Lead Developer - Java

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.; Rockville (MD); Hybrid; USD 131,000 - 238,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) with company match

Tuition reimbursement

Commuter benefits

Adoption assistance

Job summary

FINRA is seeking a Lead Developer to own and guide the development of software products, balancing strategic technical leadership with hands-on engineering. The role focuses on establishing team culture and architectural foundations for long-term success while mentoring junior engineers.

The position emphasizes collaboration across teams, design and implementation of complex components, and adherence to FINRA standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in CS or related field with at least seven years of related experience
• Master’s degree and past Financial Services industry experience preferred
• Demonstrated expertise in object oriented and database technologies that led to enterprise solutions deployment

Responsibilities

• Review and analyze complex requirements across programs.
• Serve as the technical SME for subsystems or areas within the system.
• Lead design of complex components and oversee architecture decisions.
• Build, test, deploy, and document software components and mentor others.
• Develop engineering strategies to identify and mitigate risks.

Skills

Leadership

Mentoring

Architectural design

Microservices

API design

Cloud-native development

Team collaboration

Code review leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

AWS

CI/CD

Docker

Kubernetes

Terraform

Job description

Working independently, the Lead Developer owns development of software products, improves overall product quality throughout the software development life cycle, and mentors other Software Engineers. This role combines strategic technical leadership, with hands-on engineering, requiring someone who can establish team culture and architectural foundations for long-term success.

Essential Job Functions

• Review and analyze complex process, system and / or data requirements and specifications across a major program or project or several small projects or programs.
• Serve as the technical subject matter expert for one or more areas (subsystems) for a larger system or multiple areas (subsystems) for smaller systems.
• Serve as the primary designer for complex component designs for one or more areas (subsystems) for a larger system or multiple areas (subsystems) for smaller systems.
• Build, test, deploy, and document complex software components for one or more areas (subsystems) for a larger system or multiple areas (subsystems) for smaller systems as well as, help others with theirs.
• Create software engineering strategies that help identify and mitigate risks.
• Lead other team members in peer review of code and identify re‑usable frameworks.
• Interface with other team members and other teams in peer review of requirements, specifications and software.
• Document and communicate development status in a timely manner including metric reporting.
• Champion the collaborative resolution of defects.
• Direct internal process improvement initiatives.
• Provide feedback on processes by offering suggestions.
• Mentor and supervise junior staff in project‑level tasks.
• Participate in external process improvement committees as a Development representative.
• Provide backup coverage for Delivery Lead.
• Assist with adherence to technology policies and comply with all security controls.
• Ensure all work products meets /exceeds FINRA standards.
• Demonstration of FINRA’s values.
• Collaboration, both in-person and virtually, in furtherance of FINRA’s mission of investor protection and market integrity.

Additional Details: Job Duties

• Design, build, and scale applications, and lead engineering teams
• Design, develop, and maintain complex, enterprise‑grade applications on AWS through clean, modular, and performant code
• Demonstrate solid expertise in Java and Python
• Define and drive the technical architecture and technology stack for the project
• Strong experience in modern data storage solutions (SQL and NoSQL), API design, and integration patterns
• Apply strong understanding of software architecture patterns (microservices, event‑driven, etc.)
• Proficiency with cloud‑native development on AWS
• Proficiency with DevOps practices, CI/CD, and infrastructure as code
• Establish engineering best practices and coding standards
• Collaborate with product management, architecture, and key stakeholders to develop constructive and cooperative working relationships
• Resource Management: Recruit, interview, and onboard top engineering talent aligned with project needs

Education and Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems or related discipline with at least seven (7) years of related experience, or equivalent training and/or work experience; Master’s degree and past Financial Services industry experience preferred.
• Demonstrated technical expertise in Object Oriented and database technologies/concepts which resulted in deployment of enterprise quality solutions.
• Past experience with developing enterprise quality solutions in an iterative or Agile environment.
• Extensive knowledge of industry leading software engineering approaches including Test Automation, Build Automation and Configuration Management frameworks.
• Strong written and verbal technical communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to develop effective working relationships that improved the quality of work products.
• Should be well organized, thorough, and able to handle competing priorities.
• Ability to maintain focus and develop proficiency in new skills rapidly.
• Ability to work in a fast paced environment.
• Experience with object oriented programming languages such as Java, Scala or Python.

Work Conditions

Hybrid work environment, with defined in-person presence requirements. Occasional travel and extended hours may be required.

Salary Range

• Boston, MA: $131,200 - $238,300
• Chicago, IL: $125,900 - $228,000
• Denver, CO: $114,200 - $207,200
• Jericho, NY: $131,200 - $238,300
• Jersey City, NJ: $137,000- $248,700
• Philadelphia, PA: $125,900 - $228,000
• New York, NY: $137,000 - $248,700
• Rockville, MD: $131,200 - $238,300
• Tysons, VA: $131,200 - $238,300
• Washington, DC: $131,200 - $238,300
• Woodbridge, NJ: $131,200 - $238,300
• Connecticut State: $114,200 - $248,700
• Washington State: $114,200 - $248,700

Benefits

As part of its dedication to employee wellness, FINRA provides comprehensive health, dental and vision insurance. Additional insurance includes basic life, accidental death and dismemberment, supplemental life, spouse/domestic partner and dependent life, and spouse/domestic partner and dependent accidental death and dismemberment, short- and long-term disability, long-term care, business travel accident, disability and legal. FINRA offers immediate participation and vesting in a 401(k) plan with company match and eligibility for participation in an additional FINRA‑funded retirement contribution, tuition reimbursement, commuter benefits, and other benefits that support employee wellness, such as adoption assistance, backup family care, surrogacy benefits, employee assistance, and wellness programs.

Time Off and Paid Leave

FINRA encourages its employees to focus on their health and wellness in many ways, including through a generous time‑off program starting at 15 days of paid time off (increasing with years of service, up to 25 days), 5 personal days, and 9 sick days, unless otherwise required by law (all pro-rated in the first year). Additionally, we are proud to support our communities by providing two volunteer service days (based on full-time schedule). Other paid leave includes military leave, jury duty leave, bereavement leave, voting and election official leave for federal, state or local primary and general elections, care of a family member leave (available after 90 days of employment); and childbirth and parental leave (available after 90 days of employment). Full-time employees receive nine paid holidays.

Important Information

FINRA’s Code of Conduct imposes restrictions on employees’ investments and requires financial disclosures that are uniquely related to our role as a securities regulator. FINRA employees are required to disclose to FINRA all brokerage accounts that they maintain, and those in which they control trading or have a financial interest (including any trust account of which they are a trustee or beneficiary and all accounts of a spouse, domestic partner or minor child who lives with the employee) and to authorize their broker-dealers to provide FINRA with duplicate statements for all of those accounts. All of those accounts are subject to the Code’s investment and securities account restrictions, and new employees must comply with those investment restrictions—including disposing of any security issued by a company on FINRA’s Prohibited Company List or obtaining a written waiver from their Executive Vice President—by the date they begin employment with FINRA. Employees may only maintain securities accounts that must be disclosed to FINRA at one or more securities firms that provide an electronic feed (e-feed) of data to FINRA, and must move securities accounts from other securities firms to a firm that provides an e-feed within three months of beginning employment. You can read more about these restrictions here. As standard practice, employees must also execute FINRA’s Employee Confidentiality and Invention Assignment Agreement without qualification or modification and comply with the company’s policy on nepotism.

Equal Opportunity Employer

FINRA is an Equal Opportunity Employer All qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to any legally protected category, including race, color, age, national origin, ethnicity, religion, disability, genetic information, military or veteran status, sex, or any other status or classification protected by state or local law. FINRA strives to make our career site accessible to all users. If you need a disability-related accommodation for completing the application process, please contact FINRA’s Employee Relations team at 240-386-4865 or by email at [e-mail]. Please note that this process is exclusively for inquiries regarding accommodations in the application process. FINRA abides by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-741.5(a). This regulation prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals on the basis of disability and requires affirmative action by covered prime contractors and subcontractors to employ and advance in employment qualified individuals with disabilities. FINRA abides by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-300.5(a). This regulation prohibits discrimination against qualified protected veterans and requires affirmative action by covered prime contractors and subcontractors to employ and advance in employment qualified protected veterans.