Average Java Engineer salary in the UK

Senior Java Engineer: 6 month contract. Outside IR35, 2 days a week in Manchester.I'm looking for a senior Java Engineer to join a small team working on building a load of new backend services for an existing platform. The role requires someone who can be in office a couple of days a week to collaborate with the small engineering and product team. What you’ll be doingBuilding event-driven services and integrations on KafkaDeploying and running services on AWS, working closely with DevOps on infrastructure and pipelinesWriting clean, tested, production-ready code, and setting the standard through code reviewWorking directly with product and engineering leads to turn requirements into working features fastRequired experience:Strong commercial experience in Java (17+) and Spring Boot, ideally Spring Boot 3Hands-on Kafka experience: producers, consumers, topic design, and handling failure and replayAWS in production, e.g. ECS/EKS, Lambda, RDS, S3, SQS/SNSRESTful API and microservices design, plus relational databases (PostgreSQL or similar)Solid testing discipline: JUnit, Mockito, integration testing (Testcontainers a plus)CI/CD, Docker, and comfort with infrastructure-as-code (Terraform or CloudFormation)Previous contract experience, landing quickly and delivering on a new buildHands-on use of AI-assisted development in your daily workflow, such as Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Cursor or ChatGPT, for scaffolding, refactoring, test generation and reviewing generated code criticallyKubernetes, observability tooling (Datadog, Grafana, OpenTelemetry)As an industry leading, nationwide Marketing, Digital, Analytics, IT and Design recruitment agency, we are continually receiving new assignments to work on, so keep a close eye on our website, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter pages for a full list of current permanent and interim opportunities as well as marketplace news and fun stuff.Forward Role is operating as an employment agency.

If you're a Principal level Java or Kotlin Developer who wants to stay hands-on while having a genuine influence over architecture, technology and the engineers around you, this is a role worth exploring.This is an opportunity to take a leading technical role on a large, high-throughput platform within the telecommunications and online payments space.Java / Kotlin Software DeveloperRemote | Up to £70,000 | NewburyThe RoleThis is a hands-on Principal role, with around 90% of your work focused on backend development. You'll be working on a large platform with high-throughput APIs, Azure Cloud and an event-driven architecture.The business is growing and the volume of work is increasing, so they're looking for a Principal Software Developer to join a 16-person R&D development team, made up largely of senior engineers.The core technology stack includes:Java/Kotlin and Spring BootPostgreSQL and MongoDBMicroservices and event-driven architectureRabbitMQ, Docker and KubernetesAzure CloudTypeScript, React and AngularYou'll remain close to the code while also helping shape technical direction, engineering standards and architecture. You'll mentor other engineers, evaluate new technologies and work closely with customers and stakeholders to turn requirements into robust technical solutions.What We're Looking ForYou'll need strong experience with:Java or Kotlin on JVM 11+Spring BootEnterprise backend developmentREST APIs and microservicesSQL and NoSQL databasesDocker/KubernetesGit and modern development practicesDesirable:Telecommunications billingAzureCI/CDLinuxRedisElasticsearch or additional programming languagesYou should also be comfortable operating at Principal level, making technical decisions, solving complex problems and helping other engineers develop.Working Arrangements & BenefitsThis is a remote-first role. The minimum expectation is around 2-3 visits per year to the Newbury office, although you're welcome to spend more time there if you prefer.The business also runs monthly and quarterly all-hands events, including summer and Christmas gatherings.24 days' holiday plus your birthday offPrivate medicalLife assuranceCritical illness coverEmployee assistance programmeContributory pensionApply now or contact Chris Lynes at Spectrum IT Recruitment to find out more.Spectrum IT Recruitment (South) Limited is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.

Up to £500/day Inside IR35Contract Until March 2027Leeds | Manchester | Newcastle | Sheffield | BirminghamASAP Start We are supporting a major public sector digital transformation programme and are looking to engage experienced Java Engineers to join delivery teams responsible for developing and enhancing critical digital services used at national scale. This is a long-term opportunity offering contract security through to March 2027, working within established Agile engineering teams delivering modern, cloud-native solutions across a complex enterprise environment.Active Security Clearance RequirementCandidates must hold active SC Clearance at the point of application. Unfortunately, candidates who are:SC eligible but do not currently hold active clearancePreviously held SC clearance that has now lapsedLooking to obtain SC clearance through this rolecannot be considered. Applications will only be considered from candidates with a current, transferable SC Clearance.Key ResponsibilitiesDesign, build and maintain enterprise-grade applications using Java 21 and Spring Boot.Develop scalable microservices and RESTful APIs within distributed systems environments.Contribute to the design and evolution of large-scale digital services.Implement high-quality software solutions using Test Driven Development (TDD) and Behaviour Driven Development (BDD).Work within Agile delivery teams, participating in sprint planning, refinement, stand-ups, reviews and retrospectives.Collaborate with architects, engineers and DevOps teams to ensure services are secure, resilient and performant.Support continuous improvement initiatives across engineering standards, tooling and delivery practices.Essential Skills & ExperienceJava 21 (or later)Spring BootLarge-scale Microservice ArchitecturesREST API DevelopmentTest Driven Development (TDD)Behaviour Driven Development (BDD)MongoDB or other document database technologiesExperience delivering within Agile environmentsStrong software engineering best practicesDesirable ExperiencePublic sector deliveryGovernment digital servicesCloud-native application developmentCI/CD and DevOps practicesEvent-driven architecturesLarge-scale transformation programmesHigh-volume transactional systemsLocation & Working Arrangements Opportunities are available across:LeedsManchesterNewcastleSheffieldBirminghamHybrid working arrangements will be agreed directly with delivery teams and delivery managers.Contract DetailsUp to £500/day Inside IR35Contract running until March 2027ASAP startLong-term programme of workMultiple positions availableApplyIf you hold active SC Clearance and have strong experience across Java 21+, Spring Boot, Microservices, APIs, MongoDB, TDD and BDD, please apply with your latest CV for immediate consideration.