Full job description

Senior Java Backend Developer - API & Microservices ModernisationLocation: Telford - minimum 2 days per month onsite, remaining time remote
Contract Length: 12 months
Rate: £550 per day
IR35: Inside IR35
Start Date: Candidates must be available to start w/c 4 January 2027
Client: Central Government
The RoleWe are looking for an experienced Senior Java Backend Developer to join a major application modernisation programme within Central Government.
You will be responsible for designing, developing, testing and deploying Java-based RESTful APIs and microservices, with a strong focus on scalability, resilience, maintainability and integration with existing systems.
Essential Skills*Java - Strong backend development experience.
*Spring Boot - RESTful API and microservices development.
*Microservices Design - Experience designing scalable, resilient and loosely coupled microservices, including service-to-service communication.
*API Design - Strong RESTful API design skills, including API contracts, versioning and integration patterns.
*JUnit - Automated unit testing.
*JSON - Experience working with API data structures and formats.
*Docker - Containerisation of microservices.
*Kubernetes - Hands-on experience deploying and managing microservices.
*Git / CI/CD - Version control and automated build and deployment pipelines.
Desirable Skills*JPA / Hibernate
*Kibana
*Maven / Gradle
*Mockito
*AWS
*GitLab
*Helm
*OpenAPI / Swagger
*SQL
*Shell scripting
AI-Assisted DevelopmentThe programme is actively embracing modern AI-assisted development practices. Candidates should be comfortable using approved AI tools and agents throughout the backend development lifecycle, including:
*Analysis and technical design
*Code generation
*Automated testing
*Debugging
*Code review and refinement