Senior Java Developer

Ari Connects Ltd; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 64,000 - 84,000; Full time

Job summary

Ari Connects Ltd in Birmingham seeks an experienced Senior Java Developer with Technical Lead capabilities for a six-month UK contract. You will apply Java, Spring Boot, microservices and REST API work to deliver robust services while guiding a small team and owning delivery.

The role emphasizes architecture judgement, code reviews, CI/CD via GitLab, automated testing with QA, incident response, and clear communication with stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Strong commercial Java development experience with modern Java releases.
• Extensive Spring Boot, microservices and REST API expertise.
• Proven architecture and design skills covering scalability, resilience, performance and security.
• Experience leading developers, mentoring, code reviews and delivery ownership.

Responsibilities

• Guide and mentor developers, review code, and own delivery.
• Maintain and troubleshoot GitLab CI/CD pipelines.
• Own automated testing in collaboration with QA.
• Investigate and resolve production incidents with root-cause analysis.
• Communicate clearly with technical teams and business stakeholders.

Skills

Java

Spring Boot

Microservices

REST APIs

GitLab CI/CD

Unit Testing

Agile

Leadership

Architecture design

Tools

GitLab CI/CD

Job description

We are seeking an experienced Senior Java Developer with Technical Lead experience for a six-month UK contract at £400 per day, inside IR35, with potential extension. Based in Birmingham and mostly remote within the UK, the role requires occasional on-site attendance without travel reimbursement. The successful candidate will combine recent hands-on Java, Spring Boot, microservices and REST API development with strong architecture judgement, team leadership and clear communication. Responsibilities include guiding developers, reviewing code, maintaining GitLab CI/CD pipelines, owning automated testing in collaboration with QA, and resolving production issues. Applicants must currently reside in the UK, have permission to undertake the engagement without visa sponsorship, and hold or meet the client’s requirements to obtain SC clearance. Immediate availability is preferred, subject to required checks.

Essential requirements include strong commercial Java development experience with recent hands-on use of modern, supported releases; substantial experience with Spring Boot, microservices and REST APIs; and practical architecture and design skills covering scalability, resilience, performance, security and service integration. Candidates must have experience leading developers, mentoring team members, reviewing code and taking ownership of delivery while remaining actively involved in coding. Hands-on GitLab CI/CD pipeline development and troubleshooting, automated unit and integration testing, collaboration with QA, Agile delivery, and production incident investigation and root-cause analysis are required. Clear communication with technical teams and business stakeholders is essential.