Java Technical Lead

Java Technical Lead - Modernisation & Cloud Engineering Wembley, London (5 days on-site) Up to £85,000 per annum The OpportunityWe're partnering with a well-established, multinational organisation embarking on a major transformation-rebuilding its digital engine from the ground up. They are looking for a Modernisation Engineering Lead who breathes engineering excellence. If you're a 10+ year Java/Spring Boot expert who is tired of bloated, unmaintainable systems and wants the authority to "fix it properly", this is your opportunity to make a lasting impact. You will work directly with the Head of Architecture, turning high-level designs into verifiably stable, scalable, cloud-native solutions-with real ownership, influence, and autonomy. What You'll Own Engineering Sovereignty • Define and enforce Java and Node.js engineering standards across the platform • Set the benchmark for: • Robust exception handling • Binary stream processing • Structured logging (Application Insights) • Security-first development • Drive a culture of clean, maintainable, production-grade code Cloud-Native Excellence • Ensure all systems are built for Azure Container Apps from day one • Own best practice implementation across: • Stateless architecture • Health check endpoints • Secure secret management (Azure Key Vault) • Containerisation standards and deployment readiness The Integration Engine • Lead API and integration strategy, including: • RESTful API design • OAuth2 authentication flows (including FusionAuth) • Event-driven systems via Azure Service Bus • Transactional email logic via SendGrid (DMARC compliant) Mentorship & Code Leadership • Act as a hands-on technical mentor, not just a lead • Run structured code reviews to eliminate technical debt before production • Elevate team capability and enforce engineering discipline at every level Architecture to Reality • Work side-by-side with the Principal / Head of Architecture • Translate high-level designs into deliverable implementation plans • Ensure developers understand not just what to build-but why Quality & DevOps Mindset • Embed a non-negotiable automated testing culture: • Unit • Integration • Contract testing • Operate with a strong understanding of: • CI/CD pipelines • Docker • GitHub Actions (YAML workflows) • Build software that is deployment-aware and production-ready from day one What We're Looking For Experience • 10+ years Java development, with deep expertise in: • Spring Boot • Microservices architecture • Proven production ownership of scalable systems Cloud & Integration • Hands-on experience with Azure-native services, including: • Azure Key Vault • Azure Service Bus • Azure Storage APIs • Strong experience building event-driven, distributed systems DevOps Mindset • Comfortable working with: • Docker • CI/CD pipelines • GitHub Actions • Able to write code with full awareness of how it is built, tested, and deployed Engineering Discipline • Strong advocate of automated testing and quality-first development • Passion for eliminating technical debt and improving legacy systems Why This Role? • Join a business where you will genuinely shape the engineering landscape • Work directly with senior architecture on strategic modernisation • Take ownership of how software is built, delivered, and maintained • Be empowered to fix long-standing technical problems properly-not patch them