Lead Software Engineer- Back End Platform- JPMC Personal Investing

J.P. Morgan; City Of London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading investment firm in the UK is seeking a Backend Platform Engineer to lead the development of scalable solutions. You will work with various teams to enhance product engineering, ensuring best practices in coding and architecture. The ideal candidate has strong Java and Spring Boot skills, along with experience in API design and leading engineering teams. This role promotes a collaborative environment focused on innovation and efficiency.

Qualifications

• Strong proficiency in Java and Spring Boot.
• Experience managing build tools like Maven and Gradle.
• Solid understanding of software engineering principles.
• Commitment to security best practices.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain backend libraries.
• Build scalable and secure components.
• Collaborate with product engineering teams.
• Drive standardisation of development workflows.

Skills

Java

Spring Boot

API design

Micro-service architectures

Mentoring

Stakeholder management

Tools

Maven

Gradle

Terraform

Jenkins

GitHub Actions

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

Behind every investment is a person with ambitions, motivations and values. While we know that every client is unique, they come to J.P. Morgan Personal Investing for the same reason: our straightforward and transparent approach to investing, and the trust that 150 years of J.P. Morgan heritage brings.

J.P. Morgan Personal Investing offers award-winning investments, products and digital wealth management services to over 275,000 investors in the UK. We built the business with innovation as a core part of our ethos to give consumers the confidence and clarity to make informed investment decisions and achieve their financial goals.

Job Summary

As a Backend Platform Engineer in the Personal Investments Backend Platform team, you will lead a squad dedicated to building scalable backend frameworks and libraries. You will work closely with SDLC, Infrastructure and Product teams to drive standardisation and promote engineering excellence. Your role empowers product engineering teams to deliver innovative investment products efficiently and securely. You will foster collaboration, mentor team members, and ensure our technology landscape remains robust and forward‑thinking.

Job Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain backend libraries and frameworks using Java and Spring Boot
• Build scalable, reliable, and secure components that provide out of the box implementations of non-functional requirements and controls compliance, and accelerate feature delivery
• Collaborate with product engineering teams to deliver solutions that improve productivity and engineering experience
• Drive standardisation of development workflows, tooling, and processes
• Champion the adoption of engineering best practices, coding standards, and architectural guidelines
• Lead a backend and platform focused squad, providing technical direction and mentorship
• Drive sprint planning, backlog grooming, and timely delivery of objectives
• Facilitate knowledge sharing and skill development within the team
• Partner with SDLC and Infrastructure teams to deliver Platform as a Product
• Tackle complex technical challenges and design innovative strategic solutions
• Act as a technical point of contact for platform-related issues and escalations

Required Qualifications, Capabilities, and Skills

• Strong proficiency in Java and Spring Boot, with a track record of building backend libraries and frameworks
• Experience with managing build tools such as Maven and Gradle and understanding their role in SDLC standardisation
• Solid understanding of software engineering principles and design patterns
• Commitment to security best practices in backend development
• Strong experience in designing APIs (GraphQL and REST), micro‑service architectures, and distributed asynchronous systems
• Demonstrated experience leading engineering teams or squads, ideally in a regulated environment
• Excellent communication, mentoring, and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to drive change and influence direction with focus on Standardisation & Process Improvement
• Passion for standardisation, process improvement, and engineering excellence
• Experience implementing coding standards, code reviews, and automated testing
• Understanding of controls and compliance in regulated organisations

Preferred Qualifications, Capabilities, and Skills

• Experience with scripting languages (Python, Groovy, Bash) and IaC tools (Terraform)
• Knowledge of observability tools (OTEL, Grafana, Dynatrace)
• Experience in financial services, investment platforms, or regulated organisations
• Hands‑on experience with SDLC, DevEx & DevOps, building and maintaining CI/CD platforms (Jenkins, GitHub Actions)
• Experience building self‑service tooling for engineering teams
• Familiarity with Infrastructure as Code, containerisation (Docker, Kubernetes), and AWS