Senior Back-end(Java) Developer

VSG Recruitment; Toronto; On-site; CAD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

VSG Recruitment is seeking a Senior Java Developer to join its Markets Technology team in Canada. You will design and develop backend services, APIs, and distributed applications for high-availability financial platforms.

The role involves building microservices, working with Kafka/JMS/MQ messaging, and optimizing performance in a distributed environment. Strong Java and Spring Boot expertise required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in CS/SE/IT or related discipline.
• 5+ years of professional Java development experience.
• Strong proficiency with Java, Spring and Spring Boot.
• Strong experience designing and developing REST APIs and microservices.
• Experience building distributed and highly available systems.
• Hands-on experience with messaging technologies such as Kafka, JMS, MQ.
• Strong SQL skills and experience with relational databases (MySQL).
• Strong understanding of OO design, design patterns, SOA, and microservice architecture.
• Experience troubleshooting and optimizing application performance.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to produce high-quality code in a collaborative environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, test, and maintain secure and scalable Java applications, APIs, and backend services.
• Build and enhance distributed applications and microservices for internal and external users.
• Develop solutions using Java, Spring and Spring Boot.
• Design and work with asynchronous messaging and event-driven systems (Kafka, JMS, MQ).
• Troubleshoot, tune, and optimize distributed applications for performance and reliability.
• Contribute to architecture and technical design decisions.
• Apply design patterns, microservice and SOA principles.
• Design and optimize relational data models and SQL queries.
• Participate in code reviews and promote best practices.
• Diagnose production issues and implement sustainable solutions.
• Collaborate with developers, leadership, and stakeholders to translate requirements into solutions.
• Support production systems including occasional after-hours work.

Skills

Java

Spring Boot

REST APIs

Microservices

Kafka

JMS

MQ

SQL MySQL

OO Design

SOA

Event-driven architecture

Distributed Systems

Performance troubleshooting

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology

Tools

Kafka

JMS

MQ

MySQL

Job description

About the Opportunity

Our client is a well-established and growing financial technology organization providing electronic marketplace and data solutions to major participants within the Canadian capital markets.

They are looking for a Senior Java Developer to join their Markets Technology team. This individual will play a key role in designing and developing backend services, APIs, and distributed applications supporting high-availability financial platforms.

This is a hands-on development position for an experienced Java engineer who is comfortable working with microservices, messaging technologies, distributed systems, and relational databases in a complex, performance-sensitive environment.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, test, and maintain secure and scalable Java applications, APIs, and backend services.

• Build and enhance distributed applications and microservices supporting internal and external users.

• Develop solutions using Java, Spring and Spring Boot.

• Design and work with asynchronous messaging and event-driven systems using technologies such as Kafka, JMS, MQ, or equivalent.

• Troubleshoot, tune, and optimize distributed applications for performance, reliability, and scalability.

• Contribute to application architecture and technical design decisions.

• Apply appropriate design patterns, microservice patterns, and service-oriented architecture principles.

• Design and optimize relational data models and SQL queries.

• Participate in code reviews and promote development best practices across the team.

• Diagnose complex production and application issues and implement sustainable solutions.

• Collaborate with developers, technology leadership, and business stakeholders to translate requirements into technical solutions.

• Support production systems when required, including occasional after-hours support.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, or a related discipline.

• 5+ years of professional Java development experience , ideally building backend or enterprise applications.

• Strong proficiency with Java, Spring and Spring Boot.

• Strong experience designing and developing REST APIs and microservices.

• Experience building distributed and highly available systems.

• Hands-on experience with messaging technologies such as Kafka, JMS, MQ, or similar platforms.

• Strong SQL skills and experience working with relational databases such as MySQL or equivalent.

• Strong understanding of object-oriented design, design patterns, SOA, and microservice architecture.

• Experience troubleshooting and optimizing application performance.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

• Ability to produce high-quality code within a collaborative development environment.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Nice to Have

• Previous experience within capital markets, electronic trading, fixed income, banking, or financial technology.

• Experience developing high-throughput or low-latency applications.

• Experience with cloud-based or cloud-native applications.

• Knowledge of event-driven architecture.

• Experience working with financial markets or trading systems.

• Familiarity with CI/CD and modern software delivery practices.

What We’re Looking For

The ideal candidate is a hands-on senior developer who enjoys solving challenging backend engineering problems and takes ownership of the quality and reliability of their work.

You’ll thrive in this environment if you’re self-motivated, detail-oriented, technically curious, and comfortable working in a fast-moving organization where technology is central to the business.