Backend Developer (Java) — Sofia

Backend Developer (Java) — Sofia

Location: Sofia (on-site) · Team: Product Engineering · Reports to: Head of Technology · Contract: permanent employment contract, full-time

About EC Markets and the role

EC Markets is an FCA-regulated FX and CFD brokerage. Our engineering team builds and runs our investing and trading app: a React Native / Expo app on iOS, Android and web, backed by a Java Spring Boot API on AWS that connects trading, custody, identity verification, payments and market-data platforms.

We are looking for a Backend Developer to build and strengthen the Java Spring Boot API at the centre of our platform. It connects every platform we rely on, from trading and custody to identity verification and payments, so correctness, security and reliability matter as much as delivery speed.

What you will be doing

Core API & integrations

- Design, build and maintain features in our Spring Boot services and shared libraries.

- Build and strengthen integrations with trading, custody, identity verification, payments, CRM and notification platforms.

- Make sure money movements (deposits, withdrawals and transfers) are correct, auditable and reconcilable, in line with client money requirements.

Reliability, security & performance

- Own PostgreSQL schema design, migrations and query performance for your features.

- Instrument services with logging, metrics and tracing, and take part in the engineering support rota.

- Apply secure-by-default practice: authentication, secrets management and least-privilege access.

- Support load testing and remove performance bottlenecks.

Delivery

- Work in Scrum sprints and take work through code review, testing environments and production release.

- Use AI coding tools productively, and own every AI-assisted change: review it, test it and be able to explain it in your pull request.

What you will bring (non-negotiable)

- At least 4 years of back-end development in Java (17 or later) with Spring Boot in production.

- REST API design and integration patterns: webhooks, retries, idempotency and asynchronous processing.

- Strong SQL and PostgreSQL, including transactions and schema migrations (Flyway, Liquibase or similar).

- Automated testing with JUnit and integration tests.

- Working knowledge of AWS.

- Experience building systems where data correctness is critical, such as payments, ledgers or financial transactions.

- Git-based workflow with pull-request reviews and CI/CD.

- Confident, practical use of AI-assisted development tools, with sound judgement over their output.

- Professional English for daily work with colleagues across the Group.

Nice to have

- Brokerage, trading, payments or wider fintech experience; familiarity with FCA client money rules.

- Infrastructure as code (AWS CDK or Terraform).

- Caching, message queues and event-driven design.

- CRM integration experience.

- js.

Qualifications

- Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

- 4–7 years of hands-on back-end engineering experience.

Compensation & benefits

- Base salary: €30,400 – €45,600 gross per year (€2,533 – €3,800 gross per month), before employee tax and social-security contributions.

- Annual bonus: eligible for the Group bonus scheme

- Pension & social security: employer contributions in line with statutory requirements.

- Health: supplementary health insurance.

- Annual leave: 20 working days plus public holidays.

- Equipment & learning: company-provided hardware; annual learning and certification budget (incl. cloud and Java certifications).

- Travel: occasional travel to other Group offices, paid for by the company.

Where a candidate sits within the band is determined by assessed experience against the role criteria, depth in the required stack (Java, Spring Boot, PostgreSQL, AWS) and relevant financial-services exposure. The same criteria apply to any later pay progression.

How we hire

Our recruitment process is aligned with Directive (EU) 2023/970 on pay transparency and equal pay:

- Transparent pay from the start. The salary band, bonus and benefits above apply from the first conversation. We will not offer below the published band on the basis of a candidate’s current or previous pay.

- No salary-history questions. We will not ask about your current or previous salary at any stage, and our application form does not collect it.

- Gender-neutral process. The job title and this description are gender-neutral, and we welcome applications from candidates of all genders and backgrounds. Interview panels are balanced wherever practicable.

- Objective, written criteria. Shortlisting, interview scoring and the final offer within the band are made against pre-defined, written criteria, scored independently by each interviewer. The same criteria apply to later pay progression and are available on request.

- Your rights once hired. You may discuss your own pay to exercise your right to equal pay, and you may request, in writing, information on your individual pay level and on average pay levels by sex for workers doing the same work or work of equal value, in line with applicable law.

Process at a glance: CV screen → Talent Acquisition conversation (30 min, incl. salary band) → first technical interview with two engineers (60 min) → second round: a practical exercise on a realistic task, including AI-assisted coding (2 hours) → offer. Typical end-to-end timeline: 3–4 weeks. Reasonable adjustments are available at any stage; just let us know.

Equal opportunities and how to apply

EC Markets is an equal-opportunities employer. We make hiring decisions on the basis of skills, experience and demonstrated potential, and do not discriminate on the grounds of sex, gender identity, age, ethnicity, nationality, religion or belief, sexual orientation, disability, marital or civil-partnership status, pregnancy or parental status, or trade-union membership.

Please do not include your current or previous salary: we will not use it in our decision and are not permitted to ask for it. Any personal data you share will be processed in accordance with our Candidate Privacy Notice and the GDPR.

Questions about the role, the salary band or reasonable adjustments are welcome at any stage; just ask the Talent Acquisition team.