Senior Java Backend Engineer

Senior Java Engineer | AI Innovation Division Shape the Future of Intelligent Gaming Technology We're partnering with a major international organisation within the casino and gaming sector that is investing heavily in the next generation of AI-enabled products, platforms, and customer experiences. As part of a newly established engineering and innovation division, you'll join a team tasked with building the foundations of the company's AI strategy. This is a rare opportunity to work at the intersection of high-scale backend engineering, real-time transaction systems, and emerging AI technologies. The group has executive backing, significant investment, and a mandate to explore how AI can transform customer engagement, operational efficiency, responsible gaming, risk management, and real-time decision making across a complex global technology estate. If you're excited by large-scale systems and want to help define how AI is integrated into enterprise-grade Java platforms, this role offers genuine greenfield opportunities and the chance to influence technical direction from day one. Technology Environment You'll be working within a modern engineering ecosystem that includes: JavaSpring BootEvent-streaming and messagingModern relational databaseKubernetesCloud-native architectureAI and machine learning integrationsEvent-driven distributed systems The Opportunity As a Senior Java Engineer, you'll play a key role in designing and delivering the backend services that power both existing products and a range of new AI-driven initiatives. Working closely with architects, data scientists, platform engineers, and product teams, you'll help create scalable, intelligent systems capable of processing high volumes of real-time data and transactions across a global customer base. Key responsibilities include: Designing and developing robust backend applications using Java and Spring BootBuilding APIs, platform services, and scalable business-critical systemsDeveloping event-driven architectures using Kafka and streaming technologiesCreating resilient services capable of handling high transaction volumes with low latencyCollaborating on AI-enabled platforms that support predictive analytics, automation, personalisation, and intelligent decision-makingDesigning fault-tolerant workflows with strong attention to reliability, consistency, and data integrityOptimising PostgreSQL databases for performance, scalability, and operational resilienceDeploying and supporting services within Kubernetes environmentsContributing to architectural discussions and long-term platform strategyDriving improvements in system observability, monitoring, performance, and reliabilityOwning solutions from concept through to production deliveryMentoring engineers and contributing to a high-performance engineering culture About You We're looking for engineers who enjoy solving complex technical challenges and want to be involved in shaping the future direction of a growing innovation function. You'll likely have: Strong software engineering and computer science fundamentalsProven experience delivering large-scale backend systems in JavaDeep understanding of distributed architectures and microservicesExperience working with high-availability production environmentsStrong knowledge of concurrency, system design, scalability, and performance optimisationThe ability to balance technical excellence with pragmatic business outcomesA collaborative mindset with strong communication skillsExperience taking ownership of complex technical initiatives Most importantly, you'll be excited about exploring how AI technologies can be embedded into real-world products and platforms. What Will Make You Stand Out We're particularly interested in candidates who bring experience with: Java and Spring Boot in enterprise-scale environmentsKafka, event streaming, or message-driven architecturesDesigning reliable event processing systemsPostgreSQL and advanced relational database optimisationKubernetes and containerised production environmentsHigh-throughput transactional systemsDistributed systems engineeringReal-time data processingObservability, monitoring, tracing, and performance tuningSecure software development practicesAI, machine learning, LLM integrations, vector databases, or intelligent automation solutionsBuilding platforms that leverage AI services and data-driven decision engines Why Join? This isn't simply another Java engineering position. You'll be joining a brand-new technology function within a large and established gaming organisation that is making significant investments in AI innovation. The team is focused on delivering projects that will influence how artificial intelligence is applied across products, operations, customer experiences, and future business capabilities. This is an opportunity to: Help build a newly formed engineering capability from the ground upWork on greenfield AI-focused initiativesInfluence technical strategy and architectureCollaborate with AI specialists, architects, and innovation leadersSolve complex scaling and transaction-processing challengesPlay a key role in defining the future technology landscape of a major global organisation Ideal for engineers who want to move beyond maintaining existing systems and be at the forefront of AI-driven software development within the Java ecosystem. Additional Experience of Interest Any exposure to the following would be advantageous: Gaming, betting, casino, fintech, payments, trading, or regulated environmentsAI platform engineeringLLM implementation and orchestrationRecommendation engines and personalisation platformsMulti-region architecturesInfrastructure as CodeCI/CD and DevOps automationLoad testing and performance engineeringProduction incident management and reliability engineering This Role May Not Be Suitable If You prefer working solely on well-defined implementation tasksYou are uncomfortable influencing architecture and technical directionYou have limited experience building scalable backend systemsYou view performance, reliability, security, and scalability as secondary considerationsYou are looking for an environment focused on maintenance rather than innovation and new product development This is an opportunity for ambitious engineers who want to combine deep Java expertise with the rapidly evolving world of AI and intelligent systems, helping shape cutting-edge solutions within one of the most technologically ambitious sectors in the market.