Senior Java Developer

GTC Recruitment; Manchester; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

GTC Recruitment in Manchester is seeking an experienced Lead/Senior Java Developer to join our high-performing agile team. You will guide developers while contributing to backend development, APIs, and automated testing in a hands-on leadership role.

You will work on large, high-traffic systems using modern practices, designing resilient services and scalable architectures. The role requires strong Java expertise, mentoring ability, and a bias for clean code and reliable delivery.

Qualifications

• Must have strong Java experience and leadership skills.
• Deep knowledge of microservices and REST APIs.
• Proficient in TDD/BDD and automated testing practices.
• Experience in Agile development and live production support.
• Solid understanding of scalable web architectures.
• Comfortable in Linux/Unix environments.
• Desirable: Kafka/ActiveMQ, MongoDB, and cloud platforms.

Responsibilities

• Lead or mentor a team of Java developers.
• Design and build server-side apps and RESTful APIs.
• Develop automated tests using TDD/BDD.
• Support CI/CD and deployment pipelines.
• Handle 2nd-line production incidents.
• Build scalable, high-performance distributed systems.
• Work with large datasets and ensure scalability.
• Explain complex concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
• Operate in Linux/Unix environments.

Skills

Java

Team leadership

Microservices

REST APIs

TDD/BDD/Automated testing

Agile

Production support

Scalable web architecture

Linux/Unix

Tools

AWS

Azure

GCP

ActiveMQ

Kafka

MongoDB

NoSQL

CI/CD

DevOps

Jackson

JAX-RS

Job description

Salary: £? - ? per year

Requirements

• Strong commercial experience with Java (11/17/21+)
• Experience leading or mentoring engineers
• Strong background in microservices architecture
• Experience building and consuming REST APIs
• Strong understanding of TDD, BDD, and automated testing
• Experience working in Agile environments
• Experience supporting live production systems
• Solid understanding of scalable web architecture
• Comfortable working in Linux/Unix environments
• Desirable: experience with Kafka, ActiveMQ, or similar messaging systems
• Desirable: experience with MongoDB or other NoSQL databases
• Desirable: experience with Mockito, Jackson, and JAX-RS
• Desirable: experience with high-scale or high-traffic systems
• Desirable: experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP
• Desirable: experience with CI/CD and DevOps tooling

Responsibilities

• Lead or mentor a team of Java developers
• Design and build server-side applications and RESTful APIs
• Develop and maintain automated test suites using TDD and BDD
• Support CI/CD and continuous deployment practices
• Contribute to 2nd-line production support and incident resolution
• Build scalable, high-performance distributed systems
• Work with large datasets and ensure systems scale effectively
• Communicate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders
• Work in Linux/Unix-based environments

Technologies

• AWS
• ActiveMQ
• Azure
• Backend
• CI/CD
• Cloud
• DevOps
• GCP
• Support
• Jackson
• Java
• Kafka
• Linux
• MongoDB
• NoSQL
• REST
• TDD
• Unix
• Web
• microservices

More

We are looking for an experienced Lead / Senior Java Developer to join our high-performing agile team building scalable, high-quality digital services. This is a hands-on technical leadership role where you will guide developers while contributing directly to backend development, APIs, and automated testing. You will work on complex, high-traffic systems using modern engineering practices, helping us design and deliver robust, scalable services that are resilient and production-ready. We value clean engineering practices, high-quality code, and collaborative working in cross-functional agile teams.

last updated 38 week of 2026