Join our Back End Development team and help build the services behind Arco’s next generation of digital platforms. You’ll work with a modern technology stack, including Java, Spring Boot, GraphQL, Cosmos DB and Microsoft Azure, developing scalable, reliable services that support our digital growth and deliver real value to customers.
With a dedicated front-end team, you can focus on back-end engineering, from designing and building APIs to developing, testing and improving services. You’ll have the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution, develop your skills and work alongside a supportive team that shares knowledge and helps you grow.
We’re looking for someone with good Java development experience who takes pride in writing clean, well-tested code and building well-designed solutions. You don’t need experience across our entire technology stack – curiosity, a willingness to learn and a collaborative approach are just as important.
This is a full-time, permanent opportunity, available on a fully remote or hybrid basis. If you prefer hybrid working, our head office is in Hull.
Key responsibilities include:
- Designing, building and maintaining back-end services and APIs using Java and Spring Boot
- Developing GraphQL APIs
- Working with Cosmos DB and other Azure services
- Delivering the features that our customers need as they move onto our new ecommerce platform
- Building the services behind internal tools used to manage customer, product and other data
- Working with our front-end team, business analysts and business users to understand requirements
- Working within an Agile team, contributing to planning, estimation and solution design
- Writing and maintaining automated tests, and supporting system integration and user acceptance testing with the business
- Owning your changes from estimate through to release, and giving honest estimates with a stated degree of confidence
- Taking part in code reviews and helping to keep engineering standards high
- Investigating and resolving second-line support issues for the services the team looks after
- Documenting changes and sharing knowledge with colleagues
On top of working for the UK’s leading integrated health and safety experts, you’ll also receive:
- Competitive starting salary plus bonus
- Up to 8% Arco Pension contributions and Life Assurance worth 4 times your salary
- 32 days holiday inclusive of bank holidays plus 2 fully paid Community Volunteering days every year
- Opportunity to purchase 5 additional days annual leave each calendar year (subject to qualifying salary)
- Access to hundreds of discounts through Perkbox, plus receive employee discount on Arco products
- Health Cash Plan that allows you to reclaim costs for everyday health expenses such as dental treatment, eye tests and physiotherapy
- Access learning resources, qualifications and development opportunities to help you grow, progress and achieve your career ambitions
- Long-term service awards – we’re proud to have employees who have worked for us for 40 year
The ideal Software Engineer will be/have:
- Good knowledge of Java, supported by practical development experience
- Experience with the Spring Framework
- A good understanding of object-oriented programming and software design principles
- Experience building and consuming APIs, using REST or GraphQL
- Experience with Microsoft Azure or another cloud platform
- Experience writing unit and integration tests
- Strong problem-solving skills
- The ability to explain technical issues clearly to non-technical colleagues
- A degree in computer science or a related subject, or equivalent experience developing business applications
The following experience would be an advantage, but is not essential:
- GraphQL
- Cosmos DB or other NoSQL databases
- Ecommerce or B2B systems
- CI/CD pipelines and source control
- Agile ways of working and tools such as Jira