Staff Software Development Engineer – Java Backend

Salt Digital Recruitment; Dubai; On-site; AED 420,000 - 780,000; Full time

Job summary

Salt Digital Recruitment client is seeking an experienced Staff SDE - Java Backend to provide technical leadership across large-scale, cloud-native platforms. This senior individual contributor role will drive architecture, lead complex engineering initiatives, mentor engineers, and build highly scalable distributed systems that serve millions of customers.

Responsibilities include leading architecture reviews, designing scalable microservices with Java Spring Boot, guiding multi-team delivery,

Qualifications

• 10+ years of Java backend development experience.
• Strong expertise in Java, J2EE, Spring, Spring Boot, Spring Cloud, and microservices architecture.
• Proven experience building highly scalable, high-performance distributed systems.
• Hands-on experience with Kafka, messaging technologies, caching, and asynchronous processing.
• Strong knowledge of Docker, Kubernetes/OpenShift, and CI/CD pipelines.
• Experience with Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud.
• Strong database experience across SQL and NoSQL technologies.
• Excellent system design, debugging, and problem-solving skills.
• Exposure to GenAI, LLMs, or AI-assisted software development is highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Lead the architecture, design, and delivery of large-scale, cloud-native backend systems.
• Drive technical strategy and own the delivery of complex, multi-team engineering initiatives.
• Design and build scalable microservices using Java, Spring Boot, and Spring Cloud.
• Lead architecture reviews, system design discussions, and technical decision-making.
• Solve complex performance, scalability, and distributed systems challenges.
• Mentor engineers through code reviews, technical coaching, and best practice guidance.
• Drive engineering excellence across software quality, reliability, security, and operational performance.

Skills

Java backend

Spring Boot

Microservices

Kafka

Docker

Kubernetes/OpenShift

Cloud platforms

SQL/NoSQL databases

System design

DDD / CQRS

Tools

Kafka

Docker

Kubernetes/OpenShift

CI/CD pipelines

Job description

My client is looking for an experienced Staff SDE - Java Backend to provide technical leadership across large-scale, cloud-native platforms. This is a senior individual contributor role where you'll drive architecture, lead complex engineering initiatives, mentor engineers, and build highly scalable distributed systems that support millions of customers.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the architecture, design, and delivery of large-scale, cloud-native backend systems.
• Drive technical strategy and own the delivery of complex, multi-team engineering initiatives.
• Design and build scalable microservices using Java, Spring Boot, and Spring Cloud.
• Lead architecture reviews, system design discussions, and technical decision-making.
• Solve complex performance, scalability, and distributed systems challenges.
• Build reusable frameworks and shared libraries to improve engineering productivity.
• Champion the adoption of AI-assisted development, leveraging LLMs and GenAI tools to improve engineering workflows.
• Collaborate closely with Product, Architecture, DevOps, QA, and engineering teams.
• Mentor engineers through code reviews, technical coaching, and best practice guidance.
• Drive engineering excellence across software quality, reliability, security, and operational performance.

Requirements

• 10+ years of Java backend development experience.
• Strong expertise in Java, J2EE, Spring, Spring Boot, Spring Cloud, and microservices architecture.
• Proven experience building highly scalable, high-performance distributed systems.
• Hands-on experience with Kafka, messaging technologies, caching, and asynchronous processing.
• Strong knowledge of Docker, Kubernetes/OpenShift, and CI/CD pipelines.
• Experience with Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud.
• Strong database experience across SQL and NoSQL technologies.
• Excellent system design, debugging, and problem-solving skills.
• Experience with Domain-Driven Design, event-driven architecture, or CQRS is advantageous.
• Exposure to GenAI, LLMs, or AI-assisted software development is highly desirable.
• Strong communication, stakeholder management, and technical leadership skills.