Job Description

About FairPlay Sports Media:

We're a sports media network, focused on building and nurturing a portfolio of highly engaged and connected communities of sports fans and bettors to create value for our partners.

We empower sports fans with real-time intelligence, premium independent content, and unique tools so they can compete in the sports betting game.

FairPlay Sports Media is a collection of market leading brands including oddschecker, WhoScored, SuperScommesse, FairPlay Technologies and Confido. In addition, FairPlay has a vast network across the sports tech and media industries through our partnerships including Reach, Gazzetta dello Sport, DAZN, SportsGrid and The Jockey Club amongst others.

iGaming is one of the fastest-growing and most technologically innovative sectors, and we're on top of our game, powered by market-leading tech and driven by brilliant people.

We champion diversity and operate an open and inclusive culture as well as being focused, fast-paced, and always making sure to have fun along the way. So why not join us at FairPlay and be part of something bigger...

What we are looking for:

We are seeking a seasoned Lead Java Engineer with extensive experience architecting, developing, and optimizing large-scale, cloud-native applications. This role requires proven leadership in setting technical direction, mentoring engineering teams (both back-end and front-end engineers), and delivering robust backend solutions on Google Cloud Platform (GCP). The ideal candidate will demonstrate deep expertise and ownership of headless CMS, with a focus on best practices and optimization.

Key Responsibilities

Architectural Leadership

: Design and implement scalable, maintainable backend architectures using Java and Google Cloud services, with clear ownership of headless CMS solutions.

Headless CMS Ownership

: Take end-to-end responsibility for the architecture, integration, and optimization of headless CMS platforms (preferably Contentful), ensuring best practices in performance, scalability, and maintainability.

Cloud-Native Development

: Build and optimize microservices and distributed systems leveraging GCP products (Compute Engine, App Engine, Cloud Functions, Pub/Sub, BigQuery, Elastic Search, etc.).

Performance Optimization

: Continuously monitor and enhance application performance, focusing on scalability, reliability, and cost-efficiency in cloud environments.

Collaboration & Cross-Functional Leadership:

Directly manage frontend engineers and QA specialists, ensuring alignment and high performance across the full product development lifecycle. Work closely with frontend engineers, DevOps, product managers, and stakeholders to translate business requirements into technical solutions. Promote seamless collaboration between backend, frontend, QA, and DevOps across multiple teams to deliver integrated, high-quality products

Mentorship

: Guide and mentor junior engineers, promoting a culture of continuous learning and technical excellence.

Code Quality

: Enforce best practices in code quality, testing, documentation, and CI/CD pipelines.

Innovation

: Stay current with emerging cloud and CMS technologies, advocating for their adoption when beneficial.

Experience

:

Minimum 7 years in backend development with Java, including at least 3 years in a principal or technical leadership role.

Demonstrated experience owning and optimizing headless CMS platforms, preferably Contentful, including integration and API best practices

Technical Proficiency

:

Expert in Java, Spring/Spring Boot, and RESTful API design.

Deep experience with headless CMS, preferably Contentful, with a focus on best practice implementation, optimization, and troubleshooting.

Deep experience with Google Cloud Platform (GCP) services and cloud-native patterns.

Proficient in containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) and infrastructure-as-code (Terraform, Cloud Deployment Manager).

Strong understanding of distributed systems, event-driven architectures, and messaging systems (Kafka, Pub/Sub).

Proficient in unit, integration, and end-to-end testing frameworks (JUnit, TestNG, Mockito, Cucumber).

Experience establishing best practices for test coverage and continuous integration.

Build Tools:

Familiarity with Maven, Gradle, and modern CI/CD tools.

Advanced experience with Git and collaborative workflows.

Soft Skills:

Excellent communication skills, able to articulate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.

Able to clearly articulate goals, expectations, and feedback to team members.

Practice active listening and adapt communication style to different audiences

Able to build strong relationships and resolve conflicts constructively

Delegate responsibilities effectively, resolve conflicts constructively, and provide regular feedback and recognition.

Technical Expectations

Expert-level proficiency in Java

: In-depth knowledge of Java language features, concurrency, memory management, and JVM internals.

Headless CMS Best Practices

: Hands-on experience designing, integrating, and optimizing headless CMS solutions for performance, scalability, and reliability.

Cloud-Native Application Development

: Hands-on experience designing, deploying, and managing applications on GCP, including serverless and containerized workloads.

Performance and Scalability

: Proven track record of optimizing backend systems for high throughput, low latency, and cost efficiency in cloud environments.

Security and Compliance

: Familiarity with cloud security best practices, and compliance requirements.

Technical Leadership

: Ability to guide technical decision-making, conduct rigorous code reviews, and uphold high standards for code quality, maintainability, and scalability.

What you'll get back from us:

Alongside being challenged daily and a real interest in your development, you will also receive:

Subsidized Sky HD package, broadband and discounted sky talk Free Puregym membership Free healthcare with Bupa, life assurance and income protection Pension scheme with up to 9% contribution from the company 1,000 training fund each financial year, to spend on your professional development Unlimited holiday plan

Research shows that women and ethnic minorities are less likely to apply if they don't meet every qualification. If you're passionate about our purpose, determined to face challenges, and eager to learn, we encourage you to apply even if you don't tick every box. We're committed to building a diverse, inclusive team and ensuring an accessible recruitment process. If you need any accommodations, please let us know.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: 53,555.06-100,000.00 per year

Benefits:

Life insurance Referral programme
Schedule:

Monday to Friday
Application question(s):

Will you now or in the future require visa sponsorship in the UK? Describe how many years of professional experience in backend Java development you have, including years in a technical leadership or principal role? Describe your experience in using Google Cloud Platform services (e.g., Cloud Functions, Pub/Sub, BigQuery) to design cloud-native backend systems? What are your gross annual salary expectations in GBP ()? As a Tech Lead, how many team members have you managed or led in the past? Please describe your experience with headless CMS (preferably Contentful) in a production environment, taking ownership of its integration and optimization? Have you led cross-functional teams (including frontend, backend, and QA engineers) in building and delivering scalable microservices in a CI/CD environment?
Work authorisation:

United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: Hybrid remote in London SE1 7ND

Expected start date: 19/08/2025