JAVA Microservices Engineering Lead

Citi; Mississauga; On-site; CAD 168,000 - 237,000; Full time

Job summary

Citi is seeking an Engineering Lead (Java / Microservices) to drive the technical direction of key applications in a collaborative technology team. You will translate business needs into scalable, secure backend services with modern frontend exposure, leading architecture, delivery, and DevOps practices.

You will mentor engineers, align with enterprise architecture, and champion cloud-native patterns and robust APIs in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• 6+ years in software development with backend focus.
• Architectural leadership for enterprise apps.
• Translate business needs into technical designs.
• Strong Java, Spring, and API design skills.
• Experience with microservices and cloud native patterns.
• Proven DevOps, CI/CD, and secure coding practices.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, architecture, and hands-on development of scalable full-stack apps (Java backend, Angular frontend).
• Provide technical leadership and direction to development teams and align with EA and business goals.
• Drive code quality, testing, security, performance, and SDLC best practices.
• Adopt modern tech, microservices, event-driven, and cloud-native patterns.
• Mentor senior engineers and foster technical excellence and innovation.
• Troubleshoot complex production issues and optimize performance.
• Contribute to CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices across projects.
• Serve as SME and advise across multiple initiatives.

Skills

Java backend

Spring Boot

REST APIs

Distributed systems

CI/CD

Docker

Kubernetes

OpenShift

Cloud (AWS/Azure/GCP)

Microservices

Git

Jenkins

Communication

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering

Master's degree preferred

Tools

Git

Jenkins

OpenShift

Kubernetes

Spring Cloud

Job description

Job Description

The Engineering Lead (Java / Microservices) is a senior level position responsible for establishing and implementing new or revised application systems and programs in coordination with the Technology team. The overall objective of this role is to lead applications systems analysis and programming activities.

The Opportunity

This pivotal role blends deep technical leadership with strong analytical and business understanding. You will be responsible for leading the technical direction of critical applications, while also engaging closely with business stakeholders to define requirements, analyze processes, and ensure technical solutions align perfectly with business objectives. This role demands a leader who can bridge the gap between technical execution and business strategy, driving both innovation and successful delivery.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership & Development

• Lead the design, architecture, and hands-on development of highly scalable, resilient, and performant full stack applications using Java (backend) and Angular (frontend).
• Provide technical leadership and strategic direction to development teams, ensuring alignment with overall enterprise architecture and business objectives.
• Drive best practices in software development, including code quality, testing, security, performance optimization, and maintainability across the full SDLC.
• Champion the adoption of modern technologies, architectural patterns (e.g., microservices, event-driven), and cloud-native solutions (OpenShift, Kubernetes, AWS, Azure, GCP).
• Mentor and develop senior engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence, continuous learning, and innovation within the team.
• Lead complex troubleshooting, performance tuning, and root cause analysis for critical production issues.
• Contribute to the evolution of CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices.
• Act as a subject matter expert and provide technical guidance across multiple projects.

Business Analysis & Strategic Alignment

• Act as a primary liaison between technology teams and business stakeholders, translating complex business needs and strategic goals into clear, actionable technical requirements and user stories.
• Conduct in-depth business process analysis, identifying pain points, inefficiencies, and opportunities for technological improvement and automation.
• Define and document functional and non-functional requirements, use cases, and process flows, ensuring comprehensive understanding across development and business teams.
• Facilitate requirements gathering workshops, interviews, and brainstorming sessions with diverse stakeholder groups.
• Perform gap analysis between current state and desired future state, proposing innovative solutions and recommending optimal system designs.
• Evaluate technical feasibility and business impact of proposed solutions, providing insights and recommendations to both technical and business leadership.
• Ensure that delivered solutions meet business expectations, provide measurable value, and adhere to regulatory and compliance standards.

Qualifications

• Overall Experience: 6+ years of progressive experience in software development, with a primary focus on backend systems and enterprise application delivery.
• Architectural Leadership: 1+ years of demonstrated leadership in architecting, designing, and guiding the development of complex, scalable, and high-performance enterprise-level backend applications.
• Technical Analysis: Proven experience in translating complex business requirements into technical designs and architectural blueprints for backend services.
• Core Java Proficiency: Expert-level proficiency in Java, including advanced concepts such as multi-threading, concurrency, performance optimization, and memory management.
• Spring Ecosystem Expertise: Hands-on expertise with the Spring ecosystem, including Spring Boot for rapid application development, Spring Cloud for building distributed systems (e.g., service discovery, configuration management, circuit breakers), and Spring Security for implementing robust authentication and authorization.
• API and Web Services: Extensive experience (5+ years) in designing, building, and consuming robust, secure, and high-throughput RESTful APIs and SOAP Web Services (JAX-RS/JAX-WS).
• System Architecture: Good understanding of distributed systems, microservices architecture, event-driven architecture, and API-first design principles.
• Containerization and Orchestration: Proven, hands-on experience with OpenShift/Kubernetes for deploying, managing, and scaling containerized applications in production environments.
• DevOps and CI/CD: Proficiency with modern CI/CD tools (e.g., Jenkins, Tekton) and a strong commitment to DevOps practices, including automated testing, continuous integration, and continuous delivery.
• Version Control: Expert-level knowledge of Git, including advanced branching strategies (e.g., GitFlow), pull requests, and code review processes.
• Analytical and Problem-Solving Skills: Exceptional analytical and problem-solving abilities, with a talent for debugging complex distributed systems and ensuring long-term architectural integrity.
• Communication and Leadership: Outstanding communication (written and verbal), interpersonal, and mentoring skills, with the ability to lead a development team, influence technical direction, and collaborate effectively with stakeholders.
• Strategic Mindset: Strong leadership capabilities combined with a strategic mindset to align technical solutions with long-term business goals.
• Domain Experience: Experience in the financial services industry is a significant advantage.

Nice-to-Have

• Expertise in Messaging Systems (Kafka, RabbitMQ, IBM MQ, etc.)
• Deep understanding of the Linux Ecosystem.
• Experience with enterprise scheduling tools (e.g., Autosys).
• Experience with API Management platforms (e.g., Apigee, API Gateway).
• Proficiency with APM Tools (Dynatrace, AppDynamics) for monitoring and performance optimization.
• Experience with Caching Technologies (Hazelcast, Redis, Memcached) for high-performance systems.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree/University degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field or equivalent experience
• Master’s degree preferred

Job Family Group

Technology

Job Family

Applications Development

Time Type

Full time

Primary Location Full Time Salary Range

$120,800.00 - $170,800.00

Automated Processing and AI

We use automated processing, including artificial intelligence, for our legitimate business interests (or our reasonable and appropriate business purposes) to identify and align the candidate’s skills and abilities with a specific job opening. Additionally, if you so choose, or consent, we can match your skills and abilities to other suitable roles at Citi.

Importantly, all our hiring processes and decisions, including determining your suitability for a role, are conducted, checked, and decided by individuals. Our automated processing and AI do not involve relying on automatic or autonomous decision-making. Please refer to any Jurisdictional Considerations, with specific provisions for your country (where relevant) for further details.

Job Opening Status

This job opening is for an existing job vacancy.

Equal Opportunity Statement

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