Senior Java Engineer – AI Enablement
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.
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 the company’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.
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. Expand 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
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