Senior Software Engineer II (java)

Senior Backend Engineer II (Java)

Location: London (Hybrid - 2 days in the London Office)

Reports to: Engineering Manager

The Role

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.

This position is part of a team responsible for the shared search foundations used across the company. The team builds the capabilities, tools, and services that other product teams rely on, helping them deliver fast, relevant, and consistent search experiences to millions of users. It's an ideal role for engineers who enjoy solving complex technical challenges that affect multiple teams or the entire organization.

At Rightmove we work in autonomous, cross-functional teams. Each team owns part of the Rightmove experience and includes product, design, engineering, and testing specialists. As a Software Engineer II, you will help shape solutions end to end, mentor others, and contribute to the technical direction of your team.

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 optimization, 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 optimization.
• 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 optimization 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.

Our Approach To AI

At Rightmove, we expect everyone to actively explore and use AI tools to improve their productivity, creativity, and impact. We believe that software and product are ultimately people problems, and everything we build is aimed at improving the lives of others. Our view is that thoughtful use of AI can free up more time for the human parts of our work, understanding real problems, listening carefully, and making sure we are solving the right things in the right way. If you are not curious about how to use AI to work smarter, this is unlikely to be the right environment for you.

About Rightmove

Our vision is to give everyone the belief 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.

Despite this growth, we've remained a friendly, supportive place to work, with employee #1 still working here! We've done this by placing the Rightmove How's at the heart of everything we do. These are the essential values that reflect our culture, and include:

• We create value …by delivering results and building trust with partners and consumers.
• We think bigger …by acting with curiosity and setting bold aspirations.
• We care deeply …by being real, having fun, and valuing diversity.
• We move together …by being one team - internally collaborative, externally competitive.
• We make a difference …by focusing on delivering measurable impact.

We believe in careers that open doors, and help our team develop by providing an open and inclusive work environment, offering ongoing training opportunities, and supporting charity fundraising events. And with 88% of Rightmovers saying we're a great place to work, we're clearly doing something right!

If all this has caught your eye, you may well be a Rightmover in the making...

What We Offer

• 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 office
• Contributory stakeholder pension
• Life assurance at 4x 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 on the basis of 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.

Ultimately, we care much more about the person you are, and how you think and approach things, than a list of qualifications and buzzwords on a CV. Even if you can't say 'yes' to all the above, but are smart, self-motivated, and passionate about this role, then get in touch.