Lead Java Back End Developer — Digital Assets Platform - Vice President

Citi; New York (NY); On-site; USD 142,000 - 213,000; Full time

Job summary

Citi in New York is seeking an experienced Team Lead- Java Backend Developer to drive hands-on engineering execution on the Digital Assets Platform. You will lead by example, review code, and mentor engineers while delivering scalable backend services.

The role requires 6–10+ years of backend experience, strong Java/Spring Boot skills, and a track record in complex, regulated environments. This is a full-time position based in New York City with competitive compensation.

Qualifications

• 6–10 years of hands-on software development experience in backend engineering.
• Proven ability to lead by doing with code reviews and design discussions.
• Strong knowledge of Java, Spring Boot, and distributed systems.
• Experience in large-scale enterprise environments preferred.

Responsibilities

• Write production-quality backend code alongside the team.
• Lead by example in design reviews and architectural decisions.
• Mentor junior engineers and drive delivery of complex features.
• Ensure code quality, testing, and CI/CD discipline.

Skills

Java

Spring Boot

Distributed systems

Microservices

REST/gRPC APIs

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

OpenShift

Job description

Role Overview

We are looking for a highly experienced, deeply hands-on Team Lead- Java Back-End Developer to drive day-to-day engineering execution on the Digital Assets Platform. The successful candidate will focus on core backend/platform software engineering leadership: and write production code regularly, leads by example, enforces engineering rigor, and is the technical backbone that junior and mid-level engineers rely on for direction, review, and mentorship.

The ideal candidate will bring at least 6 to 10+ years of hands-on development experience and has "been in the trenches" - someone who can jump into a complex codebase, spot subtle bugs and design flaws during code review, drive low-level design (LLD) discussions with authority, and unblock the team on the hardest technical problems. This person is expected to be more experienced and technically sharper than the other developers on the team, acting as the de facto technical authority and quality gatekeeper for the squad.

Key Responsibilities

Hands-On Technical Leadership

• Actively write, review, and ship production-quality code alongside the team - this is not a purely managerial or coordination role.
• Personally take ownership of the most complex, high-risk, or ambiguous engineering problems on the platform.
• Set the technical direction for the team's day-to-day implementation work, ensuring consistency with overall platform architecture.

Code Quality & Code Review

• Perform rigorous, detailed code reviews across the team's pull requests, catching subtle logic errors, concurrency issues, security gaps, performance bottlenecks, and maintainability problems before they reach production.
• Establish and enforce coding standards, review checklists, and best practices (clean code, SOLID principles, secure coding, testability).
• Act as the final technical quality gate prior to merge/release for critical components.

Low-Level Design (LLD)

• Drive low-level design sessions, translating high-level architecture and requirements into detailed, implementable technical designs (class/module structures, API contracts, data models, sequence flows, error handling strategy).
• Review and challenge design proposals from other engineers, ensuring designs are scalable, resilient, and aligned with platform standards.
• Document key design decisions and trade-offs for traceability and knowledge sharing.

Team Leadership & Mentorship

• Directly manage and/or technically lead a squad of backend/platform engineers, providing day-to-day technical guidance and unblocking impediments.
• Mentor junior and mid-level engineers, raising the overall technical bar of the team through pairing, reviews, and structured feedback.
• Identify skill gaps and growth opportunities within the team; contribute to hiring and technical interviewing.

Delivery Ownership

• Drive the team's sprint/iteration execution - decomposing epics into well-scoped technical tasks, estimating effort, and ensuring on-time, high-quality delivery.
• Proactively identify technical risks, bottlenecks, and debt; elevate and resolve issues prior to impact on delivery timelines.
• Partner closely with the Engineering Team Lead (SVP), Architect, and Product/Business stakeholders to translate requirements into a sound technical execution plan.

Engineering Excellence

• Champion automated testing (unit, integration), CI/CD discipline, observability, and operational readiness for everything the team ships.
• Identify and remediate technical debt, legacy pain points, and recurring production issues.
• Stay current on backend engineering, distributed systems, and platform reliability best practices (deliberately not a smart contract/Web3-first role - the emphasis is core software engineering excellence).

Qualifications

• 6 -10 years of hands-on professional software development experience, with demonstrated depth in backend engineering (e.g., Java, Spring Boot, distributed systems, microservices, REST/gRPC APIs).
• Proven track record of leading by doing - an engineer who still codes regularly and is respected for technical depth rather than title alone.
• Strong, demonstrable experience conducting thorough, high-signal code reviews and catching issues that others miss (correctness, security, performance, edge cases, race conditions).
• Strong command of low-level design - able to independently produce and critique detailed technical designs, not just high-level architecture diagrams.
• Experience leading or technically mentoring a team of engineers (formal management experience a plus, but technical leadership is essential).
• Solid understanding of software engineering fundamentals: data structures & algorithms, design patterns, concurrency, database design, API design, and testing practices.
• Experience working in large-scale, regulated, or enterprise environments (financial services experience strongly preferred).
• Excellent communication skills - able to explain complex technical trade-offs clearly to both engineers and senior stakeholders.

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent practical experience).

Preferred

• Prior exposure to blockchain, distributed ledger, or digital asset platforms (as context, not as a primary skill requirement - this role is intentionally weighted toward core engineering depth over Web3/smart contract specialization).
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, containerization (Docker/Kubernetes/OpenShift), and cloud-native architectures.
• Experience operating in an Agile/Scrum delivery model.
• Prior formal people-management experience (performance reviews, career development conversations).

Job Family Group

Technology

Job Family

Applications Development

Time Type

Full time

Primary Location

New York New York United States

Primary Location Full Time Salary Range

$142,320.00 - $213,480.00

In addition to salary, Citi offers competitive employee benefits, including: medical, dental & vision coverage; 401(k); life, accident, and disability insurance; and wellness programs. Citi also offers paid time off packages, including planned time off (vacation), unplanned time off (sick leave), and paid holidays. For additional information regarding Citi employee benefits, please visit citibenefits.com. Available offerings may vary by jurisdiction, job level, and date of hire.

Anticipated Posting Close Date

Sep 08, 2026

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