Senior Java Engineer - AI Enablement

Job Title

Senior Java Engineer - AI Enablement

Job Description

So, who are we?

IG has been at the centre of retail trading and investment since 1974, when we helped create the market for financial spread betting. Today, we're a FTSE100 fintech operating across five continents, serving over 700,000 clients and handling billions in transactions - built on decades of scale, trust and proof. We didn't pivot to innovation; it's how we've always operated . What that means for the people who work here is real: genuinely complex problems to solve, the technology and resources to tackle them properly, and the kind of scope that’s rare in established businesses. The bar is high - bring a curious and forward-thinking mindset and we'll give you the platform to define what comes next. Join us at IG – the future gets built here.

Your team

Join IG Group's newly formed Service Modernisation & AI team as a pioneer of AI-first development practices in financial services. You'll modernise and simplify critical legacy services using cutting-edge AI tooling while demonstrating what's possible when AI is deeply integrated throughout the development lifecycle.

This is a hands-on engineering role focused on delivery. You'll ship modernised services in fast cycles while showing other engineers how AI transforms productivity and code quality.

Your role in the Team's Success

You will be part of a small team to start, 5-6 senior engineers and an embedded architect, and scale with contractors as needed based on the pipeline and opportunities. You will be hands-on in code using the latest in AI engineering practices.

What you'll do

Service Modernisation (50%)

Modernise Legacy Services Using AI

Use AI to analyse codebases, understand dependencies, and extract clean APIs

Work on high-impact legacy services that block divisional delivery speed

Implement strangler fig patterns and other proven migration approaches

Deliver modernised services with comprehensive tests, documentation, and multi-instance deployment capabilities

Ship Results Quickly

Complete service modernisations in fast cycles with monthly milestones

Use AI to accelerate every phase: analysis, refactoring, testing, documentation

Hand off modernised services to Platform Services or divisions with clear ownership

Demonstrate measurable improvements: faster APIs, better performance, higher reliability

AI Implementation & Automation (50%)

Build AI-Powered Development Infrastructure

Implement Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers for service discovery, dependency mapping, and architecture compliance

Create AI-assisted CI/CD pipelines with automated code review, security scanning, and test generation

Build automation using Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, and LLM APIs

Develop reusable AI tooling that other engineers can adopt

Demonstrate AI-First Development

Use AI for all coding tasks: refactoring, test creation, documentation, debugging

Achieve measurable and significant productivity improvements through AI integration

Document patterns and share learnings through your work

Train teams during service handoffs on AI-enabled workflows you've built

Demonstrate when to use AI vs when human judgement is critical

What you'll need for this role

Backend Engineering

8+ years software engineering with Java backend expertise

Experience modernising production systems at scale

Strong API design and microservices architecture knowledge

Understanding of strangler fig patterns, service decomposition, and legacy migration strategies

AI/LLM Implementation (Critical Differentiator )

Hands-on experience building with Model Context Protocol (MCP)

Demonstrated use of Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, or similar AI development tools in production work

Experience implementing AI in CI/CD pipelines (code review, testing, security scanning)

Built agentic AI solutions or AI-powered automation tools

Understanding of prompt engineering, model selection, and LLM capabilities/limitations

Proven AI Impact

Achieved measurable productivity improvements using AI in development

Implemented AI-assisted refactoring, test generation, or documentation at scale

Experience with AI code analysis and automated remediation

Track record of shipping production systems built with AI assistance

Culture & Leadership Style – What Matters Most

Delivery-focused: Ship working modernised services, don't just build tools

Hands-on: Write code daily, don't just architect or advise

Pragmatic: Use AI to go faster, not to be clever

Teacher through doing: Others learn by seeing your PRs and shipped work

Measurement-driven: Track your AI productivity gains and share data

Collaborative: Work across divisions and time zones professionally

How we work

We try to take a thoughtful approach to our ways of working as a company. We follow a hybrid working model with 3 days in the office - which we think balances the need to collaborate effectively and connect with each other. When it comes to how we deliver, there are 5 things we want everyone to do to drive high performance, better learning and career satisfaction:

Lead and Inspire: Drives trust, alignment, and enthusiasm

Think Big: Focus on the problems that most impact commercial outcomes

Champion the client: Understand and prioritise client's needs

Deliver at pace: Push for fast, sustainable growth;

Raise the bar: Take ownership, be accountable and share feedback

We believe that diversity is vital to success, it fuels creativity, drives innovation and sets us up for global success. We're committed to building teams with a variety of perspectives and skills to help us realise our vision and strategy, that's why we encourage applications from people with diverse backgrounds and experiences to join us on this journey.

The Perks

Your growth fuels our success! Thrive with tailored development programs, mentoring opportunities with leaders, and clear career progression. your network through committees, sports and social clubs. Enjoy extra time off for volunteering and community work.

Competitive salary

Flexible Benefits Package on top of your salary (12%)

Private medical cover

Life insurance

Contribution to gym memberships

25 Days holiday, with 1 additional day off to celebrate your Birthday & 2 additional days off a year for voluntary work (28 in total

The option to buy or sell holiday days.

Unlimited access to the LinkedIn Learning Platform

A comprehensive global and local onboarding process

Employee-led LGBTQ+, Women’s, Black and Parents & Carers networks with an annual budget for organising events & projects that foster an open, diverse and inclusive culture

Enhanced primary (maternity), secondary (paternity), and shared parental pay and leave, as well as a range of support and benefits for parents

Option to participate and create ESG initiatives based on IG Brighter Future Fund

Number of openings

1