Lead Software Developer - Contract

The successful candidate will lead development activity, provide technical direction, mentor engineers, and ensure the quality and reliability of services across the stack., * Lead the design, development, and delivery of Back End services using Java and Spring Boot.

• Architect and build microservices, deploying them using Docker containers.
• Provide technical leadership and guidance to a multi-disciplinary engineering team.
• Contribute to coding standards, best practices, and continuous improvement.
• Build and maintain simple, standards-compliant web frontends using:

• Nunjucks
• JavaScript
• GDS Design System/GOV.UK Front End conventions

• Collaborate with architects, product managers, and delivery teams to define solutions and ensure alignment with business goals.
• Participate in code reviews, pair programming, and mentoring junior developers.
• Ensure code quality, performance, maintainability, and security requirements are met.
• Contribute to DevOps practices and CI/CD pipelines where required.

Essential Skills & ExperienceBackend Engineering

• Strong commercial experience with:

• Java
• Spring Boot
• Microservices architecture
• Docker

• Proven ability to design and implement scalable, secure Back End systems.

Frontend (lightweight, straightforward)

• Working knowledge of:

• JavaScript
• Nunjucks
• GDS Design System/GOV.UK Front End standards

(Note: This role does not require a dedicated Front End engineer; only basic, standards-based Front End construction using established patterns and tooling.)

Additional Requirements

• Experience with Node.js is desirable for certain Back End components.
• Ability to work within agile, iterative delivery environments.
• Strong communication, leadership, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Eligible for Security Clearance (SC).

Nice-to-Have Skills

• Experience working on UK government or public sector digital services.
• Knowledge of CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and DevOps tooling.
• Exposure to cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or similar).
• Understanding of container orchestration (eg, Kubernetes).