Java Developer Contract

Contract Java Developer - Trade Processing (VP Level)

Location: Glasgow (Hybrid, 50% onsite)

Rate: (Inside IR35)

Contract Length: Initial 12 Months

Start Date: ASAP

Overview

We are seeking an experienced Java Software Developer to join a global Trade Processing technology team supporting a leading investment banking and prime brokerage environment. The successful candidate will work on mission-critical trade processing platforms that support global Cash Equities and Synthetic Prime Brokerage trading activity.

This is a hands-on senior engineering position where you'll take ownership of key trade processing components, delivering high-quality, scalable solutions throughout the full software development lifecycle. The role offers the opportunity to collaborate with teams across Glasgow, London, New York, Hong Kong and Europe while contributing to strategic platform evolution.

Key Responsibilities

Design, develop and maintain high-performance trade processing applications.

Take ownership of software components from requirements gathering through to production support.

Deliver robust, scalable and resilient backend solutions using modern Java technologies.

Work closely with Business Analysts, Architects, QA, Operations and Production Support teams.

Participate in architectural discussions and contribute to future-state platform design.

Ensure solutions meet performance, scalability and operational requirements.

Drive engineering best practices including TDD, CI/CD and automated testing.

Support production releases and provide third-line support where required.

Work within Agile delivery teams, delivering incremental business value.

Required Technical Skills

8+ years' commercial software development experience.

Strong hands-on experience with Java 17/21 .

Deep understanding of backend system design and distributed applications.

Strong SQL and relational database experience.

Experience with Kafka, Kafka Streams and/or Kafka Connect .

Experience building message-driven or event-driven architectures.

Strong understanding of software engineering best practices and SDLC processes.

Experience with CI/CD tooling including Jenkins, Bitbucket and Artifactory.

Linux environment experience.

Proven experience with automated testing and Test-Driven Development (TDD).

Desirable Skills

Kubernetes / containerised application deployment.

Spring Framework and microservices architecture.

Equities trade processing experience.

Prime Brokerage or Capital Markets knowledge.

Settlement and post-trade workflow understanding.

Experience working within investment banking technology environments.

Candidate Profile

Strong communicator able to engage with both technical and business stakeholders.

Proven ability to work independently within globally distributed teams.

Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities.

Experience mentoring developers and promoting engineering best practices.

Comfortable operating in complex, high-volume financial systems environments.