Technical Lead / Technical Architect

APN Consulting, Inc. is a progressive IT staffing and services company offering innovative business solutions to improve client business outcomes. We focus on high impact technology solutions in ServiceNow, Fullstack, Cloud & Data, and AI / ML. Due to our globally expanding service offerings we are seeking top-talent to join our teams and grow with us.

Position: Technical Lead / Technical Architect
Location: Remote (Atlanta, Detroit, Raleigh, Pittsburgh, Tampa, Washington, Charlotte, San Fransisco)
Duration: Contract
Job Description:
We are looking for a Lead Architect who is a true hands-on engineer-someone who designs solutions and writes production code daily. You will lead architecture and delivery across a cloud-native platform built on Java + Spring, .NET 8/10, Python (Django/Flask microservices), SQL, React, Node.js + Socket.IO, and Microsoft Azure (ADO/App Service/Container Apps/Functions/Service Bus/Key Vault/Blob/Monitor/App Insights/APIM).
This role requires cross-stack ownership and the ability to guide teams while staying hands-on-coding, reviewing PRs, mentoring offshore engineers, driving PoCs to production, and ensuring security + reliability.
- Lead by coding (daily): Deliver features and fixes in Java/Spring, Python services, and .NET with strong unit/integration test coverage.
- Build & evolve Python microservices: Work across Python 3.12/3.13, Django 5.x and Flask 3.x services, including API design, background processing patterns, and Azure integrations.
- Architect cloud-native services: Build scalable microservices and event-driven workflows on Azure (App Service/Container Apps, Functions).
- Implement async messaging patterns: Use Azure Service Bus (queues/topics/subscriptions), retries, DLQs, idempotency, and resiliency best practices.
- Build real-time capabilities: Develop and scale Node.js + Socket.IO/WebSockets services (secure connections, rooms/namespaces, multi-instance scaling patterns).
- Own secure integrations: Implement enterprise-grade security using Azure Key Vault, Managed Identity (MSI), certificates, and Azure AD/Entra ID auth patterns (OAuth2/OIDC/JWT).
- Drive data reliability: Build and optimize SQL Server schemas, queries, and deployment scripts (safe, idempotent, CI/CD friendly).
- Operational excellence: Instrument services with Application Insights/Azure Monitor + OpenTelemetry, build health checks, and support production incidents and root-cause fixes.
- Mentor and set standards: Run strong PR reviews, enforce engineering standards, and mentor offshore engineers through pairing, reviews, and technical guidance.
Qualifications - Kindly please add any requirement or qualification for this role.
- 10+ years in software engineering with recent, demonstrable hands-on delivery
- Must be strong across Java/Spring + React + Python (not just oversight-actual coding)
- Proven success leading teams without stepping away from coding
- A quality-first mindset: testing, security, observability, performance, and reliability
Must-Have Skills (Non-Negotiable)
1) Backend (Java)
- Java 21 + Spring Boot 3.x (REST APIs, Spring Security, Spring Data, production microservices)
- API design, middleware, performance mindset; service reliability
- Strong automated testing: JUnit 5 + Mockito (Java) and modern .NET testing patterns
2) Python
- 2+ years hands-on Python building production services (within overall 10+ years experience)
- Framework experience with Django (5.x) and/or Flask (3.x); ability to design and maintain REST APIs
- Testing culture: pytest (and related patterns like coverage and mocking
- Comfort debugging distributed systems and Azure SDK integrations in Python (identity, storage, telemetry)
3) Web / UI
- React (TypeScript/JavaScript, modern patterns, debugging and performance awareness)
4) Real-Time / Integration
- Node.js + Express and Socket.IO/EventsHub/WebSockets (real-time messaging, connection security, scalability)
5) Data
- SQL Server (T SQL, query optimization, transactions, deployment scripts, reliability and performance)
6) Azure (Hands-On)
- Strong hands-on Azure delivery with:
App Service/Container Apps, Azure Functions, Service Bus, Blob Storage, Key Vault, Managed Identity, Application Insights, Azure Monitor/OpenTelemetry, and APIM

Nice-to-Have (Adds Strong Value)
- .NET 8/10 (API design, middleware, performance mindset; service reliability)
- Redis / Azure Redis Cache (including scaling Socket.IO with Redis adapters)
- Cosmos DB (Mongo API) / MongoDB familiarity
- AI/document workflows exposure: Azure AI Search, Azure OpenAI, Form Recognizer/OCR, and related orchestration patterns (helpful for platform context)

We are committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace where individuals from all backgrounds feel valued and empowered to contribute their unique perspectives. We strongly encourage applications from candidates of all genders, races, ethnicities, abilities, and experiences to join our team and help us build a culture of belonging.