Lead Java Developer

Citigroup Inc.; United States; Remote; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous holiday allowance starting at

Annual performance related bonus

Private medical insurance

Employee Assistance Program

Pension Plan

Paid Parental Leave

Employee discounts

Learning & development resources

Job summary

Citigroup Inc. seeks an experienced Lead Developer to oversee development, mentor scrum teams, and drive modernization of CitiDirect's payments validation layer. Hands-on leader will code while guiding architecture and talent growth across global teams.

You will champion scalable microservices using Java, Spring, Kafka, and REST, manage tech debt, align with product roadmaps, and introduce AI tooling to accelerate delivery and skills development. Hybrid work in a global bank environment.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of software development experience, including 3+ years in a leadership role.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to scrum teams with CitiDirect Payments.
• Actively participate in coding and problem solving, maintaining a strong hands-on presence in development.
• Architect and design scalable, robust solutions for complex technical challenges.
• Lead the planning and execution of major development initiatives and projects.
• Oversee code quality, conduct code reviews, and enforce best practices and coding standards.
• Drive the adoption of new technologies and methodologies to improve team productivity and product quality.
• Collaborate with product managers and stakeholders to define technical strategy and roadmap.
• Manage technical debt and guide system optimizations.
• Foster a culture of innovation, continuous learning, and knowledge sharing within the team.

Skills

Java

Leadership

Mentoring

Problem solving

Communication

Hands-on coding

Architectural design

Microservices

Spring Framework

RESTful API

Security best practices

Payments domain

Tools

MongoDB

Oracle

Apache Kafka

Job description

CitiDirect is seeking an experienced Lead Developer to oversee development, partner with global dev teams to drive large programs of work and ensure technical excellence from the team. The ideal candidate will be a hands‑on developer with strong leadership skills and the ability to build talent within the organization. The role will be focused on modernizing CitiDirect's Payment flow, with a focus on the validation layer for payments. This is an opportunity to drive change from the ground up, as well as experiment with AI tooling to not only update the stack but also enhance you and your team's skillset.

What you'll do

• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to scrum teams with CitiDirect Payments
• Actively participate in coding and problem‑solving, maintaining a strong hands‑on presence in development
• Architect and design scalable, robust solutions for complex technical challenges
• Lead the planning and execution of major development initiatives and projects
• Oversee code quality, conduct code reviews, and enforce best practices and coding standards
• Drive the adoption of new technologies and methodologies to improve team productivity and product quality
• Collaborate with product managers and stakeholders to define technical strategy and roadmap
• Manage technical debt and guide system optimizations
• Foster a culture of innovation, continuous learning, and knowledge sharing within the team

Requirements

• 10+ years of software development experience, including 3+ years in a leadership role
• Strong hands‑on coding skills in Java
• Extensive experience with microservices architecture, Spring Framework, and RESTful API design
• Proficiency in MongoDB and Oracle databases
• Experience with Apache Kafka and event‑driven architectures
• Strong understanding of software design patterns, architecture principles, and best practices
• Understanding of security best practices in software development
• Proven track record of leading successful software projects and mentoring developers
• Excellent problem‑solving skills and ability to navigate complex technical challenges
• Strong communication skills with the ability to explain technical concepts to both technical and non‑technical audiences
• Solid understanding of payments industry, including various payment systems and processes

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with cloud platforms
• Knowledge of DevOps practices and CI/CD pipelines
• Familiarity with Agile methodologies and project management tools
• Experience with performance optimization and scalability of large‑scale applications

Working at Citi is far more than just a job. A career with us means joining a team of approximately 219,000 dedicated people from around the globe. At Citi, you'll have the opportunity to grow your career, give back to your community and make a real impact., Services is a leading provider of cash management, treasury, trade, clearing, depository receipts and commercial cards services. Services has a global network spanning more than 90 countries and is unique in the industry for its reach, interoperability, and flexibility. We provide clients with dynamic information, platforms, tools, and APIs to effectively manage their portfolios, financial positions, working capital and supply chains. CitiDirect serves as the unified digital gateway for clients to access our full suite of services.

We work hard to have a positive financial and social impact on the communities we serve. In turn, we put our employees first and provide the best‑in‑class benefits they need to be well, live well and save well.

By joining Citi London, you will not only be part of a business casual workplace with a hybrid working model (up to 2 days working at home per week), but also receive a competitive base salary (which is annually reviewed), and enjoy a whole host of additional benefits such as:

• Generous holiday allowance starting at 27 days plus bank holidays; increasing with tenure
• A discretional annual performance related bonus
• Private medical insurance packages to suit your personal circumstances
• Employee Assistance Program
• Pension Plan
• Paid Parental Leave
• Special discounts for employees, family, and friends
• Access to an array of learning and development resources