Senior Software Engineer I – Backend (Java / Spring Boot)

Elsevier; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private Medical/Dental Plan

Savings Fund

Life Insurance

Meal/Grocery Voucher

Job summary

Elsevier is seeking a highly experienced Senior Software Engineer I to join our global technology team. The role focuses on backend development for Learning Products, including Courseware and Sherpath, delivering scalable RESTful services with Java/Spring Boot.

You will own features end-to-end, collaborate with product and QA, and contribute to system design, observability, and CI/CD practices, while mentoring junior engineers in a hybrid work setup.

Qualifications

• Proficient in Java backend development with Spring Boot.
• Experience designing RESTful services and data models.
• Strong database knowledge including PostgreSQL and query optimization.

Responsibilities

• Design, build and own backend services across Learning Products delivery lanes.
• Drive end-to-end features from requirements to production readiness.
• Collaborate with product, architecture and QA to translate needs into scalable solutions.
• Contribute to system and service design, ensuring reuse and alignment with platform architecture.
• Deliver high-quality, observable software with robust logging, monitoring and alerting.

Skills

Java

Spring Boot

RESTful APIs

PostgreSQL

CI/CD

Distributed systems

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field

Job description

About us:

Working in technology at Elsevier means that your work really does matter – it changes lives. And you’ll see the real-world impact of your day-to-day efforts.

Our technologists have applied new machine learning models to reduce gender biases against women in academia and developed technology to help medical professionals more accurately diagnose conditions that may have otherwise been missed. Whether you’re supporting the business to be more efficient, building better infrastructure to help things run more smoothly, or if you’re part of a team creating products for the customers we serve, there’s always a new challenge you’ll be helping to solve.

About the Team:

Elsevier is a global leader in advanced information and decision support for science and healthcare. We believe that by working together with the communities we serve, we can shape human progress to go further, happen faster, and benefit all. For more than 140 years, we’ve helped impact makers to advance science and healthcare to advance human progress, and that same mission drives us today.

If you are looking for a career that inspires progress in science, innovation and health, and allows you to grow every day, join us. Let’s shape progress together.

About the Role:

We are seeking a highly experienced and passionate Senior Software Engineer I to join our global technology team. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in solving complex technical challenges, and driving innovation in a collaborative environment.

Responsibilities:

• Design, build, and own backend services across one or more delivery lanes within Learning Products (such as Courseware, Sherpath, and emerging products).
• Drive features end-to-end with a high level of independence, from requirements and design through implementation, integration, and production readiness.
• Collaborate closely with product, architecture, and quality engineering partners to translate business needs into scalable and maintainable solutions.
• Contribute to system and service design, ensuring alignment with platform architecture and promoting reuse of existing capabilities.
• Deliver high-quality, reliable software that meets defined readiness criteria, including story-level completeness, dependency integration, and production stability.
• Build and maintain robust APIs and data models that support performance, scalability, and reliability.
• Ensure proper observability by implementing effective logging, monitoring, and alerting.
• Support and improve engineering practices across the SDLC, including CI/CD, code quality, and defect prevention.
• Mentor junior engineers and support team growth through knowledge sharing and guidance.
• Promote a culture of ownership, accountability, and predictable, outcome-based delivery.

Requirements:

• 4-7 years of software engineering experience, with a strong focus on backend development.
• Hands-on experience building scalable RESTful services using Java and Spring Boot.
• Experience working with relational databases (such as PostgreSQL), including data modeling and basic query optimization.
• Ability to own features end-to-end, from design and implementation through deployment and production support.
• Experience working across multiple services or components within distributed or service-based architectures.
• Solid understanding of API design, system integration, and managing dependencies across teams.
• Experience integrating backend services into CI/CD pipelines and supporting reliable deployment practices.
• Strong debugging and problem-solving skills, with the ability to resolve complex issues across services.
• Experience supporting production readiness, including logging, monitoring, and alerting.
• Ability to work through ambiguity and move solutions forward with minimal supervision.
• Strong collaboration and communication skills, with the ability to partner effectively with engineering, QA, and product teams.
• Experience mentoring junior engineers and contributing to team-level engineering practices.
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.

Work in a Way That Works for You:

We promote a healthy work/life balance across the organisation. We offer an appealing working prospect for our people. With numerous wellbeing initiatives, shared parental leave, study assistance and sabbaticals, we will help you meet your immediate responsibilities and your long-term goals.

This is a hybrid role. Our teams operate in a flexible hybrid work model, combining in-person collaboration with remote flexibility. You’ll be expected to participate in regular team meetings and engineering rituals in line with your team’s cadence.

Working for You:

• Private Medical/Dental Plan
• Savings Fund
• Life Insurance
• Meal/Grocery Voucher

About the Business:

A global leader in information and analytics, we help researchers and healthcare professionals advance science and improve health outcomes for the benefit of society. Building on our publishing heritage, we combine quality information and vast data sets with analytics to support visionary science and research, health education and interactive learning, as well as exceptional healthcare and clinical practice. What you do every day will help advance science and healthcare to advance human progress.

We know your well-being and happiness are key to a long and successful career. We are delighted to offer country specific benefits.

We are committed to providing a fair and accessible hiring process. If you have a disability or other need that requires accommodation or adjustment, please let us know by completing our Applicant Request Support Form or please contact 1-855-833-5120.

We are an equal opportunity employer: qualified applicants are considered for and treated during employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship status, disability status, protected veteran status, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

USA Job Seekers: EEO Know Your Rights.