Full job description.
Lead Full-Stack Software EngineerTier 1 Investment & Business BankingLocation: Manchester (Hybrid)
Engagement: Contract-to-Permanent
Rate: Inside IR35 via Umbrella
OverviewA leading Tier 1 financial institution is expanding its Manchester technology hub and seeks an experienced Lead Full-Stack Software Engineer to play a pivotal role in the transformation of its digital business banking platforms.
This position offers a rare opportunity to enter on a high-value contract while transitioning into a permanent senior leadership role within a globally recognised organisation. The successful candidate will combine technical authority, architectural vision, and people leadership in a complex, regulated environment.
Key ResponsibilitiesTechnical & Modernisation Leadership*Lead the modernisation of large-scale legacy systems, transitioning from monolithic architectures to scalable, API-driven microservices.
*Drive architectural best practices across performance, reliability, security, and maintainability.
Engineering Leadership & Delivery*Provide hands-on technical leadership while mentoring and managing a large offshore engineering team (20+ developers).
*Own engineering standards, code quality, and delivery outcomes across distributed teams.
Cloud & Platform Transformation*Oversee the migration of enterprise platforms from legacy middleware (e.g., WebSphere) to containerised Kubernetes environments across GCP, AWS, or internal cloud platforms (IKP).
*Champion DevOps practices, automation, and CI/CD maturity.
Stakeholder & Architecture Engagement*Act as a senior technical interface between engineering, architecture, product, and business stakeholders.
*Translate complex regulatory and financial requirements into low-level technical designs and implementation plans.
Full-Stack Development Leadership*Design and build secure, high-performance applications using Java 17+, Spring Boot, and Angular.
*Set standards for frontend engineering, API design, and backend service orchestration.
Data & Platform Evolution*Support the modernisation of legacy SDLC tooling and data platforms.
*Lead or contribute to complex data migrations, including Elasticsearch upgrades and distributed data pipelines.
Technology StackBackend*Java 17+, Spring Framework, Spring Boot
*Microservices & RESTful API design
Frontend*Angular, TypeScript
*HTML5, CSS3, SASS
Cloud, DevOps & Infrastructure*Kubernetes (GKE / IKP / AWS EKS)
*Docker, Terraform
*CI/CD: GitHub Actions, Jenkins
Messaging, Streaming & ETL*Apache Kafka
*Apache Flink, Apache Beam
*Redis
Databases*PostgreSQL
*Oracle
*MongoDB
Security & Compliance*OAuth 2.0, Okta
*Enterprise security scanning: Checkmarx, Aqua Security
*Strong understanding of banking-grade security and regulatory control frameworks
Candidate ProfileExperience & Background*Proven experience within Tier 1 financial institutions (e.g. Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Barclays, or equivalent).
*20+ years’ experience in enterprise Java and web-based platforms.
Leadership & Influence*Demonstrated success leading large engineering teams across onshore and offshore models.
*Strong ability to coach, mentor, and develop senior engineers while influencing technical strategy.
Technical Excellence*Deep expertise in Agile delivery (Scrum/Kanban), TDD, and enterprise design patterns.
*Track record of delivering complex system transformations in regulated environments.
Education*MSc in International Banking & Finance and/or
*BSc in Computer Information Systems (or equivalent)
Why Join?*Play a visible leadership role in large-scale digital transformation
*Transition from contract flexibility to permanent leadership
*Work within a globally recognised Tier 1 banking environment
*Influence architecture, people, and platform strategy at enterprise scale