Senior Backend Engineer - Contractor (Outside of IR35)

Senior Software Engineer – Java (Contract - Outside of IR35)

Duration: 3 Months Plus

Start Date: ASAP

Day Rate: £400 - 500 per day

As a Senior Software Engineer (Java) – Contractor at Pulselive, you’ll be focused on delivering robust, high-performance backend services and APIs that power digital experiences for millions of sports fans globally. This role is ideal for an experienced, hands-on engineer with strong Java and Spring expertise who thrives in a collaborative and fast-paced delivery environment.

You’ll work closely with cross-functional teams to build, integrate, and optimize systems that handle real-time sports data, video, and live commentary. This position is project- and delivery-focused, with no line management or people-leadership responsibilities required.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design and develop scalable backend systems using Java and Spring Boot

• Deliver well-structured, maintainable, and testable code aligned with project requirements

• Build and maintain RESTful APIs to support web and mobile applications

• Integrate with third-party data providers (e.g. sports data, video, commentary)

• Use Git to manage code versioning and contribute to shared repositories

• Manage deployments across multiple environments (Dev, Test, Staging, Prod)

• Ensure systems are performant, secure, and resilient

• Identify and manage project-level technical dependencies

• Participate in sprint planning and delivery-focused meetings with the wider team

• Write and maintain clear technical documentation

• Contribute to code reviews and uphold development best practices

Core Skills & Experience:

Expert-level knowledge of:

• Java 11+

• Spring Boot and Spring Framework (v5+)

• JPA/Hibernate and ORM principles

• Designing and building microservice architectures

• Creating and consuming RESTful APIs

• Git for version control and collaborative development

• JSON and working with structured data

• Unit testing with frameworks like JUnit

• Task management tools like JIRA

• Writing technical documentation for APIs and backend components

Proficient with:

• SQL (PostgreSQL, MySQL, or similar)

• Kafka or other messaging/event-driven platforms

• Docker containerization

• Kubernetes for orchestration

• AWS services (e.g., S3, Lambda, EC2, etc.)

• Maven for build and dependency management

• CI/CD pipelines and deployment automation

Basic understanding of:

• Python (scripts, tools, integrations)

• Frontend technologies: HTML, CSS, JavaScript (for context when integrating with frontend)