Java/Kotlin Software Engineer - Manchester

Zopa Bank; Manchester; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial institution is seeking a Software Engineer to join their team in Manchester. This hybrid role requires 2-3 days in the office and focuses on building scalable cloud-based systems. Candidates should have solid experience in Kotlin or Java and a passion for clean code and collaborative problem-solving. Join a diverse team that values customer impact and flexible working arrangements.

Qualifications

• Solid hands-on experience with Kotlin (or Java) in a real-world setting.
• Good quality code and value clean design and testing.
• Curious, eager to learn, and not afraid to ask questions.

Responsibilities

• Write clean, reliable and maintainable backend code using Kotlin.
• Work on scalable cloud-based systems within a product-focused Agile team.
• Collaborate with engineers, product managers, and designers.

Skills

Kotlin

Java

Clean design

Problem-solving

Collaboration

Tools

CI/CD

Cloud-native tools

Job description

Overview

Join to apply for the Software Engineer - Manchester role at Zopa Bank.

Hello there. We’re Zopa. We started our journey back in 2005, building the first ever peer-to-peer lending company. Fast forward to 2020 and we launched Zopa Bank. A bank that listens to what our customers don’t like about finance and does the opposite. We’re redefining what it feels like to work in finance. Our vision for a new era of banking puts people front and centre — we’ve built a business that empowers everyone to aim high, every day, to move finance forward. Find out more about our fantastic offerings at Zopa.com!

We’re incredibly proud of our achievements and none of it would be possible without the amazing team here. It’s not just industry awards we’re winning, we’ve also been named in the top three UK’s Most Loved Workplaces.

If you embrace unconventional challenges, are unafraid to think differently and are driven to make an outsized impact, you’ll thrive here at Zopa. Join us, and make it count.

The Engineering Challenge

Our Software Engineers don't just write code, they solve real financial problems for millions of customers. You'll work on distributed systems processing thousands of transactions daily, build resilient services that handle people's money, and create experiences that make traditionally complex financial products feel simple.

Your Impact

• Writing clean, reliable and maintainable backend code using Kotlin
• Working on scalable cloud-based systems within a product-focused Agile team
• Collaborating with engineers, product managers and designers to build and ship features
• Taking part in planning, technical discussions and code reviews
• Building well-tested services and contributing to continuous delivery
• Taking ownership of your work — from development to production
• Continuously learning and developing your skills in a supportive environment

Your Toolkit

• You’ve got some solid hands-on experience with Kotlin (or Java) in a real-world setting
• You care about writing good quality code and value clean design and testing
• You’re curious, eager to learn and not afraid to ask questions
• You enjoy solving problems and working as part of a collaborative team
• You want to build things that have a real impact on customers
• You communicate clearly and are happy contributing to team decisions
• You’re excited by modern engineering practices like CI/CD and cloud-native tools

Our Engineering Culture

• Customer impact over unnecessary complexity
• Team success over individual heroics
• Operational ownership, not just feature delivery
• Continuous improvement through honest feedback

Added Bonus

• Experience with fintech or banking is a plus, but we value problem-solvers from all backgrounds

We’re expanding!

From September 2025, Zopa will be opening a brand-new office in Manchester at WeWork, Dalton Place, 29 John Dalton Street, M2 6WF.

Working arrangements

At Zopa we value flexible ways of working. This hybrid role requires you to come to our Manchester office 2-3 days a week. You’ll also have the option of working from abroad for up to 120 days a year! But no matter where you are, we’ll make sure you’ve got everything you need to thrive, both in your work and home life, from day one.

• Subject to having the right to work in the country of choice

Diversity & Inclusion

Zopa is proud to offer a workplace free from discrimination. Diversity of experience, perspectives, and backgrounds leads to better products for our customers and a unique company culture for our people. We are made up of nearly 50 nationalities, have a DE&I forum made up of Zopians wanting to make a difference and we are proud of our culture where everyone can bring their full self to work. Our approach to DE&I is reflected in our hiring process so please let us know if you require any reasonable adjustments.