Senior Backend Developer; Java​/AWS

Join a high-performing engineering team working on complex, large-scale backend systems that power mission-critical applications. This is a chance to take ownership of core services, shape technical decisions, and deliver robust, scalable solutions using modern Java, Spring, microservices, and AWS in a fully remote, contract role.

As a Senior Backend Developer, you will design, build, and optimise backend services and APIs that underpin distributed, microservices-based platforms. You will be responsible for delivering secure, resilient, and highly available solutions on AWS, collaborating closely with other engineers and architects to ensure the platform scales effectively and performs reliably under heavy load.

• Design, implement, and maintain RESTful APIs and backend services using Java and Spring Boot within a microservices architecture.
• Develop robust, high-performance code leveraging Java core libraries, collections, and concurrency to handle large-scale, distributed workloads.
• Build and integrate data access layers using Spring Data and relational databases on AWS (e.g. RDS), ensuring efficient queries and reliable persistence.
• Implement security controls and authentication/authorization mechanisms using Spring Security and AWS services to protect APIs and data.
• Design, deploy, and operate backend services on AWS (EC2, ECS/EKS, Lambda, API Gateway, S3, RDS), focusing on scalability, reliability, and cost efficiency.
• Collaborate with Dev Ops and platform teams to define CI/CD pipelines, containerisation strategies, and infrastructure-as-code for backend services.
• Troubleshoot complex production issues across multiple services and systems, performing root cause analysis and implementing long-term fixes.
• Participate in technical design discussions, code reviews, and architecture decisions to maintain high engineering standards and best practices.

• Strong commercial experience as a Senior Backend Developer working with Java in large-scale, distributed backend systems.
• Deep proficiency in Java core concepts, including collections, concurrency, multithreading, and performance optimisation.
• Hands‑on experience building RESTful APIs and microservices with Spring Boot, Spring Data, and Spring Security.
• Proven track record designing and implementing microservices architectures, including inter-service communication, resilience, and observability.
• Solid experience deploying and running backend applications on AWS, using services such as EC2, ECS/EKS, Lambda, S3, RDS, and API Gateway.
• Ability to design scalable, fault‑tolerant systems and apply patterns for distributed systems (e.g. circuit breakers, retries, caching).
• Strong skills in debugging, profiling, and optimising backend code and services in production environments.
• Comfortable working in remote, agile teams, taking ownership of deliverables and collaborating effectively with cross‑functional stakeholders.

• Experience with containerisation and orchestration tools (Docker, Kubernetes/EKS) in production environments.
• Familiarity with infrastructure‑as‑code tools (Terraform, Cloud Formation) for managing AWS resources.
• Knowledge of event‑driven architectures and messaging systems (e.g. Kafka, SNS/SQS).
• Experience implementing logging, metrics, and tracing for microservices (e.g. ELK stack, Prometheus, Open Telemetry).
• Background in designing and consuming APIs with strong documentation and versioning practices (e.g. OpenAPI/Swagger).

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent professional experience.
• Advanced degree in a relevant field (e.g. MSc in Computer Science) is