Junior Software Engineer (Java / Kotlin / JVM)

Junior Software Engineer (Java / Kotlin / JVM)

Contract Overview

Role: Junior Software Engineer (Java/ Kotlin/ JVM)

Location: Victoria, London

Length: 12 months

Start: ASAP

Rate: £200 per day

Status: Inside IR35

Pattern: Hybrid working

About the Role

I’m currently recruiting for a Junior Software Engineer to join a digital product team working across modern financial services technology.

This role would suit someone with a few years’ commercial software engineering experience, particularly across Java, Kotlin and JVM-based backend development. The successful candidate will be working on modern applications and services that support customer-facing digital products, with a focus on clean code, APIs, service-based architecture and production-quality software delivery.

Experience within digital banking, fintech, financial services or insurance would be beneficial, although the main priority is strong backend engineering capability and a genuine interest in building reliable, scalable applications.

Client

The client is a leading global financial services organisation with a major digital technology function. The team is responsible for building and supporting customer-facing digital products used at scale, with a strong focus on modern engineering, secure platforms, API-led development and high-quality customer experiences.

Key Responsibilities

* Build, maintain and improve backend services using Java, Kotlin and JVM technologies

* Work across the full software delivery lifecycle, from design and development through to testing, deployment and production support

* Develop and integrate APIs that support customer-facing digital products and internal platforms

* Contribute to both greenfield and brownfield development projects

* Participate in code reviews, technical discussions and system design conversations

* Work closely with product, engineering and wider technology teams to refine requirements and deliver new features

* Write clean, maintainable and well-tested code

* Support live applications and help ensure performance, reliability and quality in production environments

* Use modern engineering practices, including source control, CI/CD, automated testing and monitoring

Skills and Experience

* A few years’ commercial experience in software engineering

* Strong hands-on experience with Java, Kotlin and JVM-based backend development

* Understanding of service-based architecture and API-led development

* Experience working with live applications and production environments

* Good understanding of computer science fundamentals, data structures and software design principles

* Experience with software testing, including unit testing and integration testing

* Experience working with databases such as PostgreSQL, MongoDB or Redis

* Familiarity with Git and source code control platforms such as GitHub, Bitbucket or GitLab

* Experience working in Agile or Scrum environments

* Good communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively across technical and non-technical teams

Useful Technical Experience

* Kotlin

* Java

* JVM

* Ktor or Spring

* REST APIs

* PostgreSQL

* MongoDB

* Redis

* GitHub Actions or other CI/CD tools

* Docker

* Kubernetes

* AWS, GCP or Azure

* Monitoring and logging tools such as CloudWatch, Prometheus, OpenSearch or Elasticsearch

* Jira, Trello or similar delivery tools

Desirable Experience

* Experience or interest in AI tools and how they can support software development

* Experience using tools such as GitHub Copilot, Devin or similar AI-assisted development tools

* Ability to review, challenge, correct and improve AI-generated code or technical output

* Experience in digital banking, fintech, financial services or insurance

* Full stack experience, particularly with React or modern web technologies

* Cloud deployment or container orchestration experience

* A curious, adaptable and problem-solving mindset

Important Information

No visa sponsorship available. Candidates must already have the right to work in the UK.

Salt contact

Robert Sprigens, Senior Consultant – rsprigens@welovesalt.com

*Rates depend on experience and client requirements