Java Software Engineer

Microservices Architect

Pay Rate: $81.00 - $85.00 Negotiable based upon years of experience

Work Mode: Hybrid

Location: Rutherford, NJ

Responsibilities:

Provide technical leadership and architectural guidance for the design, development, and implementation of scalable, resilient, and performant microservices using Java and the Spring ecosystem (Spring Boot, Spring Cloud).

Drive the adoption of best practices in microservices architecture, including domain-driven design, event-driven architectures, API design, data consistency, and fault tolerance patterns.

Collaborate closely with enterprise architects, product owners, other lead engineers, and cross-functional teams to define technical strategies, system roadmaps, and ensure alignment with business objectives.

Lead technical discussions, design reviews, and code reviews, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, secure, and maintainable code that adheres to established standards and patterns.

Mentor, coach, and develop a team of senior and junior backend engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence, continuous learning, and innovation.

Architect and implement robust solutions for challenging cross-cutting concerns in a microservices environment, such as distributed transactions, observability (logging, tracing, metrics), security, and service mesh integration.

Proactively identify and address technical debt, performance bottlenecks, and scalability challenges across the backend landscape.

Oversee the implementation of advanced CI/CD pipelines, automated testing strategies (unit, integration, contract, performance), and deployment processes for microservices.

Evaluate and recommend new technologies, tools, and methodologies to enhance development efficiency, system performance, and reliability.

Lead the troubleshooting and resolution of complex production incidents, providing deep technical expertise and strategic solutions.

Contribute significantly to the strategic planning and evolution of our overall backend technology stack and architecture.

Requirements:

Minimum 6 years of progressive experience in backend software development, with a strong focus on Java and extensive experience in designing and building microservices architectures.

Proven experience in a lead or senior engineering role, demonstrating significant influence over technical direction, architectural decisions, and team mentorship.

Deep understanding and practical experience with architectural patterns for distributed systems, cloud-native applications, and enterprise-grade microservices.

Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to diverse audiences, influence stakeholders, and drive consensus.

Advanced analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, capable of addressing highly complex technical challenges with innovative and pragmatic solutions.

Strong leadership in fostering collaboration, driving technical excellence within and across teams, and contributing to a positive and high-performing engineering culture.

Extensive experience working in Agile/Scrum or other iterative development methodologies, preferably in a leadership capacity.

Preferred Skills:

Bachelor's degree/University degree or equivalent experience.

Expert-level proficiency in Java (Java 8, preferably Java 11).

Mastery of the Spring Framework, especially Spring Boot for microservices development. Extensive experience with Spring Cloud components.

In-depth knowledge and practical experience with advanced microservices design patterns.

Expert-level experience with relational databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, Oracle) and NoSQL databases (e.g., Cassandra, MongoDB).

Expertise in designing and implementing RESTful APIs and ideally GraphQL, ensuring security, scalability, and adherence to API governance standards.

Extensive experience with asynchronous messaging systems and event streaming platforms.

Comprehensive experience with all levels of testing, including unit, integration, contract testing, and performance testing.

Expert proficiency with Git, including advanced branching strategies, pull request workflows, and repository management.

Expert knowledge of build automation tools like Maven or Gradle, including multi-module projects and dependency management.

Extensive experience with at least one major cloud provider and cloud-native development practices.

Expert in Docker and Kubernetes for containerizing and orchestrating microservices deployments.

Proven experience in designing and implementing robust Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) pipelines.

Strong experience with monitoring, logging, and tracing tools.

Solid understanding of security best practices in backend and microservices development.