Lead Java Developer

develop; Greater London; On-site; GBP 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

develop is seeking a Principal Engineer to shape the future of its consumer-facing technology landscape in Greater London. This senior, cross-functional leadership role influences multiple engineering teams and defines technical strategy to deliver scalable, high-quality solutions with real customer impact.

You'll lead architectural direction, mentor senior engineers, collaborate with product leadership, and champion best practices across DevOps, testing, observability, and platform evolution.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience designing and delivering complex distributed systems.
• Deep expertise in Java and Spring Boot.
• Experience operating at a strategic level across multiple teams or domains.
• Strong architectural knowledge with the ability to influence technical direction.
• Proven ability to mentor engineers and drive engineering best practices.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to engage both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• A proactive mindset, identifying opportunities and challenges before they become problems.
• Interest in AI-assisted and agentic development approaches, with a pragmatic view of where they add value.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design of scalable, resilient systems that support high-traffic consumer products.
• Shape architectural direction across multiple teams and codebases.
• Drive improvements in performance, maintainability, and engineering efficiency.
• Identify opportunities for shared services, reusable components, and platform capabilities.
• Partner with Engineering Managers and Product leaders to guide major initiatives from conception through delivery.
• Help teams navigate complexity, manage technical risk, and improve delivery outcomes.
• Balance technical excellence with commercial and customer priorities.
• Champion best practices across software development, testing, observability, and operational readiness.
• Improve engineering processes, standards, and ways of working.
• Influence long-term technology strategy and platform evolution.
• Mentor senior engineers and technical leaders across the organisation.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement.
• Help raise the technical capability of the wider engineering function.

Skills

Java

Spring Boot

Distributed systems

Technical leadership

Mentor engineers

Strategic thinking

Stakeholder communication

Tools

Cloud platforms (AWS/GCP)

Observability tooling

Job description

The Opportunity

We're partnering with a market-leading digital platform used by millions of consumers every month. The business is undergoing an exciting period of growth and transformation and is looking for a Principal Engineer to help shape the future of its consumer-facing technology landscape.

This is a senior, cross-functional leadership role with influence across multiple engineering teams. You'll play a key role in defining technical strategy, improving architectural standards, and helping engineering teams deliver scalable, high-quality solutions that create real customer impact.

What You'll Be Doing

Engineering & Architecture Leadership

• Lead the design of scalable, resilient systems that support high-traffic consumer products.
• Shape architectural direction across multiple teams and codebases.
• Drive improvements in performance, maintainability, and engineering efficiency.
• Identify opportunities for shared services, reusable components, and platform capabilities.

Delivery & Strategic Impact

• Partner with Engineering Managers and Product leaders to guide major initiatives from conception through delivery.
• Help teams navigate complexity, manage technical risk, and improve delivery outcomes.
• Balance technical excellence with commercial and customer priorities.
• Champion best practices across software development, testing, observability, and operational readiness.
• Improve engineering processes, standards, and ways of working.
• Influence long-term technology strategy and platform evolution.

Coaching & Leadership

• Mentor senior engineers and technical leaders across the organisation.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement.
• Help raise the technical capability of the wider engineering function.

What We're Looking For

• Extensive experience designing and delivering complex distributed systems.
• Deep expertise in Java and Spring Boot.
• Experience operating at a strategic level across multiple teams or domains.
• Strong architectural knowledge with the ability to influence technical direction.
• Proven ability to mentor engineers and drive engineering best practices.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to engage both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• A proactive mindset, identifying opportunities and challenges before they become problems.
• Interest in AI-assisted and agentic development approaches, with a pragmatic view of where they add value.

Technology Environment

• Java
• Spring Boot
• Modern cloud-native architecture

Why Join?

• Opportunity to influence the direction of a large-scale, highly visible consumer platform.
• Shape how Principal Engineering operates within a growing engineering organisation.
• Work alongside experienced engineering leaders in a business actively modernising its technology practices.
• Join a company investing heavily in engineering excellence, AI adoption, and long-term platform evolution.
• Collaborative culture with strong leadership, autonomy, and opportunities for career growth.