Backend Java / Python Developer

3rd Line Back End Developer

Methods Business and Digital Technology Limited

Methods is a £100M+ IT Services Consultancy who has partnered with a range of central government departments and agencies to transform the way the public sector operates in the UK. Established over 30 years ago and UK-based, we apply our skills in transformation, delivery, and collaboration from across the Methods Group, to create end-to-end business and technical solutions that are people-centred, safe, and designed for the future.

Our human touch sets us apart from other consultancies, system integrators and software houses - with people, technology, and data at the heart of who we are, we believe in creating value and sustainability through everything we do for our clients, staff, communities, and the planet.

We support our clients in the success of their projects while working collaboratively to share skill sets and solve problems. At Methods we have fun while working hard; we are not afraid of making mistakes and learning from them.

Predominantly focused on the public-sector, Methods is now building a significant private sector client portfolio.

Methods was acquired by the Alten Group in early 2022.

Requirements

• Investigate, diagnose, and resolve live system defects and production incidents in line with SLAs.
• Analyse logs, metrics, and traces to identify root causes of complex technical issues.
• Design, develop, and deploy stable, well-tested fixes using Java and related frameworks.
• Collaborate with Operations, QA, and Feature Teams as appropriate to triage and prioritise defects.
• Implement hotfixes and patches to production environments safely, following change management protocols.
• Support post-incident reviews, contributing to preventative actions and service improvement.
• Maintain clear documentation of incident investigations, defect resolutions, and code changes.
• Monitor system health and performance using existing observability and alerting tools.
• Contribute to improving the reliability and maintainability of backend systems and services.
• Provide technical expertise and mentoring in diagnosing and resolving backend issues.

Essential Skills & Qualifications:

• Proven experience as a Back-End Developer with a strong focus on Java and python
• Experience supporting live production environments and resolving incidents or defects.
• Strong debugging, problem-solving, and root cause analysis skills.
• Solid understanding of RESTful APIs, microservices, and event-driven systems.
• Hands-on experience with Postgres/SQL, Active MQ, and Liquibase.
• Experience using JUnit, Mockito, and Wiremock for testing code fixes and regression testing.
• Proficiency in version control systems such as Git and working knowledge of CI/CD pipelines.
• Experience with containerization (Docker) and orchestration (Kubernetes, ideally AKS).
• Knowledge of Azure services such as Function Apps, Azure DevOps, and monitoring tools.
• Ability to work collaboratively in fast-paced agile or DevOps environments.
• Strong communication and documentation skills, especially for incident reporting and defect logs.

Desirable Skills & Experience:

• Experience with Microsoft Azure cloud services (e.g., Azure Functions, Azure Storage, Azure App Service).
• Knowledge of ITIL incident and problem management processes.
• Knowledge of Kubernetes for container orchestration and management.
• Familiarity with containerization technologies such as Docker or Kubernetes.
• Knowledge of CI/CD tools and practices.
• Understanding of microservices architecture and development.
• Knowledge of ITIL incident and problem management processes
• Familiarity with CQRS, Event Sourcing, and Pub/Sub architectures.
• Experience working with cloud-native and microservice-based architectures.

This job description is not to be regarded as exclusive or exhaustive. It is intended as an outline indicating of the areas of activity and may be amended from time to time in the light of the changing needs of the organisation.

*This role will require you to have or be willing to go through Security Clearance. As part of the onboarding process candidates will be asked to complete a Baseline Personnel Security Standard; details of the evidence required to apply may be found on the government website Gov.UK. If you are unable to meet this and any associated criteria, then your employment may be delayed, or rejected . Details of this will be discussed with you …