Associate Director Staff Engineer (GraphQL, Java, Kotlin, Nodejs)

OneMain Financial; Baltimore (MD); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

OneMain Holdings, Inc. is seeking an experienced Architecture & Engineering leader to design scalable, domain-aligned solutions for communications platforms and customer engagement across voice, messaging, and digital channels.

You will drive hands-on backend development, containerization with Kubernetes, and API-first strategy while collaborating with product, engineering, and enterprise architecture teams to ensure alignment with target-state architecture and platform strategy.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Information Systems, Computer Science or a related field.
• Hands-on experience building and supporting real-time/high-throughput systems.
• Experience with backend architectures and distributed systems.

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve scalable architectures aligned to enterprise strategy.
• Hands-on backend development and deployment in containerized environments (Kubernetes).
• Architect API-first ecosystems (GraphQL/REST) and event-driven designs.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure design quality and execution.
• Establish and enforce architecture standards, patterns, and guardrails.

Skills

Kubernetes

GraphQL

REST

Microservices

Observability

Backend languages

SQS / EventBridge

CI/CD

Back-end development

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Information Systems or CS

Tools

Docker

Github Actions

Jenkins

Job description

Key Responsibilities (Top 5)1. Architecture Design & Domain-Aligned SolutionsDefine and evolve scalable, resilient architectures for communication platforms supporting customer engagement (voice, messaging, digital channels)Design solutions aligned to industry-specific requirements:Financial Services: security, compliance, auditabilityCommunications: real-time processing, high availabilityMarTech: personalization, event-driven engagementEnsure alignment with enterprise target-state architecture and platform strategy2. Hands-on Engineering ( 50%)Design and implement backend services, APIs, and integration layersBuild and deploy applications using containerized environments and Kubernetes orchestrationDevelop production-grade code, prototypes, and reference implementations3. API, Data & Integration ArchitectureArchitect API-first ecosystems, including GraphQL and RESTful servicesDesign event-driven and streaming architectures to support real-time communication and marketing workflowsIntegrate with enterprise platforms such as:CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce)Contact center / CPaaS platformsMarketing automation and customer data platforms4. Cross-functional Leadership & InfluenceCollaborate with engineering, product, and enterprise architecture teams to ensure solution alignment and executionAct as a thought partner, introducing innovative approaches and improving system design qualityInfluence decisions across teams without formal authority5. Standards, Governance & Continuous ImprovementEstablish and enforce architecture standards, reusable patterns, and engineering guardrailsDrive simplification, scalability, and reduction of technical debtEvaluate emerging technologies and recommend pragmatic adoption aligned to business valueRequired Skills & ExperienceTechnical SkillsStrong expertise in backend architecture and distributed systems designHands-on experience with:Kubernetes and containerization (Docker, orchestration patterns)GraphQL and modern API architectures (REST, event-driven systems)Microservices and cloud-native platformsObservability: Distributed tracing (X-Ray/OpenTelemetry), structured logging, metrics/alerting pipelines.Messaging & Orchestration: SQS/EventBridge or equivalents (Pub/Sub, Service Bus); DLQs; workflow engines.CI/CD: Automated pipelines with tools including Github Actions, Jenkins or equivalent experienceExperience building or supporting real-time or high-throughput systemsProficiency in backend technologies (e.g., Java, Kotlin, Node.js, Go, or similar)Bachelor's Degree in Information systems, Computer Science or a related field.Domain Experience (Preferred)Candidates should have experience in one or more of the following:Financial ServicesSecure, compliant systems (PII, PCI, regulatory constraints)Transactional platforms (payments, lending, servicing)Communications / MarTech / Contact CenterLow-latency, high-availability distributed systemsPersonalization engines, campaign orchestrationVoice, messaging, IVR, or omnichannel engagement platformsArchitecture & Engineering CapabilitiesAbility to operate across strategic architecture and hands-on implementationStrong grounding in:scalability, resiliency, and performance engineeringAPI lifecycle and governancesystem integration and orchestration patternsExperience aligning solutions to enterprise target-state architecturePersonal AttributesSelf-starter: Proactively drives outcomes with minimal oversightThought provocateur: Challenges existing paradigms and elevates architectural thinkingCollaborative: Builds alignment across engineering, product, and architecture teamsPragmatic: Balances long-term vision with near-term delivery needsInfluential communicator: Clearly conveys complex technical concepts to varied stakeholdersOneMain Holdings, Inc. is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship status, color, creed, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, genetic information or history, marital status, military status, national origin, nationality, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, transgender or on any other basis protected by law.