Backend Java Developer - Birmingham • Hybrid • £50–65k • Not London.

<p style="margin-bottom:7.15pt;line-height:normal;"><strong>Backend Java Developer</strong></p><p style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;"><br></p><p style="margin-bottom:7.15pt;line-height:normal;"><strong>Location:</strong> Birmingham (Hybrid)<br><strong>Employment:</strong> Fixed Term Contract<br><strong>Salary:</strong> £50,000 – £65,000 base (dependent on experience)</p><p style="margin-bottom:7.15pt;line-height:normal;"><br></p><p style="margin-bottom:7.15pt;line-height:normal;">If your idea of backend engineering is more than CRUD APIs and microservices boilerplate — this role is for you.</p><p style="margin-bottom:7.15pt;line-height:normal;"><br></p><p style="margin-bottom:7.15pt;line-height:normal;">We’re building the <strong>core backend services of a Data Fabric platform</strong> that governs <strong>data access, entitlements, and query policy enforcement</strong> across distributed enterprise data systems.<br>This is <strong>platform engineering</strong>: deterministic rule engines, SQL planning/interception, and high-throughput services that sit on the <strong>critical path of data access</strong>.</p><p style="margin-bottom:7.15pt;line-height:normal;">This is <strong>deep backend + data infrastructure work</strong>.</p><div align="center" style="margin-top:14.25pt;margin-right:0cm; margin-bottom:14.25pt;margin-left:0cm;text-align:center;line-height:normal;"><hr align="center"></div><p style="margin-bottom:7.15pt;line-height:normal;"><strong> What You’ll Do</strong></p><ul type="disc"><li style=" line-height:normal;">Build core backend services in <strong>Java (17/21)</strong> for access control and query manipulation</li><li style=" line-height:normal;">Implement <strong>deterministic policy / rule engines</strong> for data governance</li><li style=" line-height:normal;">Work on <strong>SQL parsing, planning, validation, and transformation</strong> (e.g., Calcite or similar planners)</li><li style=" line-height:normal;">Integrate with <strong>distributed data platforms / query engines</strong> (e.g., Starburst or similar)</li><li style=" line-height:normal;">Own <strong>API contracts</strong> with living documentation in CI/CD</li><li style=" line-height:normal;">Build <strong>production-grade, testable pipelines</strong></li><li style=" line-height:normal;">Drive <strong>observability, reliability, and performance</strong></li><li style=" line-height:normal;">Contribute to architecture decisions (modularity, DI, extensibility)</li></ul><div align="center" style="margin-top:14.25pt;margin-right:0cm; margin-bottom:14.25pt;margin-left:0cm;text-align:center;line-height:normal;"><hr align="center"></div><p style="margin-bottom:7.15pt;line-height:normal;"><strong>&nbsp;What You Bring (Must-Have)</strong></p><ul type="disc"><li style=" line-height:normal;">Strong hands-on experience in <strong>Java (17/21) + Spring</strong></li><li style=" line-height:normal;">Deep understanding of <strong>JDBC, SQL parsing/validation, query planning/optimization</strong></li><li style=" line-height:normal;">Experience with <strong>SQL planners or query transformation layers</strong></li><li style=" line-height:normal;">Strong grounding in <strong>data structures, algorithms, and backend performance</strong></li><li style=" line-height:normal;">Production-grade testing using <strong>JUnit 5, Mockito</strong></li><li style=" line-height:normal;">Experience with <strong>clean architecture, DI, modular design</strong></li><li style=" line-height:normal;">Comfortable owning <strong>CI/CD, code quality, observability</strong></li><li style=" line-height:normal;">Familiarity with <strong>Docker, Maven, Jenkins</strong></li></ul><div align="center" style="margin-top:14.25pt;margin-right:0cm; margin-bottom:14.25pt;margin-left:0cm;text-align:center;line-height:normal;"><hr align="center"></div><p style="margin-bottom:7.15pt;line-height:normal;"><strong> Nice to Have</strong></p><ul type="disc"><li style=" line-height:normal;"><strong>Apache Calcite</strong></li><li style=" line-height:normal;"><strong>Starburst</strong> or federated query engines</li><li style=" line-height:normal;">JVM performance tuning</li><li style=" line-height:normal;">High-throughput service interfaces (REST/gRPC)</li><li style=" line-height:normal;">Data governance or policy enforcement layers</li></ul><div align="center" style="margin-top:14.25pt;margin-right:0cm; margin-bottom:14.25pt;margin-left:0cm;text-align:center;line-height:normal;"><hr align="center"></div><p style="margin-bottom:7.15pt;line-height:normal;"><strong> This Role Is Ideal If You’ve Worked On</strong></p><ul type="disc"><li style=" line-height:normal;">Data platforms, governance layers, query engines, or SQL planners</li><li style=" line-height:normal;">Backend/platform services that sit in the <strong>critical path of data access</strong></li><li style=" line-height:normal;">Systems where <strong>correctness, determinism, and performance</strong> matter</li></ul><div align="center" style="margin-top:14.25pt;margin-right:0cm; margin-bottom:14.25pt;margin-left:0cm;text-align:center;line-height:normal;"><hr align="center"></div><p style=" line-height:normal;"><br></p>