Senior Java / Kotlin Engineer - Holland & Barrett International Limited : Job Details

About the Role:

We are looking for a skilled Senior Java/Kotlin Engineer to join our team focused on building and improving the core systems powering our in-store till systems. This role will primarily involve backend development but will also benefit from experience in frontend development with Vue.js. You will be working on a high-impact product that processes billions in transactions annually, integrating hardware, APIs, and delivering innovative solutions for stores across multiple countries.

The ideal candidate embraces a "you build it, you own it" mentality—taking pride in creating reliable, high-quality systems and owning them from development to production.You will be joining a cross-functional team working on the software running on all tills across the UK, Europe, and Ireland. This is a mission-critical product, requiring high availability and transactional efficiency. The team follows a hybrid work model, where employees work remotely most of the time but may be required to attend the office once a month in either London or Nuneaton.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain scalable backend services using Kotlin and Spring.
• Work with databases, including SQL (e.g., RDS) and NoSQL (e.g., DynamoDB).
• Build, test, and optimize APIs to support seamless integration with loyalty programs, stock management, and reporting systems.
• Develop event-driven systems leveraging Kafka for messaging.

• Work closely with cross-functional teams, including frontend engineers, QA, UX, and product management.
• Contribute to architectural decisions, ensuring maintainability, scalability, and high performance.

• Take full ownership of production systems, ensuring they run smoothly and meet user expectations.
• Build tooling for debugging, monitoring, and support automation.

Key Requirements:

• Proven experience in backend development with Kotlin (or Java with the ability to transition to Kotlin).
• Proficiency in building APIs, microservices, and implementing event-driven architectures.
• Experience with databases, including SQL and NoSQL.
• Familiarity with AWS cloud services such as S3, RDS, and DynamoDB.
• Strong focus on writing clean, modular, testable code with experience in unit and integration testing.

Nice to Have

• Experience with frontend technologies, particularly Vue.js.
• Familiarity with Electron applications.
• Background in retail systems or working with public-facing hardware/software integrations.
• Hands-on experience with CI/CD pipelines and version control systems like Git.

What we offer:

Benefits

• Pension company contribution = 3%
• Incentive scheme up to 10% of annual salary, based on company performance.
• Your wellbeing is paramount so you can get away and take 33 Days Holiday per year.
• Private Medical Care (Self after 1 year)
• Learning and Development opportunity with Holland & Barrett is a great base for career development long term.
• Career progression.
• Refer and Earn Scheme - as we're growing you can earn money by referring people to join us from your network.
• Epic Extras gives you access to exclusive benefits, free advice and savings from a range of retailers and providers.
• Stay healthy with Discounted Products - from day one you'll get a 25% discount (on top of other promotions) when you shop at H&B on anything that you buy.
• We all need a little help sometimes, so weoffer Free 24/7 Confidential Advice & Colleague Welfare.
• Mental Health First Aiders - we have lots of qualified Mental Health First Aiders because its all about your health & wellbeing.
• Stay active in the Onsite Gym at our Nuneaton Hub!
• We have colleague Reward and Recognition Schemes, so your hard work and loyalty won't go unnoticed.
• And many more!

We're passionate about helping every colleague thrive across all dimensions of wellbeing, and we're committed to having a diverse and inclusive workplace. In line with our EPIC values (Expertise, Pioneering, Inclusive, Caring), we embrace and actively celebrate all our colleagues' unique and varying experiences, backgrounds, identities and cultures - I am me, we are H&B. 

Holland & Barrett does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firms/recruiters. Please do not forward resumes to our job alias, employees, or any other company location. Holland & Barrett is not and will not be responsible for any fees if a candidate submitted by a search firm/recruiter unless otherwise agreed with respect to specific open position(s).