Java Developer - Guidewire

Are you an experienced Java developer who has embraced TDD, clean code and continuous deployment?

Do you want to help share this way of working within a new development team extending a vendor product?

Do you already have, or have an interest in building, expertise within the fast growing UK insurance sector? If so, read on...

Headforwards are building a new team working with a large UK retail insurer who will be responsible for developing claims handling improvements within the Guidewire ClaimCenter platform. The team will be a mixture of experienced Guidewire developers and experienced software engineers without the Guidewire product knowledge. Our aim is to create a high performing cross-functional delivery team, where you will share your expertise of modern, clean, software architecture and coding practices with the Guidewire developers and in return, they share the specific platform development knowledge with you. We believe this will create a really exciting team dynamic where everyone is learning constantly.

As an experienced Java developer, working with Guidewire should be a fairly simple step. Development uses a JVM language called Gosu, this should be familiar to you and you may even love some of the simplifications and shortcuts it provides. Of course, there will be a learning curve and we will provide support and training as necessary. We want you to bring all the tools and techniques from the Java world into the Guidewire space so we can be constantly questioning the way we work and looking to improve our testing approaches, the deployment mechanisms, and ultimately move Guidewire development as close to native development as possible. At Headforwards we have had great success doing this with Microsoft Dynamics and .NET development and we aim to do the same with Guidewire and Java.

We pride ourself on our lean approaches to software delivery, our teams are designed to be as cross-functional as possible to ensure we can share expertise effectively. We integrate ourselves within our clients seamlessly, becoming an extension of their existing capacity, but we also leverage the combined knowledge of the Headforwards teams to provide insights and expertise when needed. We focus on delivering the minimum possible to provide business value and ensuring that each change we make has considered testing from the start, so quality is designed in. We get excited with automated testing and continuous delivery pipelines and constantly look at ways to automate manual processes. While we have people in our teams with ranges of experience, we do not have a very hierarchical set-up, and believe that everyone in the team, no matter how experienced, all have an equal voice within the team. You will be encouraged to share your knowledge with colleagues across the organisation and in return you should expect to learn from others doing the same.

Essential skills/ experience:

• Experience using Test Driven Development practices
• Understanding of Refactoring and SOLID principles
• Strong Java development experience
• Knowledge of Agile development methods and practices
• Hands-on experience building continuous deployment pipelines

Desirable skills/ experience:

• An understanding of the UK retail insurance industry
• Some Guidewire understanding would be helpful
• An awareness of the Gosu Language
• Broad understanding of Microsoft Azure IaaS features

About us:

Most of us live in beautiful Cornwall and our offices are less than 5 miles from the beach. While we love Cornwall and can't imagine not living here, we know a lot of people are happy elsewhere. We expect everyone to come to our office occasionally, maybe once or twice a quarter, but apart from that we are happy for you to be based anywhere in the UK. If you are lucky enough to be based in Cornwall, or would like to relocate to this beautiful part of the country, our new offices are set-up for you to work here if you would prefer.

Company benefits:

• Flexible hours and remote/hybrid working available
• 25 days holiday per year, increasing each year up to 30 days (plus bank holidays)
• Medical cashback scheme (which also offers discounts at gyms, cinemas, supermarkets etc)
• Linkedin Learning licences, Pluralsight Learning access, and Certification opportunities
• Company pension
• Enhanced sick/ Maternity/ Paternity pay

And much more…

We are able to offer visa sponsorship, however candidates must already be based in the UK.

We recruit on a rolling basis and fill our vacancies as soon as we find people who fit our culture and meet the skills requirements. This means that whilst we have a closing date on all of our roles, we may offer the role to someone before the end date, so we recommend that you apply as soon as possible.

No recruitment agencies please.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Salary: £45,000.00-£60,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Casual dress
• Company events
• Company pension
• Cycle to work scheme
• Discounted or free food
• Flexitime
• Free or subsidised travel
• On-site parking
• Referral programme
• Work from home

Schedule:

• Flexitime
• Monday to Friday

Work Location: Remote