Lead Developer

FDM is a global business and technology consultancy seeking a Lead Developer (Java/ AWS) to work for our client within the Public Sector. This is initially a 9 month contract with the potential to extend and will be a remote role., Our client is seeking an experienced Lead Developer to lead engineering delivery across a dual-track programme, covering both a legacy platform and a new cloud-native service.

This is a hands-on leadership role requiring someone who can bring a team together, improve engineering discipline, and confidently lead low-level design and delivery across both legacy and modern systems.

You’ll lead two key workstreams:

• Legacy system support - a Java 8 backend service with JSP components
• New service - a modern Java 21, AWS-based platform built in collaboration with architects

Alongside delivery, you’ll play a critical role in raising team capability, improving collaboration, and ensuring strong engineering standards are applied consistently. Responsibilities:

• Lead and coordinate engineering activity across both workstreams
• Provide hands-on technical leadership, particularly on complex design and delivery challenges
• Drive low-level design quality, ensuring solutions are robust, maintainable, and scalable
• Improve team collaboration and ways of working, reducing siloed delivery
• Increase delivery consistency and engineering throughput
• Work closely with architects, principal developers, and wider stakeholders to align on technical direction
• Ensure solutions are secure, compliant, and cost-effective, particularly within AWS
• Support onboarding, mentoring, and upskilling across the team
• Promote good engineering practices, standards compliance, and use of approved tooling
• Encourage responsible use of AI and tooling, with strong emphasis on engineering judgement and validation

Do you have experience in TypeScript?, Strong technical leadership

• Proven experience leading engineering teams in complex environments
• Confident owning technical decisions and guiding delivery

Design capability

• Strong experience producing and reviewing low-level designs
• Able to translate architecture into clean, implementable solutions

AWS experience

• Practical experience building services in AWS
• Understanding of cost-aware and efficient cloud design, particularly with Lambda

Team and delivery focus

• Ability to improve team collaboration and engagement
• Track record of driving delivery momentum and resolving blockers
• Comfortable mentoring engineers and raising capability

Stakeholder engagement

• Proactive in working with architects and senior technical stakeholders
• Knows when to escalate issues and seek support early

The environment

• Public sector delivery
• Mix of legacy systems and modern cloud-native services
• Opportunity to influence engineering standards, team maturity, and delivery practices
• Focus on improving collaboration, quality, and technical confidence across the team

Technical Skills: Essential:

• Java (8+) with Spring Boot
• AWS (S3, Lambda, GuardDuty)
• Docker
• SQL, MongoDB

Desirable:

• PostgreSQL
• Node.js / TypeScript
• HTML5 / CSS3
• Kubernetes
• Jenkins / Concourse
• Terraform

Nice to Have:

• Perl or Golang (for legacy/service transition context)
• Karate, Cucumber, Playwright (testing)

This role would suit a hands-on Lead Developer who enjoys improving underperforming environments, leading from the front technically, and building stronger, more collaborative engineering teams.

Pulled from the full job description

• Annual leave
• Company pension

FDM is an award-winning global leader in tech and business talent solutions, backed by more than 35 years of industry experience. We have centres across Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific, and a global workforce of over 2500 employees. FDM has shown exponential growth throughout the years, firmly establishing itself as an award-winning employer, currently listed on the FTSE4Good Index and as a 2026 Financial Times UK ‘Best Employer’.

Diversity and Inclusion

FDM Group is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or any other status protected by federal, provincial or local laws.

Why join us

• Career coaching, mentoring and access to upskilling throughout your entire FDM career
• Assignments with global companies and opportunities to work abroad
• Opportunity to re-skill and up-skill into new areas, develop non-linear career paths and build a skillset within your field
• Annual leave and work-place pension

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