Senior Java Developer | Belfast | £65,000-£80,000

• Senior back-end developer role within a newly established Belfast trading technology hub
• Java-focused; real-time exchange connectivity, event-driven architecture, distributed systems
• Small founding team of 4 engineers; site lead already in place (placed by Ocho)
• £65,000-£80,000 | Belfast based
• Ground-floor opportunity to shape engineering culture and grow with the team

About the Company

Our client is a fast-growing global trading firm with deep expertise across traditional and digital asset markets. Built by technologists and financial engineers, their platforms are engineered for scale, resiliency, and high performance. They are now establishing a dedicated engineering hub in Belfast as a long-term investment in core trading infrastructure, with a full platform launch planned for 2026.

The Role

Ocho has already placed the technical site lead for this Belfast hub. The team is now looking to bring in a Senior Java Developer to join the founding engineering pod as one of its first hires. This is a small, high-calibre team working on genuinely complex, high-performance systems in a live trading environment. You will work closely alongside the site lead on real-time exchange connectivity and data synchronisation, taking meaningful ownership of technical decisions and engineering standards from day one. If you want depth of impact and the chance to help define how a new hub is built, this is a rare opportunity to get in at the very start.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and build the exchange connector layer to interface with multiple external crypto exchanges in real time.
• Implement real-time data synchronisation pipelines that ensure accuracy, speed, and operational resilience.
• Lead JVM performance tuning for throughput, latency, and reliability in event-driven architectures.
• Collaborate with the site lead and trading, risk, and operations teams to translate system requirements into clean, well-tested solutions.
• Contribute to software design standards, code quality practices, and architectural decisions as the Belfast engineering function scales.
• Mentor developers as the team grows and help establish a strong engineering culture from the ground up.

What You'll Need

Essential

• 6-10+ years of back-end software engineering experience; strong Java expertise required.
• Demonstrated experience tuning and optimising performance on the JVM.
• Solid Computer Science fundamentals and sound software architecture instincts.
• Hands-on experience building and deploying in cloud environments; AWS preferred.
• Experience with event-driven or streaming architectures (e.g. Kafka, Kinesis).
• Comfortable working in a fast-moving, collaborative environment with genuine ownership of your work.
• Based in or able to relocate to Belfast; right to work in the UK.

Desirable

• Experience in financial services, exchange connectivity, or high-throughput distributed systems.
• Knowledge of crypto trading, digital assets, or market data feeds.
• Degree in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent professional experience.

Why Apply?

• £65,000-£80,000 + salary depending on experience.
• One of the first senior hires into a small founding team; direct influence on engineering culture and tooling from day one.
• Work on complex, real-time trading infrastructure used in live environments.
• Direct access to technical decision-makers; flat structure, no heavy bureaucracy.
• Clear progression path as the hub scales to include QA, DevOps, and Support Engineering.
• Autonomy, flexibility, and a culture built around technical excellence and continuous improvement.

How to Apply

If you believe you meet the criteria for this role and are excited about the opportunity, please apply via the link. Alternatively, reach out to Phil Gamble directly for an informal chat via LinkedIn or WhatsApp.

About Phil Gamble: Phil Gamble has over 21 years of experience recruiting in global software engineering markets, delivering high-quality technical hires for scaling organisations. His relationship-driven approach ensures candidates are supported throughout the entire process.