Java Architect

REI Systems; United States; On-site; USD 130,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

REI Systems seeks an experienced Java Architect to lead technical architecture, solution design, and hands-on leadership for FDA-focused applications. The role requires deep Java expertise, Spring Boot, microservices, RESTful APIs, and AWS cloud services.

The candidate will design secure, scalable, and high-performing enterprise applications while guiding development teams through modernization, cloud adoption, and system integration to meet federal security and operational requirements.

Qualifications

• Experience designing Java enterprise applications with Spring Boot, microservices, RESTful APIs, and AWS cloud services.
• Ability to balance architecture strategy with hands-on development for scalable FDA-focused systems.
• Knowledge of security, performance, and compliance requirements for federal apps.

Responsibilities

• Lead architecture, design, and development of enterprise Java applications for FDA mission-critical systems.
• Define architecture standards, integration patterns, and development best practices.
• Architect scalable, modular solutions using Java, Spring Boot, and microservices.
• Provide hands-on leadership through reviews, design sessions, and code reviews.
• Translate business requirements into technical roadmaps and technical designs.
• Create architecture diagrams, API specs, and integration docs.
• Mentor developers to ensure engineering excellence and consistency.

Skills

Java

Spring Boot

Microservices

REST APIs

AWS

Security

OAuth2

Tools

Hibernate/JPA

JDBC

Docker

Kubernetes

Kafka

RabbitMQ

Job description

Overview

REI Systems' mission is to deliver reliable, innovative technology solutions that advance Federal clients' missions and exceed their expectations. Our technologists and consultants are passionate about solving complex challenges that impact millions of lives. We take a Mindful Modernization approach in delivering our services, including application modernization, grants management, case management systems, government data analytics, and advisory services. This approach, the REI Way, ensures mission impact by aligning our clients' strategic objectives with measurable outcomes through people, processes, and technology. We offer the same commitment to our employees by providing professional development, meaningful projects, and flexibility to spend time with family and friends. We believe employees are at their best when fulfilled in both their professional careers and their personal lives. Learn more at www.REIsystems.com. Employees voted REI Systems a Washington Post Top Workplace in 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025!

Responsibilities

Position Overview

REI Systems is seeking an experienced Java Architect to provide technical architecture, solution design, and hands-on engineering leadership for mission-critical applications supporting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The ideal candidate will bring deep expertise in Java, Spring Boot, microservices, RESTful APIs, AWS cloud services, and modern application architecture. This individual will be responsible for designing secure, scalable, resilient, and high-performing enterprise applications while guiding development teams through modernization initiatives, cloud adoption, system integration, and continuous delivery.

This position requires a strong technical leader who can balance enterprise architecture strategy with hands-on development, collaborate with FDA stakeholders, and ensure solutions meet federal security, compliance, performance, and operational requirements.

Key Responsibilities

Solution Architecture & Technical Leadership

• Lead the architecture, design, and development of enterprise Java applications supporting FDA mission-critical systems.
• Define application architecture, technical standards, integration patterns, and development best practices.
• Design scalable, modular, maintainable solutions using Java, Spring Boot, Spring Framework, and microservices architecture.
• Provide hands-on technical leadership through architecture reviews, design sessions, code reviews, and proof-of-concept development.
• Translate business and functional requirements into technical architecture, solution designs, and implementation roadmaps.
• Develop architecture diagrams, technical design documents, API specifications, and system integration documentation.
• Evaluate legacy systems and recommend modernization strategies, including application refactoring, cloud migration, and API enablement.
• Identify and resolve complex architectural challenges involving performance, scalability, availability, security, and interoperability.
• Mentor Java developers and technical leads, promoting engineering excellence and consistent development practices.

Java Development & Microservices

• Architect and develop enterprise applications using Java 11/17/21, Spring Boot, Spring MVC, Spring Security, and Spring Data JPA.
• Design and implement RESTful APIs and microservices for distributed enterprise applications.
• Apply design patterns, object-oriented programming principles, SOLID principles, and clean architecture practices.
• Implement service-to-service communication, asynchronous processing, exception handling, and transaction management.
• Design secure API integrations using OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, JWT, and API gateway patterns.
• Work with Hibernate/JPA, JDBC, and ORM frameworks for database-driven applications.
• Support event-driven architecture and messaging integrations using technologies such as Apache Kafka, RabbitMQ, or AWS messaging services, where applicable.
• Establish automated unit, integration, and API testing standards using JUnit, Mockito, and related frameworks.

AWS Cloud Architecture & Modernization

• Design, deploy, and optimize cloud-native and cloud-enabled applications within AWS environments.
• Provide architectural guidance for AWS services such as EC2, ECS, EKS, Lambda, S3, RDS, API Gateway, IAM, CloudWatch, and CloudFormation.
• Architect containerized applications using Docker and Kubernetes.
• Support application modernization, cloud migration, and infrastructure automation initiatives.
• Design highly available, fault-tolerant, secure, and cost-effective cloud solutions.
• Collaborate with cloud infrastructure and DevOps engineers on deployment strategies, monitoring, scaling, and disaster recovery.
• Apply AWS security, networking, identity management, and cloud architecture best practices.

Database Architecture & Integration

Design and optimize database integrations involving Oracle, PostgreSQL, SQL S