Job Title: Senior Software Engineer
Job Location: Oxford, UK
Job Location Type: Hybrid
Job Contract Type: Full-time
Job Seniority Level: Mid-Senior level
Do you enjoy building scalable backend services and owning them end‑to‑end in a real production environment?
Keen to work on distributed systems that power global research and data platforms—while mentoring others along the way?
About the team
You will join an Agile squad within Elsevier’s Research Data Platform (RDP) in Data Engineering. The squad builds and operates multiple systems that support Submissions, STMJ, Health Market, and other internal and customer‑facing workflows. Our focus is on building scalable, reliable services and data pipelines that improve productivity for authors, users, and customers.
About the role
We are looking for an experienced Senior Software Engineer to design, build, and maintain software systems in a distributed environment. You will contribute to technical delivery across multiple components, collaborate with product and engineering partners, and help translate requirements into robust solutions. You will work with guidance from more senior engineers while taking ownership of well‑scoped problems end to end, including design, implementation, release, and operational support. You will also support team capability by mentoring junior engineers and strengthening engineering practices.
Responsibilities
* Design, build, test, and maintain reliable and scalable backend services.
* Develop and support data‑processing components used in production systems.
* Collaborate with engineers, product partners, and stakeholders to shape practical technical solutions.
* Contribute to architecture and design discussions, documenting decisions clearly.
* Identify, troubleshoot, and resolve production issues with a focus on long‑term improvement.
* Contribute to improving CI/CD pipelines, build automation, and release processes.
* Help define and improve operational practices, including monitoring, logging, and alerting.
* Review code and promote high standards for quality, security, and maintainability.
* Communicate technical progress, risks, and trade‑offs clearly to varied audiences.
* Support the development of others through collaboration, knowledge sharing, and mentoring.
Requirements
* Experience building and supporting software used in real‑world, production environments.
* Practical experience with at least one modern programming language (for example, Python or Java).
* Experience designing, building, or operating APIs and backend services.
* Familiarity with event‑driven or streaming systems (such as Kafka or similar technologies).
* Experience using monitoring or observability tools to understand system performance and reliability.
* Understanding of modern software delivery practices, including CI/CD.
* Experience working with cloud‑based systems and containerised applications.
* Exposure to production support, incident response, or system reliability work.
* Understanding of testing approaches such as unit and integration testing.
* Ability to communicate clearly, work collaboratively, and contribute positively within a team.
Note: We value practical experience and transferable skills. Formal education is not required if you have equivalent hands‑on experience.
About the business
A global leader in information and analytics, we help researchers and healthcare professionals advance science and improve health outcomes for the benefit of society. Building on our publishing heritage, we combine quality information and vast data sets with analytics to support visionary science and research, health education and interactive learning, as well as exceptional healthcare and clinical practice. What you do every day will help advance science and healthcare to advance human progress.
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