Java Developer – Enterprise Application Maintenance

The Elite Job; Cranberry Township (Butler County); On-site; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Flexible work arrangements

Professional development opportunities

Remote or hybrid options where allowed

Paid leave and benefits

Career growth potential

Job summary

The Elite Job is seeking a Java Developer – Enterprise Application Maintenance to support the maintenance, enhancement, and reliability of enterprise‑level Java applications. You will help ensure stability, performance, security, and compliance while implementing new features across the existing codebase.

The role involves collaborating with software engineers, QA, DBAs, and DevOps to manage maintenance tasks, code optimization, testing, and production support.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree preferred in CS/IT/Software Engineering; equivalent practical experience considered.
• Strong Java programming knowledge incl. OOP, exceptions, collections, generics, multithreading.

Responsibilities

• Maintain, support, and enhance existing Java-based enterprise applications.
• Investigate defects, analyze logs, identify root causes, implement fixes.
• Develop, test, and maintain Java code with established coding standards.

Skills

Java programming

Enterprise application maintenance

REST APIs

SQL databases

Debugging and root-cause analysis

Code reviews

Git workflows

Unit testing (JUnit/Mockito)

Spring/Spring Boot/Hibernate

Security basics

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/IT/SE or related

Tools

Git

Maven/Gradle

Jira

Job description

Job Summary

The Elite Job is seeking a skilled and motivated Java Developer – Enterprise Application Maintenance to support the maintenance, enhancement, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement of enterprise-level software applications. The successful candidate will be responsible for ensuring the stability, performance, security, and reliability of existing Java-based applications while implementing new features and resolving technical issues in line with business requirements.

This role is ideal for a developer who enjoys working with established codebases, analyzing complex technical problems, improving application performance, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver dependable software solutions. The selected candidate will contribute to the full application maintenance lifecycle, including bug fixing, code optimization, system integration, testing, documentation, and production support.

The Java Developer will work closely with software engineers, business analysts, quality assurance professionals, database administrators, and technical support teams to identify application improvements and maintain high development standards. The position requires strong Java programming skills, analytical thinking, attention to detail, and a commitment to producing maintainable, scalable, and secure code.

Candidates with experience in enterprise application support, legacy system modernization, API development, and production issue resolution are encouraged to apply. Applicants with a solid foundation in Java development and a willingness to learn new technologies may also be considered, depending on the organizations requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Enterprise Application Maintenance: Maintain, support, and enhance existing Java-based enterprise applications to ensure their reliability, availability, and operational efficiency.
• Bug Identification and Resolution: Investigate application defects, analyze error logs, identify root causes, and implement effective solutions to minimize system disruptions.
• Java Development: Develop, modify, test, and maintain Java code using appropriate programming practices, object-oriented principles, and established coding standards.
• Application Enhancement: Implement new functionalities, improve existing features, and make technical adjustments based on business needs and user feedback.
• Production Support: Assist with production incidents, investigate application failures, troubleshoot performance issues, and coordinate timely resolution with relevant technical teams.
• Code Review and Optimization: Review existing code, identify inefficient processes, eliminate unnecessary complexity, and improve maintainability, readability, and performance.
• Database Management: Write, maintain, and optimize SQL queries and support database interactions involving relational database systems such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, or Oracle Database.
• API Development and Integration: Maintain and enhance RESTful APIs, support integrations with internal and external systems, and ensure reliable communication between enterprise applications.
• Framework Utilization: Work with Java development frameworks such as Spring, Spring Boot, Hibernate, or similar technologies to maintain and improve application components.
• Testing and Quality Assurance: Develop and execute unit tests, integration tests, and regression tests to verify application functionality and reduce the risk of recurring defects.
• System Monitoring: Review application logs, monitor system behavior, investigate recurring incidents, and recommend preventive measures to improve service reliability.
• Security and Compliance: Follow secure coding practices, address identified vulnerabilities, and support applicable organizational security, access-control, and data-protection requirements.
• Legacy System Support: Understand existing application architecture, business logic, dependencies, and technical limitations to maintain legacy systems and support modernization initiatives where appropriate.
• Version Control: Use Git or other version-control tools to manage code changes, maintain development history, and support collaborative software development.
• Technical Documentation: Maintain clear documentation covering application functionality, code changes, troubleshooting procedures, deployment steps, and known technical issues.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Coordinate with QA engineers, DevOps teams, business analysts, project managers, and other developers to deliver reliable application updates.
• Release and Deployment Support: Assist with application releases, deployment validation, rollback planning, and post-deployment verification in accordance with established procedures.
• Continuous Improvement: Identify opportunities to automate repetitive maintenance tasks, reduce technical debt, improve monitoring, and streamline software support processes.
• Incident Prevention: Analyze recurring production problems and recommend long‑term fixes rather than relying solely on temporary workarounds.
• Service‑Level Support: Help meet agreed response times, resolution targets, and application availability objectives while communicating progress and risks to relevant stakeholders.

Required Skills and Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Software Engineering, or a related discipline is preferred. Equivalent practical experience may also be considered.
• Strong knowledge of Java programming, including object‑oriented programming concepts, exception handling, collections, generics, and multithreading fundamentals.
• Understanding of enterprise application architecture, application lifecycle management, and software maintenance practices.
• Experience with Java frameworks such as Spring, Spring Boot, Spring MVC, or Hibernate.
• Familiarity with REST APIs, HTTP methods, JSON, and system integration concepts.
• Proficiency in SQL and experience working with relational databases such as Oracle, MySQL, or PostgreSQL.
• Understanding of software development principles, including clean code, modular design, reusable components, and maintainable architecture.
• Experience using Git‑based version control systems and collaborative development workflows.
• Knowledge of unit testing frameworks such as JUnit and Mockito.
• Familiarity with application servers, build tools, and dependency management systems such as Maven or Gradle.
• Ability to troubleshoot application errors, analyze logs, reproduce defects, and perform root‑cause analysis.
• Understanding of software testing, regression testing, debugging, and release management processes.
• Awareness of application security principles, including input validation, secure authentication, authorization, and protection against common software vulnerabilities.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills, with the ability to work through complex technical issues systematically.
• Good written and verbal communication skills for collaborating with technical teams and explaining issues clearly.
• Ability to manage multiple maintenance requests, prioritize tasks, and meet agreed deadlines.
• Willingness to learn unfamiliar systems, understand existing business logic, and adapt to changing technical requirements.

Experience

The required experience level will depend on the complexity of the applications, the responsibilities assigned, and the organizations operational needs.

Preferred Experience

• Approximately 1–4 years of experience in Java development, enterprise application maintenance, software support, or backend application development.
• Practical experience maintaining existing Java applications and resolving bugs in development, testing, or production environments.
• Experience working with Spring Boot, Hibernate, REST APIs, SQL databases, and common Java development tools.
• Exposure to application monitoring, log analysis, performance troubleshooting, and root‑cause analysis.
• Experience participating in code reviews, software testing, release preparation, and deployment support.
• Familiarity with Agile or Scrum development environments and ticket‑management platforms such as Jira or similar tools.
• Experience supporting enterprise applications with multiple integrations, complex business rules, or established legacy components is an advantage.
• Exposure to CI/CD pipelines, Docker, cloud platforms, or automated deployment processes is beneficial.

Freshers and Early-Career Candidates

• Candidates with strong Java fundamentals, academic projects, internships, or relevant practical training may be considered for suitable junior‑level opportunities. They should demonstrate a willingness to learn application maintenance practices, debugging techniques, and enterprise development standards.

Working Hours

The working schedule will be determined by the employment arrangement, project requirements, and support responsibilities.

• Work Schedule: Full-time, part-time, or contract arrangements may be available depending on organizational requirements.
• Standard Hours: Typically 8 working hours per day, with the specific start and finish times confirmed during recruitment.
• Working Days: Generally Monday to Friday, although some projects may require a different schedule.
• Remote or Hybrid Work: Remote, hybrid, or office‑based arrangements may be offered depending on project needs and company policy.
• Production Support: Occasional extended hours, weekend support, or scheduled maintenance windows may be required for applications that support critical business operations.
• Team Meetings: Participation in technical discussions, sprint planning, progress reviews, and incident‑management meetings may be required.
• Flexibility: Developers should be prepared to coordinate with distributed teams and accommodate reasonable project‑related scheduling requirements.

The final working hours, employment type, location, and any on‑call expectations will be communicated during the hiring process.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Technical Knowledge

• Strong understanding of Java syntax, object-oriented programming, and common design principles.
• Knowledge of enterprise application structures, backend services, database connectivity, and API integrations.
• Familiarity with application debugging, logging, testing, deployment, and maintenance processes.
• Understanding of SQL query optimization, transaction management, and database performance fundamentals.
• Awareness of software security, application reliability, and performance optimization techniques.
• Ability to understand existing codebases and trace the flow of data across application components.

Analytical and Problem‑Solving Skills

• Ability to investigate technical issues methodically and identify their underlying causes.
• Skill in evaluating alternative solutions and choosing approaches that minimize operational risk.
• Ability to identify recurring defects and recommend sustainable corrective actions.
• Capacity to interpret technical requirements and translate them into practical development tasks.

Communication and Collaboration

• Ability to work effectively with developers, testers, support specialists, and business stakeholders.
• Clear communication when reporting technical issues, documenting fixes, and sharing progress.
• Willingness to participate in code reviews and accept constructive feedback.
• Ability to explain technical concepts in language appropriate to the audience.

Organizational Abilities

• Strong attention to detail when modifying established applications.
• Ability to prioritize incidents, maintenance tasks, and enhancement requests according to business impact.
• Good time-management skills and the ability to work within agreed service and delivery targets.
• Commitment to maintaining accurate documentation and following established development procedures.

Professional Qualities

• Ownership of assigned tasks and accountability for the quality of delivered changes.
• A proactive approach to identifying risks and preventing recurring technical issues.
• Adaptability when working with unfamiliar systems, technologies, and changing requirements.
• Commitment to continuous learning, professional development, and responsible software engineering.

Benefits

The benefits offered for this position will depend on the employment arrangement, work location, and applicable company policies. Potential benefits may include:

• Competitive Compensation: Salary or contract remuneration aligned with experience, technical capability, and role responsibilities.
• Flexible Work Arrangements: Remote or hybrid work options may be available for eligible positions.
• Professional Development: Opportunities to strengthen Java expertise and develop knowledge of enterprise frameworks, cloud technologies, and modern software engineering practices.
• Technical Learning: Access to relevant learning materials, technical documentation, workshops, or training opportunities where provided.
• Career Advancement: Opportunities to progress into senior Java development, backend engineering, application support leadership, or software architecture roles.
• Collaborative Environment: Opportunities to work with professionals across development, testing, infrastructure, and business functions.
• Meaningful Technical Challenges: Exposure to real‑world application maintenance, production troubleshooting, performance improvement, and system modernization.
• Recognition and Feedback: Opportunities to receive performance feedback and recognition for contributions to application stability and delivery quality.
• Work-Life Balance: Reasonable workload planning and clearly defined responsibilities, subject to project and support requirements.
• Employment Benefits: Eligible employees may receive paid leave, insurance, retirement benefits, or other statutory and company benefits according to the applicable employment terms.
• Specific compensation, benefits, training allowances, and remote-work arrangements will be confirmed in the official offer or employment agreement.

Why Join The Elite Job?

• Joining The Elite Job as a Java Developer – Enterprise Application Maintenance offers an opportunity to contribute to the reliability and continuous improvement of business-critical software systems.
• This role is suitable for professionals who want to strengthen their technical capabilities while developing a deeper understanding of how enterprise applications operate, integrate, and evolve over time.
• Build Practical Technical Expertise: Work with Java-based applications and develop hands‑on experience in debugging, code optimization, database interactions, API maintenance, and application support.
• Contribute to Application Reliability: Help maintain stable, secure, and dependable software systems that support essential business processes.
• Develop Problem‑Solving Skills: Investigate challenging technical issues, identify root causes, and implement improvements that reduce recurring defects and operational risks.
• Expand Your Technology Knowledge: Depending on project assignments, gain exposure to Spring Boot, Hibernate, automated testing, CI/CD practices, cloud technologies, and legacy application modernization.
• Collaborate Across Teams: Work with developers, QA engineers, DevOps professionals, and business stakeholders to understand requirements and deliver effective technical solutions.
• Create Opportunities for Career Growth: Build a foundation for future roles such as Senior Java Developer, Backend Engineer, Application Support Engineer, Technical Lead, or Software Architect.
• Make a Measurable Impact: Contribute to improved application performance, reduced downtime, more maintainable code, and better software delivery outcomes.
• The Elite Job welcomes candidates who demonstrate technical curiosity, professional integrity, accountability, and a genuine interest in maintaining and improving enterprise software.