Senior Software Engineer, Backend

AutoTrader UK; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 46,000 - 86,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

28 days holiday + bank holidays

Private medical cover

Pension contributions

Enhanced family leave

Car salary sacrifice

Share-save options

24/7 online GP and dentist support

Wellbeing support

Job summary

AutoTrader UK is seeking a seasoned Java engineer in Manchester to design and build scalable backend services. You will work with Java, JVM, Spring, Spring Boot, RESTful APIs, and practice TDD to ensure high-quality delivery.

Join a hybrid team leveraging Google Cloud, Kafka, MongoDB, Solr, and Cloud SQL, delivering millions of events daily while mentoring others and sharing best practices across the platform. The role offers a generous salary and comprehensive benefits.

Qualifications

• In-depth understanding of Java and the JVM.
• Knowledge of server-side frameworks such as Spring.
• Web application design and RESTful API know-how.
• Structured approach to programming and testing, such as TDD.
• Mentoring, coaching, and sharing technical expertise.
• Helpful experience includes Google Cloud, SQL and relational databases, document/map-based storage such as MongoDB, and Kafka.

Responsibilities

• We build a technology platform for Autotrader.co.uk's needs.
• We use public-facing web services and external data sources to power businesses across the automotive industry.
• We work on systems that handle thousands of requests per second with sub-100 millisecond response times.
• We ensure service availability and responsiveness continue to improve.
• We process millions of events per day using Spring Boot, Apache Solr, Cloud SQL, and Apache Kafka.
• We collaborate through pairing, code reviews, and regular stand-ups.
• We share technical expertise and support one another across the team.

Skills

Java

JVM

RESTful API

TDD

Mentoring

Tools

Spring

Spring Boot

Kafka

MongoDB

SQL

Solr

Google Cloud

Cloud SQL

Job description

Salary: £46,000 - 86,000 per year

Requirements:

• We want people with in-depth understanding of Java and the JVM.
• We want knowledge of server-side frameworks such as Spring.
• We want web application design and RESTful API know-how.
• We want a structured approach to programming and testing, such as TDD.
• We want people who are passionate about mentoring, coaching, and sharing technical expertise.
• Helpful experience includes Google Cloud, SQL and relational databases, document/map-based storage such as MongoDB, and working with Kafka messaging/streaming.

Responsibilities:

• We build a technology platform for more than just the needs of Autotrader.co.uk.
• We use our public-facing web services and additional external data sources to power businesses across the automotive industry.
• We work on systems that handle thousands of requests per second with sub-100 millisecond response times.
• We ensure service availability and responsiveness continue to improve.
• We process millions of events per day using Spring Boot, Apache Solr, Cloud SQL, and Apache Kafka.
• We collaborate through pairing, code reviews, and regular stand-ups.
• We share technical expertise and support one another across the team.

Technologies:

• API
• Cloud
• Support
• JVM
• Java
• Kafka
• MongoDB
• SQL
• Solr
• Spring
• Spring Boot
• TDD
• Web
• Backend

More:

We are Autotrader, the UKs most trusted and most visited automotive marketplace, combining heritage with innovation to bring vehicle buyers and sellers together and provide choices across everything from cars to e-bikes and caravans. We offer a salary of 50,000 - 70,000, plus an additional 10% of salary awarded in shares each year, with shares vesting over three years. Our benefits include 28 days holiday plus bank holidays, comprehensive private medical cover, pension contributions, enhanced family leave, a car salary sacrifice scheme, share-save options, and access to 24/7 online GP and dentist support, along with specialist wellbeing support. We work in a hybrid Connected Working model, with a minimum of 3 days a week in the office with our team, plus remote-first periods during summer and winter when we can work from anywhere in the UK and certain locations abroad.