Senior Backend Engineer II (Java)
Location: London (Hybrid – 2 days in the London Office)
Reports to: Engineering Manager
We are on a mission to make home moving easier and simpler. Home movers across the UK spend more than a billion minutes on Rightmove each month, and our website and apps receive over 140 million visits monthly. To support this scale, we’re looking for Software Engineers with the curiosity, expertise and drive to build reliable, high‑performance systems that sit at the heart of Rightmove’s search experience.
What You’ll Be Doing
* Designing and developing new features and platform capabilities using Java 17+, Spring Boot, Elasticsearch, Kafka, Gradle, Hibernate, Couchbase, SQL, and Docker.
* Owning end‑to‑end delivery of technical solutions, from shaping requirements through to deployment and monitoring.
* Improving and scaling our Elasticsearch‑based search systems, including index design, query optimisation, relevance tuning and operational best practices.
* Collaborating closely with other search and product teams to ensure the platform meets their functional, performance and reliability needs.
* Balancing product delivery with technical debt reduction and system sustainability, making well‑reasoned trade‑offs.
* Producing high‑quality, secure, maintainable code with a long‑term mindset.
* Influencing architectural decisions and advocating for technologies and approaches that advance our search capabilities.
* Mentoring engineers across the team and contributing to a culture of ownership, growth and continuous improvement.
We’re Looking For Someone Who
* Has extensive commercial experience with Java 17+, Spring Boot and Elasticsearch, including schema design, scaling and performance optimisation.
* Has contributed to or led complex technical initiatives involving multiple engineers or teams.
* Shows strong problem‑solving skills and an ability to balance technical depth with business impact.
* Demonstrates deep understanding of TDD, CI/CD and modern engineering practices, including pipeline optimisation and left‑shifting quality.
* Is passionate about building performant, observable and resilient distributed systems.
* Communicates clearly with both technical and non‑technical stakeholders.
* Proactively introduces improvements and champions engineering excellence across the team.
* Invests in mentoring, knowledge sharing and fostering a psychologically safe, collaborative environment.
About Rightmove
Our vision is to give everyone the belief that they can make their move. We aim to make moving simpler, by giving everyone the best place to turn to and return to for access to the tools, expertise, trust and belief to make it happen.
We’re home to the UK’s largest choice of properties, and are the go‑to destination for millions of people planning their next move, reading the latest industry news, or just browsing what’s on the market.
Benefits
* Cash plan for dental, optical and physio treatments.
* Private Medical Insurance, Pension and Life Insurance, Employee Assistance Plan.
* 27 days holiday plus two (paid) volunteering days a year to give back, and holiday buy schemes.
* Hybrid working pattern with 2 days in the office.
* Contributory stakeholder pension.
* Life assurance at 4× your basic salary to a spouse, family member or other nominated person in your life.
* Competitive compensation package.
* Paid leave for maternity, paternity, adoption & fertility.
* Travel Loans, Bike to Work scheme, Rental Deposit Loan.
* Charitable contributions through Payroll Giving and donation matching.
* Access deals and discounts on things like travel, electronics, fashion, gym memberships, cinema discounts and more.
As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Rightmove will never discriminate based on age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, gender reassignment, marriage / civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity or sexual orientation. At Rightmove, we believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce leads to better innovation, productivity, and overall success. We are committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for all employees, regardless of their background or identity, to develop and promote a diverse culture that reflects the communities we serve.
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