Cathcart Associates Group Ltd

Lead Java Engineer (Hands-On) 80% Coding Technical Leadership Modern Platform Remote First (office visit once a month) - You must live within 1 hr 30 of South Manchester £70,000 - £85,000 + Bonus + Excellent Benefits My client is not able to provide Visa sponsorship We're working with a long-established tech company who are building modern platforms within a complex and meaningful domain. They've embedded Agile and XP practices across engineering, and they're now hiring a hands on Principal Java Engineer to help lead delivery, raise standards, and support the growth of their teams. This is not an "architect who doesn't code" role. The expectation is that you'll be around 80% hands on, building software alongside the team. The Opportunity You'll work as part of a Scrum team delivering real product outcomes, while also contributing to the broader engineering direction. The hands off element of the role includes: helping lead Scrum ceremonies and delivery mentoring and coaching engineers collaborating with other Principals and the Development Manager contributing to architectural decisions and technical direction It's a role for someone who still loves coding, but also enjoys influencing how teams work and how systems evolve. Tech Stack & Practices Java, Spring Boot TDD, pairing, strong automated testing culture CI/CD, continuous delivery mindset AWS (with a mix of approaches including serverless) Docker, Kubernetes Terraform / DevOps tooling AWS and DevOps exposure is very beneficial at Principal level - but they're not looking for a pure DevOps engineer. The core of the role is still Java engineering. What They're Looking For Deep, hands on Java experience with strong engineering judgement Proven ability to influence standards and mentor engineers Comfortable balancing delivery with technical leadership Strong understanding of building maintainable, scalable systems Experience working in Agile teams with modern practices Bonus points for AWS, containerisation, IaC, etc. What's In It For You? Remote first working with minimal office travel Clear scope: still hands on, but with meaningful technical influence Strong salary, bonus and excellent benefits A collaborative, mature engineering culture Complex systems, long term platform work, and real impact Interested? Apply now or get in touch for a confidential conversation. Even if you're not actively looking, it's a great time to explore what they're building. Cathcart Technology is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.