Senior Cloud Java Engineer


Company:	Hays Specialist Recruitment
Salary:	£800 - £850
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	London, EC2V 6DN
Job type:	Contract
Posting date:	14 Jul 2026
Closing date:	13 Aug 2026

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Summary

Your new company

You'll be joining a leading global financial markets organisation undergoing a major technology transformation programme. As part of a brand-new engineering team, you'll help build a next-generation cloud-native platform from the ground up, replacing critical legacy systems with modern, scalable architecture. This is an opportunity to work on business-critical systems in a highly regulated, high-performance environment while helping shape engineering standards, tooling, and best practice from day one.

Your new role

As a Senior Java Developer, you'll operate at the intersection of Software Engineering and DevOps, building and deploying containerised microservices that power a strategic platform transformation. Working within a greenfield team, you'll take ownership of designing, developing, and supporting cloud-native applications using Java, Spring Boot, Kafka, Kubernetes, and OpenShift.

This is a hands-on role requiring a self-starter who can contribute across the full software development lifecycle, from solution design and coding through to CI/CD, container orchestration, automation, and production support. You'll collaborate closely with architects and engineering leaders to build resilient, event-driven solutions that support mission-critical business processes.

What you'll need to succeed

Strong hands-on Java development experience, ideally with Java 17+/21 and Spring Boot

Proven experience building microservices and RESTful APIs within enterprise environments

Solid DevOps engineering background, including CI/CD pipelines, containerisation, and automation

Commercial experience with Kubernetes and OpenShift (OCP)

Strong understanding of Apache Kafka and event-driven architectures

Experience deploying and supporting containerised applications in production environments

Knowledge of Git, CI/CD tooling, and modern software engineering best practices

Comfortable working in a greenfield environment and helping build a team from the ground up

Self-starter mentality with the ability to operate independently and drive delivery

Kubernetes certifications (CKAD, CKA or similar) would be highly advantageous

Financial services or other highly regulated industry experience is beneficial but not essential

What you'll get in return

Opportunity to join a major technology transformation programme from day one

Work within a newly formed engineering team where you'll have genuine influence over architecture and engineering practices

Exposure to modern cloud-native technologies including OpenShift, Kubernetes, Kafka, and event-driven architectures

Collaborative, agile environment focused on innovation and platform modernisation

Long-term programme of work with significant investment and visibility across the organisation

Competitive day rate/package and flexible hybrid working arrangements

What you need to do now

If you're interested in this role, click 'apply now' to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV, or call us now.

If this job isn't quite right for you, but you are looking for a new position, please contact us for a confidential discussion about your career.

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