Senior Software Engineer I - Backend (Java)

Legal Counsel - 12 month FTC at Rightmove Greenhouse; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private Medical Insurance

Pension and Life Insurance

27 days holiday + volunteering days

Hybrid working with 2 days in office

Employee Assistance Plan

Job summary

Rightmove is seeking a Senior Backend Engineer to shape and deliver innovative, self-serving parts of our platform. You will design features and collaborate with autonomous cross-functional teams to build scalable, high-performance solutions for millions of users and thousands of agents.

You will own technical decisions, balance feature work with technical debt, and mentor junior engineers while embracing new technologies to improve outcomes.

Qualifications

• Proven experience with Java 17+ and Spring Boot.
• Hands-on knowledge of Kafka, Elasticsearch and SQL.
• Experience with TDD and pipeline optimization (left-shifting).

Responsibilities

• Design and build new features with Java 17+ and Spring Boot.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align on priorities.
• Own key technical decisions and deliver projects end-to-end.
• Balance feature delivery with technical debt for maintainability.
• Write secure, high-quality code that scales and lasts.
• Communicate with stakeholders to meet business goals.
• Mentor junior engineers and foster ownership and growth.
• Champion new technologies aligned to the roadmap.

Skills

Java 17+

Spring Boot

Kafka

TDD

Performance optimization

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

Elasticsearch

Gradle

Hibernate

Couchbase

SQL

Docker

Job description

Our vision is to give everyone the belief they can make their move. We aim to make moving simpler,by giving everyone the best place to turn to and return to for access to the tools, expertise, trust, and belief to make it happen.

We’re home to the UK’s largest choice of properties and are the go-to destination for millionsof people planning their next move, reading the latest industry news, or just browsing what’s on the market.

Location: London (Hybrid - 2 days in the London Office)

Reports to: Engineering Manager - Customer Tooling

About the role

At Rightmove, we’re on a mission to make home moving easier and simpler for everyone. Every month, millions of people spend over a billion minutes on our platform, with more than 140 million visits across our website and apps. Behind that experience is a team of passionate engineers building the tools and services that power how we operate.

We’re looking for a Senior Backend Engineer to help shape and deliver innovative solutions for our customers. You'll develop and build out a unique part of the platform, offering self-serving products that help our customers manage their portfolios and navigate the platform seamlessly.

Our teams are autonomous and cross-functional, combining design, product, engineering and testing expertise. You’ll collaborate closely with others to deliver high-quality, reliable solutions that support millions of users, thousands of agents, and hundreds of Rightmovers. You’ll play a key role in defining scalable, maintainable, and high-performance solutions to both business and technical challenges.

To find out more about our tools, tech and people, head to our tech blog.

What you'll be doing

• Designing and building new features and enhancements using Java 17+, Spring Boot, Elasticsearch, Kafka, Gradle, Hibernate, Couchbase, SQL, and Docker.
• Collaborating with cross-functional teams and stakeholders to shape solutions and align on priorities.
• Taking ownership of key technical decisions and delivering projects end-to-end.
• Balancing new feature development with technical debt, making thoughtful, pragmatic trade-offs.
• Writing high-quality, secure, and extensible code that supports both current needs and future growth.
• Communicating effectively with stakeholders and third parties to ensure solutions meet business objectives.
• Championing new and emerging technologies that add value and align with our roadmap.
• Mentoring and supporting junior engineers, helping to build a culture of growth, ownership, and continuous improvement.

We're looking for someone who

• Brings strong commercial experience with Java 17+, Spring Boot, and Kafka.
• Has successfully led complex projects, including coordinating work across multiple engineers.
• Is highly collaborative, organised, and solution-focused in their approach.
• Has a deep understanding of TDD practices and pipeline optimisation, including left-shifting.
• Can balance technical priorities with business OKRs through pragmatic decision-making.
• Is passionate about performance, scalability, and understanding user behaviour.
• Proactively introduces new ideas, technologies, and ways of working to improve team outcomes.
• Is committed to sharing knowledge, fostering team ownership, and contributing to a psychologically safe and inclusive environment.

Life at Rightmove

Despite our growth, we’ve remained a friendly, supportive place to work, with employee #1 still working here! We’ve done this by placing the Rightmove Hows at the heart of everything we do. These are the essential values that reflect our culture, and include:

• Wecreatevalue… by delivering results and building trust with partners and consumers.
• Wethinkbigger… by acting with curiosity and setting bold aspirations.
• Wecaredeeply… by being real, having fun, and valuing diversity.
• Wemovetogether… by being one team - internally collaborative, externally competitive.
• Wemakea difference… by focusing on delivering measurable impact.

We believe in careers that open doors and help our team develop by providing an open and inclusive work environment, offering ongoing training opportunities, and supporting charity fundraising events. And with 89% of Rightmovers saying we’re a great place to work, we’re clearly doing something right!

What we offer

• Cash plan for dental, optical and physio treatments.
• Private Medical Insurance, Pension and Life Insurance, Employee Assistance Plan.
• 27 days holiday plus two (paid) volunteering days a year to give back, and holiday buy schemes.
• Contributory stakeholder pension.
• Life assurance at 4x your basic salary to a spouse, family member or other nominated person in your life.
• Competitive compensation package.
• Paid leave for maternity, paternity, adoption & fertility.
• Travel Loans, Bike to Work scheme, Rental Deposit Loan.
• Charitable contributions through Payroll Giving and donation matching.
• Access deals and discounts on things like travel, electronics, fashion, gym memberships, cinema discounts and more.
• We offer hybrid working with a minimum of 2 days in the office. For our roles, such as Field or Home-based positions, different working arrangements apply - full details will be shared during the recruitment process.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Rightmove will never discriminate based on age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, gender reassignment, marriage / civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity or sexual orientation.

At Rightmove, we believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce leads to better innovation, productivity, and overall success. We are committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for all employees, regardless of their background or identity, to develop and promote a diverse culture that reflects the communities we serve.

By applying, you confirm that you are aged at least 18 or over andthat you’ve read and understood our Privacy Policy, which explains how we handle and protect your personal information during the recruitment process.

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