Principal Java Developer

Principal Java Developer

Contract Type:

12 Month Contract

Location:

Canberra CBD - ACT

Contact Name:

Oliver Iles-mann

Contact Email:

oliver.iles-mann@ashdownpeople.com.au

Contact Phone:

Posted Date:

04-08-2026

Principal Java Developer 
12 Month initial contract
Pay Rate: $900-$1040/day + Super
Location: Canberra (Hybrid)

Overview:
  • Develop and enhance NEXUS, a mission-critical national emergency response platform.
  • Build enterprise Java solutions using AWS, Oracle and Spring Boot technologies.
  • Long term  Federal Government Department  contract opportunity.
We are seeking an experienced  Principal  Java Developer to join a Federal Government Department supporting NEXUS, a mission-critical operational platform used to coordinate national emergency response activities.
NEXUS is a life-critical application that enables emergency operations teams to coordinate assets during complex maritime and aviation incidents, while also supporting the management of pollution response events. It is relied upon by operational staff to coordinate resources and make time-critical decisions.

Built across a modern technology stack including Java, .NET, AWS, Oracle PL/SQL and ArcGIS, NEXUS comprises multiple integrated applications. This role will focus on supporting, maintaining and enhancing the cloud and back-end components, including Java services, Java EE messaging, AWS integrations and Oracle databases.

You'll join a highly experienced team of Java and .NET developers who provide in-house support and ongoing development of NEXUS, working on a platform that directly supports critical national operations.
Key Responsibilities As the Senior Java Developer, you will:

  • Design, develop and maintain enterprise-grade Java applications.
  • Develop and support cloud-based solutions using AWS services.
  • Build and maintain web-based user interfaces using ReactJS, HTML and CSS.
  • Design logical and physical data models using Oracle Database.
  • Develop database functionality using Java ORM frameworks (JPA/Hibernate) and Oracle PL/SQL.
  • Design, develop and maintain RESTful APIs, SOAP web services, OpenAPI specifications, WSDLs and XML Schemas.
  • Produce and maintain detailed technical documentation and solution designs.
  • Develop and maintain CI/CD pipelines and DevOps workflows using Jenkins, Git, Maven and Ant.
  • Perform software builds, deployments and production releases following established processes.
  • Provide technical advice and support to senior technology stakeholders.
  • Participate in an on-call support roster for critical applications (after-hours call-outs are extremely rare—historically around one call per year).
Skills & Experience To be successful in this role, you will have:
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  • At least 8 years' commercial experience developing enterprise Java applications.
  • Strong experience with:
    • Java
    • Enterprise design patterns
    • JPA and Hibernate ORM
    • Spring and Spring Boot
    • Java EE (desirable)
    • Reactive programming (desirable)
  • Extensive experience developing:
    • REST APIs
    • SOAP Web Services
    • OpenAPI Specifications
    • XML, JSON and XSD Schemas
  • Strong experience working in Unix/Linux environments, including Bash scripting.
  • Experience with Maven, Continuous Integration, unit testing and system integration testing.
  • Strong database development skills, including:
    • Data modelling
    • Stored procedures
    • Oracle Database (preferred)
  • Experience developing cloud-native applications using AWS, including:
    • EC2
    • Lambda
    • API Gateway
    • S3
    • SQS
    • CloudFormation
  • Willingness to participate in a 24/7 on-call support roster.
Technical Capabilities You'll also demonstrate:
  • A strong commitment to software engineering best practices and delivering robust, scalable and maintainable software.
  • Experience implementing and maintaining automated testing.
  • The ability to produce clear technical documentation and detailed solution designs.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to provide design and implementation feedback.
  • A continuous improvement mindset, contributing to improved engineering practices, documentation and development standards.
Must be Australian Citizen and based in Canberra (or willing to travel hybrid on a weekly basis) and hold Baseline Security Clearance as a minimum. 
Apply Now
Apply Now
Share this job
Interested in this job?
Save Job
Print this job
Create As Alert

Similar Jobs

SCHEMA MARKUP ( This text will only show on the editor. )