Java Engineer, Vice President in Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Our Engineering Services division is at the forefront building the foundation for Aladdin, an operating system for investment managers that integrates real-time management of information, people, and technology. Aladdin is used by numerous financial institutions both internally and externally, and Developer Platform makes our application development teams faster and more consistent by providing centralized libraries, build and attestation (compliance) systems. We own the SDLC languages (Java, Python, .NET, Rust, and Golang) used by the firm's developers, both for organically grown and inorganically acquired applications. We succeed by helping our customers succeed, so understanding their business and technical problems is key to accelerating their delivery and ensuring consistency for legally required areas like compliance. You'll join a supportive team with a healthy mix of experience levels, working alongside Directors and a Technical Fellow who set a high bar for technical excellence. This is a team where you'll be mentored, challenged, and given real ownership from day one. As a Java Developer, you will strengthen the firm's Java language support and help develop the shared platform capabilities used by financial applications operating at significant scale. These capabilities include libraries, build systems, database failover libraries, and shared business libraries maintained in partnership with application teams. Java is the firm's most mature programming language, creating complex engineering challenges across performance, reliability, scale, and developer experience. You will help address these challenges while also contributing expert guidance to the wider programming-language community. Your work will support technology that helps investors pursue important financial goals, including saving for retirement, paying for education, purchasing a home, and improving their financial well-being. Your responsibilities In every role at BlackRock, you'll be expected to apply sound judgement and critical thinking to solve complex problems, adapt as the business evolves, and combine the curiosity to explore new approaches and technologies with the rigor to challenge the results. The scope of this role also includes the following responsibilities:

• Deliver practical engineering solutions within a complex operating environment, navigating multiple stakeholders and competing priorities.
• Strengthen the Java SDLC by developing and maintaining shared libraries, build systems, database failover capabilities, and application-team-owned business libraries.
• Address demanding performance, resilience, scalability, and survivability requirements for applications operating at significant scale.
• Contribute to the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) development tooling and evaluate how emerging engineering practices can improve delivery.
• Provide expert guidance to the wider programming-language community and help improve the developer experience across the other languages supported by the team.
• Design, test, deploy, and support resilient systems while developing a strong understanding of how platform teams operate at scale.
• Collaborate with global engineering and application teams, share ideas, seek feedback, and contribute to a culture of continuous improvement.
  Demonstrated software engineering experience and sound judgement gained through designing, delivering, and supporting production systems. Financial services experience is not required, and relevant practical experience is valued more than a specific degree.
• Strong Java programming experience and solid engineering fundamentals, including data structures, algorithms, version control, and writing clean, testable code.
• Demonstrated curiosity about how technologies work, with the motivation and adaptability to learn new programming languages, toolchains, and infrastructure.
• Interest in build systems, containers, and Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) practices, with a hands-on approach to learning by building and improving solutions. Previous experience in these areas is helpful but not essential.
• A collaborative, team-first approach, including following through on commitments, communicating openly, seeking feedback, and supporting colleagues.
• A proactive working style, with the ability to identify opportunities, raise issues early, and take ownership without waiting for detailed direction.
• Clear communication skills, with the ability to explain technical work and engineering decisions to technical and non-technical audiences and ask questions when requirements are unclear.
  BlackRock's hybrid work model is designed to enable a culture of collaboration and apprenticeship that enriches the experience of our employees, while supporting flexibility for all. Employees are currently required to work at least 4 days in the office per week, with the flexibility to work from home 1 day a week. Some business groups may require more time in the office due to their roles and responsibilities. We remain focused on increasing the impactful moments that arise when we work together in person - aligned with our commitment to performance and innovation. As a new joiner, you can count on this hybrid model to accelerate your learning and onboarding experience here at BlackRock.
Guidance on AI use for candidates At BlackRock, AI has long been part of how we work - enhancing decision-making, improving operations, and helping us deliver better outcomes for clients. We encourage candidates to use AI thoughtfully to learn, prepare, and work more effectively; but during our interview process, we want to focus on getting to know you through your own experiences, thinking, and judgment. To support you, we've provided guidance on when and how to use AI during our hiring process so you can approach each step with confidence and showcase your best self. About BlackRock At BlackRock, we are all connected by one mission: to help more and more people experience financial well-being. Our clients, and the people they serve, are saving for retirement, paying for their children's educations, buying homes and starting businesses. Their investments also help to strengthen the global economy: support businesses small and large; finance infrastructure projects that connect and power cities; and facilitate innovations that drive progress. This mission would not be possible without our smartest investment - the one we make in our employees. It's why we're dedicated to creating an environment where our colleagues feel welcomed, valued and supported with networks, benefits and development opportunities to help them thrive. To learn more about BlackRock, please visit https://jobeax.com/link/BIjY7QpVIyZNlfhU . We also encourage you to get to know us on LinkedIn , Instagram , YouTube , X , and TikTok . BlackRock is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to age, disability, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation and other protected characteristics at law. BlackRock's purpose is to help more and more people experience financial well-being. As a global investment manager and a leading provider of financial technology, our clients-from grandparents, doctors, and teachers to large institutions-turn to us for the solutions they need when planning for their most important goals. People join our firm from around the world to gain real-world experience while making an impact. Discover how you can have a career at BlackRock that's exciting, rewarding and full of possibilities.
To help you stay energized, engaged and inspired, we offer a wide range of employee benefits including: retirement investment and tools designed to help you in building a sound financial future; access to education reimbursement; comprehensive resources to support your physical health and emotional well-being; family support programs; and Flexible Time Off (FTO) so you can relax, recharge and be there for the people you care about.