experience developing backend applications using Java & Spring Boot.
• Strong experience designing and delivering microservices and distributed systems.
• Hands-on experience with AWS, Kubernetes and Terraform in production environments.
• Experience modernising legacy applications and improving existing architecture.
• A solid understanding of software architecture, system design and engineering best practices.
• Experience with Kafka or similar event-driven technologies.
• Confidence working across application development, infrastructure and production troubleshooting.
• Previous experience operating as a Technical Lead, Lead Engineer or highly autonomous Senior Software Engineer.
• Someone comfortable taking ownership, challenging technical decisions and working within a small, fast-moving engineering team.

Experience within fintech, payments, banking, FX or other regulated environments would be particularly valuable.

Flexible Working

Hybrid working in Central London, with typically 1-2 days per week in the office.