Back-end Software Developer (Java, AWS)

Job Description

It has never been more important to make our towns and cities healthy and sustainable places to live. The Natural History Museum's Urban Nature Project (UNP) aims to give people across the UK, no matter who they are or where they live, the motivation and tools to safeguard nature in towns and cities, so that people and planet can thrive.

We are looking for an accomplished back-end engineer to join a collaborative, cross-discipline team that are dedicated to deliver a pioneering world-class science data product for the Museum and the UNP – the Data Ecosystem. The Ecosystem is UK biodiversity data from sources as diverse as acoustic sensors and DNA samples and will enable people from across the academic spectrum to manage, enrich, and explore the vast connected data set, elevating our understandings to new heights.

We work within a hybrid work model, supporting a combination of work-on-site / work-from-home as arranged by each team.

You’ll find a culture that is inclusive, diverse, supportive, and fun. You will have opportunities to connect with the other communities in the museum, such as scientists, researchers, educators, and more. You’ll have access to both the rich heritage and the modern purpose that the museum embraces and promotes.

Main Responsibilities

• Work within cross-functional team to design, develop, document, publish and iterate on a multi-source, multi-platform data solution.
• Distil user requirements into technical proposals.
• Architect a software and data model that is suitable for purpose.
• Develop using agile methodologies, delivering pieces of functionality with unit tests and documentation included.
• Deploy, monitor, iterate and maintain as needed.

Are you the right candidate?

We are looking for someone who:

• Has strong experience building data systems in Java 8, including frameworks such as Spring Boot and/or Micronaut.
• Has experience with AWS, preferably with Terraform.
• Has good understanding of document vs relational data modelling technologies such as Postgres, MongoDB and MySQL.
• Is comfortable working in a product-focussed, collaborative environment, proposing technical solutions from a collection of user requirements, and working iteratively to add and improve features over time.
• Is familiar with modern development and deployment methods, such as OOP, unit tests (junit5), continuous integration / deployment (Jenkins), code control (Git).
• Understands Microservices, with extra points for event-based approach.
• Can do a little front-end JavaScript when needed. Bonus for React experience.

If this sounds like you, we’d love for you to apply at our careers portal https://careers.nhm.ac.uk/

About Us

The Natural History Museum is both a world-leading science research centre and the most visited natural history museum in Europe. With a vision of a future in which both people and the planet thrive, it is uniquely positioned to be a powerful champion for balancing humanity’s needs with those of the natural world.

It is custodian of one of the world’s most important scientific collections comprising over 80 million objects. The scale of this collection enables researchers from all over the world to document how species have and continue to respond to environmental changes - which is vital in helping predict what might happen in the future and informing future policies and plans to help the planet.

We are at a pivotal moment in our history as we launch a new strategy setting out our role as the natural world faces increasing threats. Building on our world-leading collection, global reputation for science and as one of the world’s leading visitor attractions, the NHM has ambitious plans leading up to the 150 anniversary of the opening of the Waterhouse Building in 2031, making this a truly exciting time to be part of the NHM team.

Diversity and inclusion matter to us

Our vision is of a future where both people and the planet thrive. Diversity is one of our core values and we strive to build a workplace where everyone feels a sense of belonging. All new staff who join us learn about the importance of diversity and inclusion to the Museum and how to contribute to creating an inclusive environment.

We know we have more to do, but we are committed to ensuring that everyone who works at the Museum feels they can thrive and feel valued and respected.

We welcome applications from everyone – diversity, inclusion and the feeling of belonging matters to us. By attracting people to work for us from a broad range of diverse backgrounds we can continue to look at the world with fresh eyes and find new ways of doing things.

Thriving at the Museum: the way we work
We are proud to work at the Museum and have identified the qualities we all need to embody to reach our shared ambition. This sits alongside the Museum’s values and forms the framework for the way we work.

Find out more here

What we offer

• 27.5 days holiday plus 8 bank holidays (full time equivalent)
• Generous defined contribution Natural History Museum Pension Scheme (employer contribution up to 10%)
• Free admission to our exhibitions and many other paid exhibitions at museums, galleries and institutions across the country, such as the British Museum, V&A, National Gallery, Royal Academy and Tate
• Affordable membership to the Civil Service Sports Council which offers a range of benefits including a free digital Tastecard, discounted cinema tickets and corporate membership of English Heritage sites (including Dover Castle and Stonehenge). For more details, visit https://www.cssc.co.uk
• Membership to our Sports and Social Association (for a small fee), which includes access to our in-house gym and clubs such as football, softball, table tennis and tennis and classes in Middle Eastern dance, yoga and Tai Chi
• Staff discounts at a range of local businesses and services
• Staff discount at our Museum shops and cafes
• Season ticket, bicycle and rental loans
• Eye care vouchers
• Professional development opportunities - We are committed to the professional development of our staff and offer a range of courses to ensure they reach their potential. We also sponsor professional qualifications and job-related professional membership fees.