Java Tech Lead - AWS (Remote)

First Citizens; Phoenix (AZ); Remote; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

First Citizens is seeking a hands-on Lead Software Engineer to lead design, development, and support of secure, cloud-native solutions across Payments, Money Movement, and Reporting platforms. This remote role is hireable in AZ, NC and TX, requiring strong AWS expertise and architectural leadership.

You will mentor distributed teams, translate business requirements into scalable software, and drive delivery with Java, Spring Boot, and Node.js while applying Terraform, serverless, and

Qualifications

• 5+ years of hands-on AWS cloud engineering and architecture experience.
• Experience designing and supporting cloud-native applications on AWS.
• Proficiency with Java, Spring Boot, and Node.js.
• Experience with containerization and CI/CD pipelines.
• Strong communication and leadership skills for enterprise teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead architecture, design, development, testing, releases, and production support.
• Mentor distributed teams and drive technology decisions.
• Own project management aspects including estimates, scope, and impacts.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to align technology with business needs.

Skills

AWS cloud engineering

Java

Spring Boot

Node.js

Docker

OpenShift

Terraform

CI/CD

Education

Bachelor's Degree

High School Diploma

Tools

Terraform

Docker

OpenShift

Job description

Overview

This is a remote role that may only be hired in the following location(s): AZ, NC and TX.

We are seeking a hands-on Lead Software Engineer to lead the design, development, integration, and support of secure, scalable, cloud-native solutions across Payments, Money Movement, and Information Reporting platforms.

The ideal candidate will bring deep expertise in AWS cloud technologies, software engineering, and solution architecture, with strong hands‑on experience in serverless, event-driven, and containerized applications. This role requires the ability to translate business requirements into technical solutions, provide architectural leadership, develop code, mentor distributed teams, and drive delivery in a fast‑paced environment.

The successful candidate will have proven experience with AWS services including Lambda, ECS, Step Functions, SQS, SNS, DynamoDB, RDS, S3, IAM, KMS, and AWS Transfer Family, as well as Infrastructure as Code using Terraform. They must be capable of balancing immediate business needs with long‑term architectural strategy while ensuring reliability, security, and operational excellence.

Responsibilities & Qualifications

This role is responsible for leading all software engineering activities within the team, including architecture, design, development, testing, releases, and production support.

• Team Leadership – Mentors and trains team members. Utilizes expertise to provide guidance, feedback, and direction on complex matters. Assists in the communication of performance results and expected behaviors for success.
• Project Management – Leads specialized technical projects to include development of time estimates, determining scope, and addressing potential impacts.
• Business Support – Provides insight to management allowing the strategic alignment of technologies with business needs. Facilitates system modifications or architectural changes. Effectively collaborates with others on technical issues and initiatives, acting as the primary escalation point for technology‑related team concerns across the enterprise.
• Technical Expertise – Maintains a strong knowledge of Bank technologies, processes, procedures, and industry standards. Serves as a resource on one or more specialized technologies to management, associates, and cross‑platform teams.

Qualifications:

Minimum Required Education and Experience: Bachelor's Degree and 8 years' experience OR High School Diploma or GED/Equivalent and 12 years' experience in Technical work in Application Development, Server Administration, Information Security, or Engineering.

• 5+ years of hands‑on AWS cloud engineering and architecture experience.
• Proven experience designing, developing, and supporting cloud-native applications on AWS.
• Strong expertise with:
  • AWS Lambda
  • Amazon ECS
  • AWS Step Functions
  • Amazon SQS and SNS
  • Amazon S3
  • Amazon DynamoDB
  • Amazon RDS
  • AWS IAM and KMS
  • AWS Transfer Family
• Strong experience with Terraform and Infrastructure as Code practices.
• Experience designing and implementing event-driven, microservices, and serverless architectures.
• Strong hands‑on development experience with Java, Spring Boot, and/or Node.js.
• Experience with containerization technologies including Docker and OpenShift.
• Experience implementing CI/CD pipelines and automated deployment strategies.
• Ability to build highly available, fault‑tolerant, secure, and scalable enterprise solutions.
• Proven experience leading development teams and driving technical architecture decisions.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and problem‑solving skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• AWS Certified Solutions Architect (Associate or Professional)
• AWS Certified Developer Associate
• Experience with payment processing, ACH, wire transfers, real‑time payments, card processing, or other money movement platforms.
• Experience with financial systems integrations and regulatory reporting solutions.
• Experience with Amazon CloudWatch, AWS X‑Ray, and enterprise observability platforms.
• Experience leading cloud modernization and application transformation initiatives.
• Experience in regulated financial services environments.

Additional Information

Benefits are an integral part of total rewards and First Citizens Bank is committed to providing a competitive, thoughtfully designed and quality benefits program to meet the needs of our associates. More information can be found at https://jobs.firstcitizens.com/benefits.