Job Description
About the role:
At Holland & Barrett, our mission is to make health and wellness a way of life for everyone — and technology is key to achieving that goal. As we evolve into a truly omni-channel business, we're investing in the innovation and digital capabilities that will deliver speed, convenience, and personalisation to millions of customers worldwide.
We build with purpose. We're collaborative, cloud-first, and committed to delivering meaningful value at pace. We prefer building smart, tailored solutions over buying generic ones — and we integrate automation and testing into every part of our tech stack, from infrastructure to software to data.
As a Senior Backend Engineer, you'll join our Online Customer Experience (OCX) vertical — the team behind our e-commerce platforms across web and mobile. With a large-scale technical transformation nearing completion, we're entering a new and exciting phase: building next-generation digital propositions that align with our mission to be the go-to wellness brand.
This role will see you lead by example — owning software design across key functional areas, mentoring engineers, and delivering high-quality, secure, and scalable systems that enhance the customer experience.
What You'll Be Doing
* Take ownership of designing and delivering backend services, operating independently without technical oversight
* Lead by example to consistently ship high-quality, cross-functional software
* Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure projects are delivered on time and meet expectations
* Bring fresh thinking and share new techniques across disciplines including product, QA, and UX
* Support and mentor your engineering squad, helping to grow technical capabilities and confidence
* Evaluate the impact of new information and changing priorities, adapting plans accordingly
* Communicate complex concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
* Understand how your team's work connects to the wider business strategy
* Keep the customer at the heart of what you do — building features and systems that serve their needs
* Take responsibility for security and compliance, planning proactively for operational impact
Key requirements:
Essential Skills:
* Fluent in Java (17+) and frameworks like Spring Boot, Quarkus, or Micronaut
* Deep understanding of RESTful architecture and HTTP
* Strong knowledge of asynchronous programming techniques in Java
* Proficient in SQL, with experience in RDBMS like Postgres or Oracle
* Experience working with Docker and docker-compose
* Familiarity with AWS, particularly services like S3, Aurora, and ElasticCache
* Proficient with CI/CD tools such as GitLab, GitHub Actions, or CircleCI
* Strong testing capabilities using JUnit, RestAssured, or similar frameworks
* Proactive with monitoring, observability, and system health
Desirable Skills:
* Exposure to monitoring platforms like Datadog, Grafana, Prometheus, or PagerDuty
* Familiarity with Python scripting
* Experience with Kubernetes and deployment tools such as Helm
Why Join H&B Tech?
* Help define the future of digital health & wellness in a purpose-led organisation
* Work in an agile, cloud-native tech environment with a clear vision and mission
* Be part of a collaborative, people-first team that encourages continuous learning
* Enjoy a flexible working culture, competitive benefits, and the opportunity to make a real impact
Join us and shape the future of wellness through technology.Apply today and be part of something bigger.
What we offer:
* 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