Java Developer Jobs

A Java developer builds and maintains the server-side systems that run banks, insurers, telecoms and government services. The day-to-day work is writing and reviewing code, designing REST APIs, fixing production bugs, attending stand-ups, refining tickets and pushing changes through a CI pipeline. Most roles are backend, though many are full-stack with a React or Angular front end. The bulk of UK vacancies sit in financial services, where Java has been the default enterprise language for two decades.

The stack employers ask for is consistent: core Java (21 and 25 are the current long-term support releases, though many UK shops still run 17, 11 or even 8), Spring and Spring Boot (3.x is widespread, with 4.x now shipping), Hibernate or JPA for the database layer, and Maven or Gradle to build it. Add JUnit and Mockito for testing, Git for version control, and a relational database such as PostgreSQL or Oracle alongside a NoSQL store. From mid-level up, employers expect Docker and Kubernetes, a CI/CD tool (Jenkins, GitLab CI or GitHub Actions), microservices, and a cloud platform — AWS most commonly, then Azure or GCP.

Junior roles start around £28,000–£38,000, mid-level sits at roughly £45,000–£65,000, and senior developers earn £65,000–£90,000, with London salaries and contract day rates higher again; financial-services contracts commonly run £450–£750 a day and reach four figures for specialist work. Fully remote Java jobs still exist but have thinned out; hybrid is now the norm, typically two or three days in the office. The path runs junior to mid to senior developer, then splits: tech lead or principal engineer for those staying hands-on, or engineering manager for those moving into people management. Specialising in a domain such as payments or trading raises rates above the general bands.