Lead Java / GCP Backend Developer

Contract Duration: 6 months initial (with a strong view to extend)

Day Rate: Up to £500 per day (Inside IR35)

Location: Hybrid, 2 days a week onsite in Manchester

About the Opportunity

Norton Blake is currently partnering with a globally recognised consulting organisation to secure a highly skilled, hands‑on Lead Java Backend Developer. In this role, you will be instrumental in designing, building, and deploying highly scalable, cloud‑native enterprise applications.

We are looking for a true technical leader - someone who not only writes exceptionally clean, modern Java code but can also confidently lead agile squads, mentor peers, and communicate complex architectural decisions to senior stakeholders. If you are passionate about event‑driven architecture and thrive in a fast‑paced Google Cloud Platform (GCP) environment, this is an excellent opportunity for a long‑term engagement.

What You Will Be Doing

• Technical Leadership: Lead and guide backend engineering teams, ensuring high standards of code quality, automated testing, and agile delivery.
• Architecture & Design: Spearhead the design and development of robust distributed systems and Microservices architecture.
• Event-Driven Engineering: Utilise Apache Kafka for complex messaging, asynchronous processing, and event-driven architecture.
• Cloud-Native Deployment: Build and deploy applications across GCP, leveraging its suite of cloud-native services, monitoring, and scaling tools.
• DevOps & Orchestration: Champion CI/CD best practices, managing containerised applications through Docker and Kubernetes to ensure seamless automated deployment pipelines.

What We Are Looking For

• Proven Leadership: Demonstrable experience leading, mentoring, and steering technical teams with exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Core Java Mastery: Deep, hands‑on experience in enterprise application development using modern Java (versions 8, 11, 17, or newer).
• Microservices Expertise: Extensive background building and scaling Microservices utilising Spring Boot and RESTful APIs.
• Messaging Systems: Strong commercial experience with Apache Kafka for asynchronous data processing.
• Cloud & Containerisation: Commercial experience with GCP (Google Cloud Platform) alongside Docker and Kubernetes orchestration.
• CI/CD & DevOps: Proficiency with modern deployment pipelines (Git, Jenkins, or GitHub Actions).
• Database & Engineering Practices: Strong grasp of both SQL and NoSQL databases, Test-Driven Development (TDD), automated testing frameworks, and Agile/Scrum methodologies.

Why Join This Project?

This contract offers the perfect blend of hands‑on technical engineering and team leadership. Operating within a high‑profile consulting environment, you will have the autonomy to shape cloud-native systems using a modern, cutting‑edge technology stack. With an initial 6-month term and a strong pipeline of ongoing project work, there is a high likelihood of extension for the right candidate.