Explore Group
Senior Java Software Engineer
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Principal Java Engineer
Location: Hybrid — London
We're currently partnered with a fast-growing technology company operating in the payments space, processing high-volume transactions at scale who are looking for a Principal-level backend engineer to help own and evolve the architecture behind their most critical platforms.
What You'll Do
- Own and drive architecture for platforms that scale with the business and unlock new capabilities
- Design and evolve high-scale, cloud-native systems powering payments and merchant experiences
- Lead development of resilient, secure, and compliant services for high-volume transaction processing
- Champion modern backend practices (Java 17/21, Spring Boot 3, Kotlin, clean architecture)
- Architect event-driven systems (Kafka) enabling scalable, decoupled domains across teams
- Define standards for API-first development (REST/gRPC) and domain-driven design
- Set the bar for availability, performance, fault tolerance, and observability
- Partner with Product, Data, and leadership to translate priorities into technical strategy
- Lead cross-organisational initiatives critical to company growth
- Mentor senior engineers and bring structure to ambiguity across technical and regulatory domains
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What You Bring
- 8+ years building and operating distributed, production-grade backend systems
- Track record operating at Senior Staff / Principal level across multiple teams or domains
- Deep expertise in Java (17+), Spring Boot, and modern backend practices
- Strong experience with microservices, event-driven architecture, async systems
- Experience with high throughput, low latency systems — fintech/transaction-heavy environments a strong plus
- Solid grounding in system design, data structures, performance trade-offs
- Hands-on production experience with AWS, Docker, Kubernetes
- Experience implementing observability, resilience patterns, CI/CD best practices
- Strong communication skills and ability to influence senior stakeholders
- Experience mentoring engineers and leading through ambiguity
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The Role
- Flexible hybrid working
- Health insurance
- Meal allowance
- 25 days annual leave + bank holidays
- Public transport allowance
- Regular team events
If this role is of interest, apply here or email dounia.hardwicke@exploreltd.com for more information
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