Senior Software Developer - Scala

We are looking for a Senior Backend Developer to join our HCM Localisation engineering team and help evolve a large-scale, cloud-based enterprise product. This role is focused on building and maintaining scalable backend services supporting complex product workflows, integrations, performance improvements, and ongoing platform modernisation.

• Please note: This is a hybrid role requiring 3 days per week in our Newcastle office * Key Responsibilities In this role you'll:
•  Design, develop, and maintain robust backend services using Scala 2.13 and Play Framework in a Pekko-based environment.
•  Build clean, testable, and maintainable code using functional programming principles, immutability, pattern matching, and asynchronous programming with Futures.
•  Work with MySQL to design efficient data access patterns, optimize queries, tune indexes, and profile database performance.
•  Develop, deploy, and support services in AWS, working closely with DevOps and platform teams to ensure reliable delivery.
•  Contribute to CI/CD pipelines, Git-based pull request workflows, code reviews, and engineering best practices.
•  Collaborate with frontend engineers, QA, product owners, solution designers, and other backend developers to deliver high-quality product increments.
•  Support production stability by investigating issues, improving observability, and continuously reducing technical debt. Required Skills and Experience:
•  Extensive professional backend development experience, ideally in enterprise, SaaS, or cloud-based product environments.
•  Strong hands-on experience with Scala, including collections, Futures, immutability, pattern matching, error handling, and clean functional design.
•  Commercial experience with Play Framework or comparable JVM backend frameworks; Pekko or Akka experience is highly relevant.
•  Strong understanding of relational databases, especially MySQL, with practical knowledge of SQL optimization, indexes, query profiling, and transaction behaviour.
•  Experience using Redis or similar technologies for caching, session handling, or performance-sensitive workloads.
•  Deep understanding of OOP principles, functional programming, concurrency, the Scala type system, and advanced architectural patterns (e.g., Tagless Final, type classes, effect systems).
•  Ability to design and evolve complex distributed systems while promoting engineering best practices across the team
•  Hands-on experience with AWS services and cloud-native delivery practices.
•  Good understanding of CI/CD, Git, branching strategies, pull request flows, automated testing, and release practices.
•  Ability to work effectively in distributed Agile teams, communicate clearly, and take ownership of complex technical problems. Nice to Have:
•  Experience with Squeryl, Doobie, or similar Scala data access libraries.
•  Familiarity with Grafana or Kibana dashboards, alerting, logging, and production observability practices.
•  Experience with large distributed systems, horizontal scaling, resilient service design, or high-throughput Play / Pekko applications.
•  Previous experience in Payroll, HR, HCM, ERP, compliance-heavy, or localisation-focused product domains.
•  Russian, Ukrainian, or Polish language skills would be beneficial, but are not essential. Ways of Working:
•  Pragmatic, delivery-focused, and able to balance new feature development with maintenance, bug fixing, and technical improvement work.
•  Proactive in code reviews, design discussions, troubleshooting, and knowledge sharing across the engineering team.
•  Strong problem-solving mindset, attention to detail, and willingness to work with an established codebase while helping modernise it over time. Want to know more about our Product?: https://hcm.sage.com/ Benefits? We have plenty... Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCMtTYUUiuU
• Generous bonuses and pension scheme: Up to 8% matched pension contribution plus 2% top-up by Sage.
• 25 days of paid annual leave with the option to buy up to another 5 days.
• 8 bank holiday days.
• Paid 5 days yearly to volunteer through our Sage Foundation.
• 50% income protection.
• Holiday buy + sell.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage.
• Work away scheme for up to 10 weeks a year.
• Ongoing training and professional development.
• Hybrid working.
• Healthy Mind app membership
• Access to various helpful memberships for finances, health and wellbeing.