Up to £120,000

Candidates must be based in Belfast All applications not based in Belfast will be disregarded

Do you enjoy shaping the technical direction of complex, large-scale systems - and doing it with modern Java at the highest level?

My client is looking for a Principal Java Engineer to take a lead role in defining architecture, driving engineering standards and delivering systems that matter. This isn’t a heads-down coding role - it’s for someone who can operate at the intersection of deep technical expertise and strategic thinking, and who wants to leave a real mark on the systems and teams they work with.

Based in Belfast, the team offers a flexible hybrid setup to suit how you work best.

What you’ll be doing

• Setting the technical direction and architectural vision for core backend systems
• Leading design and delivery of large-scale, high-performance Java applications
• Owning key engineering decisions and driving them through from concept to production
• Establishing and championing best practices, coding standards and design patterns across engineering
• Mentoring and elevating senior engineers around you
• Collaborating with product, DevOps and leadership to align technical strategy with business goals
• Driving improvements in performance, reliability and scalability across the platform

What we’re looking for

• Extensive commercial experience as a Senior or Staff Java Engineer, with time at principal or architect level
• Deep expertise in modern Java (Java 11+)
• Proven track record of owning and delivering complex distributed systems at scale
• Strong experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP or Azure)
• Expert-level understanding of microservices, event-driven architectures and REST APIs
• Solid grasp of both SQL and NoSQL databases
• A natural leader who can influence without authority and bring engineers along with them

Nice to have

• Experience with Spring / Spring Boot at scale
• Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, CloudFormation)
• Containerisation and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes)
• Background in high-throughput, mission-critical or regulated environments

This role would suit a technically exceptional engineer who’s ready to operate at the highest level - someone who wants ownership, influence and the opportunity to shape something significant.

If you have any questions on the role, feel free to reach out to Brendan McCrory directly.

Benefits:
Work From Home