Java Technical Lead

SoTalent; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 160,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

SoTalent is seeking an experienced technology leader to own the engineering strategy, delivery, and ongoing support of critical backend platforms. You will guide a distributed team responsible for developing resilient, scalable Java services that support high-volume business operations.

You will translate business priorities into technical solutions while maintaining high standards for engineering quality, security, reliability, and performance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or equivalent experience.
• Significant software delivery experience across full development lifecycle with at least two years in technical leadership.
• Extensive Java development experience, especially high-throughput backend or enterprise platforms.
• Strong Java and Spring ecosystem knowledge, including Spring Boot.
• Experience designing and operating microservices and distributed apps.
• Strong relational and non-relational database knowledge and data modeling.
• Experience building REST APIs and service integrations.
• Familiarity with asynchronous messaging such as Apache Kafka.
• Experience with at least one major cloud environment (AWS, Azure, GCP).
• Solid understanding of Agile and modern CI/CD practices.
• Full-stack exposure with frontend tech such as React.
• Proven track record leading or collaborating with distributed engineering teams.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive backend platform strategy and architecture.
• Lead software delivery across the full lifecycle from planning to production support.
• Oversee scalable service architectures using Java, Spring Boot, and microservices.
• Provide technical leadership on API design, performance, security, and reliability.
• Promote CI/CD, testing, and automated deployment practices.
• Mentor engineers across multiple locations and time zones.
• Review designs and code to raise maintainability and quality.
• Coordinate with Product, UX, QA, DevOps, and Architecture teams.
• Balance technical work with business priorities and delivery commitments.
• Evaluate new technologies to improve platform capability and developer productivity.
• Ensure compliance with Agile, security, and operational resilience standards.

Skills

Java

Spring Boot

Microservices

Distributed systems

API design

Cloud platforms

CI/CD

Leadership

Kafka

React

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Git

Jenkins

Kubernetes

Docker

JUnit

Job description

Our client is looking for an experienced technology leader to take ownership of the engineering strategy, delivery, and ongoing support of critical backend platforms. This role combines deep Java expertise with people leadership, architecture, and hands-on technical contribution.

You will lead a geographically distributed engineering team responsible for developing resilient, scalable services that support high-volume business operations. Working closely with product, architecture, operations, and other technology teams, you will translate business priorities into effective technical solutions while maintaining high standards for engineering quality, security, reliability, and performance.

The successful candidate will be comfortable moving between strategic decision-making and hands-on engineering, providing direction when needed while enabling engineers to grow and deliver independently.

Key Accountabilities

• Establish and communicate the technical direction for Java-based backend products and platforms.
• Take ownership of software delivery throughout the development lifecycle, from planning and architecture through production support.
• Design and oversee scalable service architectures using Java, Spring Boot, microservices, and modern distributed-system patterns.
• Provide technical leadership on areas such as API design, application performance, data processing, resilience, availability, and security.
• Lead engineering execution within an Agile environment, ensuring priorities, dependencies, risks, and delivery commitments remain visible and well managed.
• Manage and develop engineers working across multiple locations and time zones, creating an environment that encourages technical excellence, collaboration, and continuous learning.
• Review technical designs and code, provide constructive feedback, and establish engineering practices that improve maintainability and quality.
• Work across Product, UX, QA, Platform, DevOps, and Architecture teams to resolve dependencies and deliver cohesive solutions.
• Partner with infrastructure and operations teams to strengthen deployment automation, observability, testing, and production readiness.
• Promote effective CI/CD practices and engineering automation using technologies such as Git, Jenkins, automated testing, and related tooling.
• Facilitate technical estimation and planning, balancing engineering effort with business priorities and expected outcomes.
• Evaluate new technologies and approaches that could improve platform capability, developer productivity, reliability, or scalability.
• Ensure development practices align with organizational standards for Agile delivery, security, operational resilience, and software quality.
• Work directly with business and technology stakeholders to understand requirements and ensure engineering outcomes support measurable business objectives.
• Establish effective automated testing and support practices using tools and frameworks such as JUnit and Mockito.
• Develop sufficient understanding of logistics and operational workflows to ensure technology decisions reflect real-world business requirements.
• Coordinate complex releases and production deployments, ensuring the appropriate people, environments, dependencies, and contingency plans are in place.
• Act as a senior technical escalation point, bringing structure and calm decision-making to complex incidents and production issues.
• Use engineering and business metrics to inform capacity planning, prioritization, resource decisions, and risk management.

Required Background

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a comparable combination of education and professional experience.
• Significant experience delivering software across the full development lifecycle, including at least two years in a technical leadership capacity.
• Extensive professional experience developing Java applications, particularly high-throughput backend or enterprise platforms.
• Strong knowledge of Java and the Spring ecosystem, including Spring Boot.
• Practical experience designing and operating microservices and distributed applications.
• Strong understanding of relational and non-relational database technologies and data modeling.
• Experience creating and maintaining REST APIs and service integrations.
• Familiarity with asynchronous and message-driven technologies, such as Apache Kafka.
• Experience implementing event-oriented or event-driven architectures.
• Professional experience with at least one major cloud environment, such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud.
• Solid understanding of Agile software development and modern CI/CD practices.
• Experience working across the full stack, with exposure to modern frontend technologies such as React.
• Demonstrated success leading or collaborating with engineering teams distributed across locations and time zones.

Technical & Leadership Capabilities

The ideal candidate will bring:

• Technical depth: Strong practical knowledge of Java architecture, distributed systems, scalability, reliability, and application performance.
• Architectural thinking: Ability to translate complex business and technical requirements into pragmatic, maintainable system designs.
• Engineering leadership: Confidence setting technical direction while remaining willing to contribute directly when circumstances require it.
• Full-stack awareness: Sufficient frontend knowledge to make informed architectural decisions and effectively support engineers working across the technology stack.
• Event-driven expertise: A solid understanding of asynchronous communication, messaging, and event-based system design.
• Problem-solving ability: Strong analytical skills and a structured approach to diagnosing technical challenges and developing solutions.
• People development: A genuine commitment to mentoring engineers, developing technical capability, and building high-performing teams.
• Stakeholder management: Strong communication skills and the ability to explain technical decisions clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Delivery focus: A pragmatic approach to balancing technical quality, customer expectations, timelines, and business priorities.
• Continuous improvement: Curiosity about emerging technologies and a willingness to challenge established approaches where better solutions exist.
• Polyglot mindset: Experience with Python or other programming languages is advantageous.
• Emerging technology awareness: Interest in modern technology trends, including Generative AI and its potential applications within software engineering and enterprise platforms.