Lead Java Developer (SC Eligible)
Posted Today by X4 Technology
£575 Per day
Inside
Undetermined
United Kingdom
Summary: The Lead Java Developer role is a contract position requiring a hands-on technical leader to guide a team in delivering quality digital products. The candidate will influence service direction, ensure adherence to best practices, and foster collaboration within a complex, multi-disciplinary environment. This position is based in Leeds, Manchester, or Newcastle and involves significant experience in modern software engineering and cloud infrastructure. The role is classified as inside IR35 with a day rate of £500-575.
Key Responsibilities:
- Set direction for the service/capability and team in line with overarching strategy.
- Ensure team work aligns to standards and focuses on delivering quality, assured, and secure services.
- Lead and mentor engineering teams, promoting technical evolution and collaboration.
- Assess the impact of changes and maintain an outward-facing viewpoint regarding team and product positioning.
Key Skills:
- Significant experience in modern software engineering for digital products (Java, microservice architectures, Hexagonal architecture, Mongo, Kafka).
- Experience in designing and implementing cloud infrastructure, DevOps, and automation (AWS, Terraform, GitLab CI, Jenkins).
- Proven leadership experience in engineering teams, providing guidance and mentoring.
- Expertise in engineering best practices, version control, and secure design practices.
- Experience in collaboration and knowledge sharing within the software engineering community.
- Experience working in complex, multi-disciplinary environments with multiple stakeholders.
Salary (Rate): £575 daily
City: Leeds, Manchester, or Newcastle
Country: United Kingdom
Working Arrangements: undetermined
IR35 Status: inside IR35
Seniority Level: undetermined
Industry: IT
Job Title: Lead Java Developer (SC Eligible)
Job Type: Contract
Location: Leeds, Manchester, or Newcastle - 3 days a week
Day Rate: £500-575 Per Day (Inside IR35)
Contract Length: 12 Months
Lead Java Developer - Role & Responsibilities
- You will be a hands-on technical leader
- Set direction for your service/capability and your team that is in line with overarching strategy (which you have the ability to influence)
- Ensure that your teams work aligns to standards
- Have a clear focus on delivering quality, assured and secure services
- Ensure that you team follow best practice
- Be aware of and assess impact of any change that you are making
- Have an outward facing viewpoint, understanding where your team and products fit into the bigger picture.
As well as being a hands-on engineer, the successful candidate will be expected to lead other engineers as well as actively collaborate, champion technical evolution within the organisation, and ensure that your team is helping to achieve overarching strategic aims.
Lead Java Developer - Required Experience
- Significant demonstrable experience in one or both of modern software engineering for digital products (ideally Java, microservice architectures, Hexagonal software architecture, Mongo and Kafka)
- Designing and implementing modern cloud infrastructure, DevOps, and automation (ideally AWS, Terraform, GitLab CI, Jenkins)
- Significant demonstrable experience of leading engineering teams providing technical leadership and guidance, and coaching and mentoring to support team member development opportunities
- Significant demonstrable experience of engineering best practice in version control, secure design practices, assurance.
- Significant demonstrable experience of collaboration & sharing of knowledge and good practice with the wider software engineering community
- Significant demonstrable experience of working and leading in a complex, multi-disciplinary environment, delivering products within specific time-scales and engaging with multiple stakeholders
Interviews: January 2026
Start Date: February 2026