Sr. Backend Engineer - Tech Lead (Java)

Sr. Backend Engineer - Tech Lead

Real is a fast-growing global real estate brokerage powered by technology and driven by people. Since our founding in 2014, we've been reimagining the residential real estate experience. With operations across the U.S., Canada, India, and the District of Columbia, we're leading the industry with our cutting-edge platform that empowers agents, simplifies the buying and selling journey, and unlocks greater financial opportunities.

At Real, we believe in pairing Tech x Humanity to create something truly different.

Work Schedule: You will work Eastern Standard Time (EST) hours, regardless of your location.

About the Role:

As a Sr. Backend Engineer - Tech Lead, you will be reporting to the Vice President of Engineering and would be a key member of Real's R&D team. You will help lead the overall technical vision for all things back end, implementing features, squash bugs, and make improvements across our Java Spring Microservices. If you are self-motivated, and a tech expert to join a results-oriented team, we encourage you to join us.

What You'll Do:

• Collaborate with other engineers through pairing sessions, code reviews, and knowledge sharing in our weekly Friday Dev Chats.
• Mentor and lead junior engineers in software engineering methodology, design, and best practices.
• Work with the product team and feature owners to understand requirements and see them through to execution and deployment.

What You'll Bring:

• You have extensive experience with Java 17+, Spring Boot, JPA (Hibernate), and SQL relational databases.
• You are comfortable writing unit and integration tests and maintaining strong code coverage
• You have hands-on experience building applications using the microservices architecture
• You have in-depth knowledge of relational databases, including indices, connection pools, transactions (ACID), and implications of schema designs on performance
• You have experience with NoSQL databases, understand their advantages and disadvantages, and know when to prefer one over a relational database.
• You are opinionated in the direction that backend software development is going and will give recommendations and take the initiative for the long-term health of the project.
• You have a keen eye for where to refactor and when, using standard design principles and patterns, and are excited to lead the team on the path to better code
• You are welcoming to other engineers, have a collaborative attitude, and are excited to both learn and teach new knowledge
• You enjoy working with a remote team that spans many different time zones and locations
• You are comfortable in an agile, fast-paced start up environment where you work closely with product to understand how your work will fit into the larger project while acting on limited information

Our Tech Stack:

• Java 17+
• Spring Boot
• Postgres
• Kafka
• DynamoDB
• AWS
• Docker
• Kubernetes
• Datadog
• Bugsnag
• ArgoCD
• TeamCity
• Maven
• IntelliJ

We are empowered through our strong test coverage to allow continuous delivery with multiple deploys per day.

Our Interview Process:

1. Initial Screening Interview: Your first conversation will be with a member of our talent team. This session includes a live coding test which will be recorded to be reviewed by our engineering team.
2. Code Pairing with Senior Engineers: In this round, you'll meet and work alongside our senior engineers. You will build on the initial coding test, discussing broader computer science topics, system design, and problem-solving approaches.
3. Design Interview: This session will focus on architectural thinking, problem-solving, and broader computer science concepts. Topics from your previous interview may be revisited and expanded upon.
4. Final Leadership Interview: The final stage includes a conversation with our CTO, VP of Engineering, and other senior leaders. The discussion will cover mutual expectations, technical proficiency, team dynamics, and cultural fit.

Education & Experience:

• BA/BS degree and 8+ years of related experience; or any combination of education and experience, which would provide an equivalent background
• Must have experience in Spring/Spring Boot, Hibernate, and Relational Databases
• A real estate background with transferable skills would be an asset
• Demonstrated Project Coordination/Management skills

How We Work: Our Operating Principles:

• Be Agent Obsessed: We design every decision around creating value for our agents and their clients.
• Move Fast with Purpose: We act with urgency, clarity, and focus—without compromising our standards.
• Own Your Outcome: Effort matters, but results matter more. We adapt, learn, and improve.
• Be Bold; Challenge Often: We challenge assumptions, rethink "the usual," and push for smarter, simpler solutions.
• Win Together: We set high standards, collaborate deeply, and celebrate shared success.

Our Commitment:

Real Broker LLC is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to building an inclusive environment for all employees. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds and identities, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital or family status, disability, citizenship, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law.