Principal Java Developer - VP | Java, Spring Boot, AWS

Principal Java Developer - VP | Java, Spring Boot, AWS | Investment Banking

Central London - Hybrid (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in the office)
c£130,000 + bonus | Permanent

A global investment bank is looking for a hands-on Principal Java Developer to take technical ownership of a business-critical trading technology platform. You'll stabilise it, modernise it and lead its migration to AWS.
This is a senior engineering role for someone who still writes code every day. You'll work closely with the platform architect, set technical direction, and guide a team of experienced engineers and contractors.

The role

• Investigate and resolve complex technical issues across a large trading platform, including P&L and trade services
• Improve platform stability, reliability, performance and latency
• Design and build new services using modern Java (Java 25) and Spring Boot
• Lead the migration of existing applications to AWS, replacing legacy frameworks with cloud-native solutions
• Support the migration of the caching layer to Redis
• Use AI-assisted development tools (e.g. Amazon Kiro) to analyse legacy code and accelerate refactoring
• Provide technical leadership and mentoring while staying hands-on

Essential experience

• Extensive enterprise Java development, with recent hands-on production coding
• Strong Spring Boot and Spring ecosystem expertise
• Hands-on AWS experience, ideally gained on a cloud migration or modernisation programme
• Containerisation and cloud-native application design
• Financial services experience, ideally trading, front office or risk systems
• Solid understanding of functional programming concepts
• Strong architectural knowledge, and comfort working independently in complex environments with limited documentation

Desirable experience

• Scala (preferred), C++ or Python
• Redis, Hazelcast or other distributed caching
• Low-latency systems, idempotency and reliable processing
• Day-to-day use of AI coding assistants

What's on offer

• VP-level Principal role with real influence over technical direction
• Large-scale AWS modernisation programme
• Modern stack for new development: Java 25, Spring Boot, AWS, Redis, AI-assisted engineering
• Competitive base salary of c£130K plus bonus
• Consistent hybrid pattern: Tuesday to Thursday in central London, Monday and Friday remote
• Core hours 8:30-17:00

Apply

Apply now with a concise CV highlighting your Java, Spring Boot and AWS experience. Shortlisted candidates will receive full client details and a detailed briefing.

Lorien is acting as an employment agency in relation to this vacancy

Guidant, Carbon60, Lorien & SRG - The Vertage Group Portfolio are acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy.