Senior Java Software Engineer

Harrington Starr; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Harrington Starr is seeking a Senior Java Developer to contribute to a cloud-native post-trade platform. This engineering role involves designing and delivering scalable backend systems, working closely with Product and Client Services teams.

The ideal candidate will have a strong Java background, experience with distributed systems, and knowledge of modern engineering practices. This position offers a clear progression path toward engineering leadership.

Qualifications

• Strong commercial Java engineering background within financial services.
• Experience building scalable distributed systems and APIs.
• Strong understanding of multithreading, profiling, and performance tuning.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain backend systems, APIs, and internal tooling.
• Build scalable microservices and event-driven systems.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to translate business requirements into technical solutions.

Skills

Java engineering

Distributed systems

APIs

Microservices

TDD

Agile

Performance tuning

Tools

Spring / Spring Boot

JUnit

Git

Terraform

Job description

A growing capital markets technology business is looking to hire a Senior Java Developer to play a key role in building and evolving a cloud-native post-trade platform used across client reporting, APIs, workflow management, and trading operations.

This is a hands-on engineering role with strong exposure across platform architecture, distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, and modern software engineering practices. The position also offers a genuine progression path toward Head of Engineering responsibilities over time.

The Role

You will work closely with Product, Client Services, and Engineering teams to design and deliver scalable backend systems supporting post-trade workflows, reporting, integrations, and client-facing tooling.

The environment combines modern Java engineering with capital markets domain exposure, including clearing, OTC derivatives, collateral, and prime brokerage workflows.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain backend systems, APIs, reporting platforms, and internal tooling
• Extend and customise trading and post-trade platforms to support evolving business requirements
• Build scalable microservices and event-driven systems within a cloud-native architecture
• Work closely with stakeholders across product, operations, and engineering to translate business requirements into technical solutions
• Apply modern software engineering practices including TDD, BDD, CI/CD, automated testing, and code review
• Contribute to platform reliability, observability, monitoring, and operational improvement
• Mentor and support junior developers while helping drive engineering standards and delivery quality
• Collaborate with distributed and offshore teams where required

Technology Environment

• Spring / Spring Boot
• Microservices and distributed systems
• CI/CD and automated deployment pipelines
• JUnit, Mockito, Spock
• Git / Maven
• Terraform and Infrastructure as Code
• Messaging and event-driven architecture
• Observability and monitoring tooling
• AI-assisted development tooling and automation

Requirements

• Strong commercial Java engineering background within financial services
• Experience building scalable distributed systems and APIs
• Strong understanding of multithreading, profiling, and performance tuning
• Experience with modern engineering practices including TDD, Agile, CI/CD, and automated testing
• Understanding of clean architecture principles, SOLID design, and software quality practices
• Strong communication skills with the ability to work directly with technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Ability to troubleshoot complex systems and drive issues through to resolution

Nice to Have

• Capital markets exposure across clearing, collateral, OTC derivatives, or prime brokerage
• Experience with FIX/FIXML, messaging systems, or trading workflows
• Experience building reporting platforms or client-facing web applications
• Leadership or mentoring experience
• Exposure to AI/ML tooling or developer productivity automation

The Environment

• Modern engineering culture with strong focus on quality and ownership
• High visibility role with direct business interaction
• Clear progression toward engineering leadership responsibilities
• Hybrid working environment
• Strong investment in tooling, automation, and engineering standards