Lead Consultant- Java Software Engineer

Title: Lead Consultant- Java Software Engineer

Career Level: E

Introduction to role:

AstraZeneca is currently seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join our R&D IT Solution Delivery Team. This role will entail writing customized software solutions for preclinical and clinical applications, ensuring reliability, performance, and security, while supporting AstraZeneca’s digital transformation goals. You will be designing and implementing new features, enhancing existing features, providing bug fixes, and taking ownership for the delivery of a team. You will work closely with engineering leaders, business analysts, and mentor junior members. The successful candidate will work across a variety of projects and technology stacks.

Accountabilities:

The role of our ideal candidate will include but not limited to:

• Technical Leadership: Provide technical direction and mentorship to junior and mid-level engineers, fostering their growth and development.

• Coding and Development: Writing clean, efficient, and maintainable code based on project requirements.

• Software Design: Lead the design and architecture of software solutions, ensuring scalability, reliability, and maintainability.

• Code Quality Assurance: Establish and enforce high coding standards, conducting thorough code reviews to ensure quality.

• Problem Solving and Innovation: Lead efforts in solving complex technical challenges and drive innovation within projects and processes.

• Project Ownership: Take ownership of new feature timelines and work, coordinating with product owners and multi-functional teams to ensure successful execution.

• Performance Optimization: Analyse and optimise system performance, addressing bottlenecks and improving efficiency.

• Continuous Improvement: Find opportunities for process improvement and implement standard methodologies across the software development lifecycle.

• Security and Compliance: Ensure code and systems align with security standard processes and industry regulations.

• Research and Development: Stay updated on industry trends and emerging technologies, evaluating and recommending new tools or practices that can benefit the organization.

Essential Skills/Experience:

• Expert Java Programming: Mastery of Java, including deep knowledge of its libraries such as Spring Boot, frameworks, and advanced concepts like concurrency and performance optimization.

• Object Orientated Design: Expert in OOD, including knowledge of design patterns, polymorphism, and inheritance.

• Comprehensive AWS Expertise: In-depth knowledge of AWS services, including but not limited to EC2, S3, Lambda, DynamoDB, RDS, VPC, IAM, CloudFormation, and API Gateway. Ability to architect complex AWS solutions and manage full lifecycle deployments on AWS.

• Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Expertise in using tools like CDK or Terraform for defining and deploying infrastructure.

• DevOps and CI/CD: Advanced understanding of DevOps principles and experience with tools like Jenkins, GitHub Actions, and Docker for automating build, test, and deployment processes.

• Containerisation: Experience with Docker and container orchestration tools such as Kubernetes or AWS ECS/EKS.

• Security and Compliance: Strong understanding of AWS security standard methodologies. Strong understanding of SSO. Understanding of security protocols such as OAuth2.

• Database and Data Management: Experience with both relational and NoSQL databases, including performance tuning and data migration.

• Problem Solving and Optimization: Strong analytical skills to tackle sophisticated problems and optimize performance and cost of existing solutions.

• Leadership and Mentoring: Ability to lead technical teams, mentor engineers, and communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical collaborators.

• Project Management and Agile: Experience managing projects in Agile environments, with skills in organizing, prioritizing, and delivering complex projects on time. Expertise on delivering frequent releases in an Agile manner.

• Version Control and Collaboration: Mastery of Git and collaborative development practices, including branching and merging strategies.

• Web Development: Advanced understanding of front-end technologies (e.g., HTML, CSS, JavaScript) to work on full-stack development. Experience in front-end SPA frameworks like React and Vue.

• API Development: Experience designing, building, and maintaining RESTful APIs.

• Proficient at writing unit and integration tests with tools like Pytest.

• Clean Coding: Expert in writing clean and maintainable code

Educational Requirements:

Bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science or an IT-related subject area with at least 8 years of experience in the IT industry.

Desirable Skills/Experience:

• Experience in the scientific or pharmaceutical industry

• Understanding of the fundamentals of science and experience in the pharmaceutical sector.

• Advanced end-to-end testing: Experience of testing methods such as shift-left testing and BDD.

• Machine Learning and AI: Knowledge of machine learning and how it can be applied to data

• Serverless and Event-Driven Architectures: Advanced use of serverless technologies and event-driven architectures for efficient, scalable solutions.

• Microservices and Container Orchestration: Experience with designing and managing microservices and using container orchestration services like AWS EKS.

• Proficient in applying AWS services like EMR, Glue, Redshift, and Kinesis for large-scale data processing and analytics.

• IoT Solutions: Experience with AWS IoT services for developing IoT applications and managing IoT devices.

• Cost Optimization: Skills in analyzing and optimizing AWS costs through budgeting tools and standard methodologies.

• Programming Languages: Advanced skills in scripting with languages like Bash to automate routine tasks. Expertise in multiple programming languages like JavaScript or Java.

• Soft Skills and Leadership: Strong leadership abilities and soft skills for influencing technology decisions and leading teams effectively.

• Certification: AWS Certifications as recognition of expertise.

• Multi-Functional Exposure: Experience collaborating closely with product, operations, or business teams to align technical solutions with business goals.

When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we ignite ambitious thinking with the power to inspire life-changing medicines. In-person working gives us the platform we need to connect, work at pace and challenge perceptions. That's why we work, on average, a minimum of three days per week from the office. But that doesn't mean we're not flexible. We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility. Join us in our unique and ambitious world.

At AstraZeneca, our work has a direct impact on patients by redefining our ability to develop life-changing medicines. We empower the business to perform at its peak by combining innovative science with leading digital technology platforms. Join us at a crucial stage of our journey in becoming a digital-led enterprise where you can make the impossible possible by building partnerships, creating new ways of working, driving scale, speed to deliver exponential growth.

Ready to take on this exciting challenge? Apply now!