Lead Software Engineer

Brickstech; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Brickstech is seeking a Lead Software Engineer to design, develop, test, and deploy a state-of-the-art digital platform hosted on AWS. This role will build a world-class platform to host a wide range of digital applications.

The position requires leading the engineering effort for enterprise-scale REST APIs and microservices using Java 21+, Spring Boot, Apigee API Gateway, and AWS. You will guide architectural decisions, drive code reviews, and ensure security and reliability.

Qualifications

• Degree + 10+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• Strong Java 17+ and Spring Boot REST API development.
• Experience with API gateways and management platforms (Apigee or similar).
• Proficiency deploying and maintaining software in public cloud environments (AWS/Azure/GCP).
• Experience writing automated tests (JUnit, Mockito).
• Experience with event-driven architectures and messaging systems (Kafka, RabbitMQ, Kinesis, SQS, SNS).
• Deep understanding of relational, NoSQL, search, caching, and vector stores (PostgreSQL/MySQL/Oracle; MongoDB/Cassandra/DynamoDB; Elasticsearch; Redis).
• CI/CD experience (Azure DevOps, Jenkins, GoCD).
• Solid Agile/Scrum background; strong security: OAuth2/JWT; entitlement-based authorization.
• Strong technical leadership and decision-making skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and development of enterprise REST APIs and microservices.
• Architect API-first solutions; define service contracts and OpenAPI specs.
• Break down requirements into technical designs and tasks; guide implementation.
• Lead secure service-to-service integrations using OAuth 2.0, JWT, and entitlements.
• Serve as technical lead for complex initiatives; drive architecture and code reviews.
• Collaborate with product/UI/architect teams to ensure successful delivery.
• Establish engineering best practices for reliability, scalability, observability, security.
• Drive quality engineering practices: automated, performance, load testing; production readiness.
• Lead troubleshooting and resolution of complex production issues.
• Create and maintain technical docs, runbooks, and engineering standards.
• Own end-to-end software delivery from design to deployment and support.

Skills

Java 17+

Spring Boot

Apigee API Gateway

Cloud: AWS/Azure/GCP

JUnit & Mockito

Event-Driven Architecture

Kafka / RabbitMQ

Relational Databases

NoSQL Databases

Elasticsearch

Redis

OpenAPI/Swagger

CI/CD

Agile/Scrum

OAuth 2.0 / JWT

Security & Entitlements

Technical Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree

10+ years software engineering experience

Tools

Azure DevOps

Jenkins

GoCD

Swagger

Job description

QUALITY ASSURANCE FINAL INSPECTOR (2ND SHIFT)

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Job Description

Estimated Start Date: 7 September 2026Duration: 12 months (potential for extension not indicated)

Location: Chicago office (Hybrid – 2 days in office: Monday and Wednesday)

Only local from Chicago

*Required Education*

• Degree: Bachelor's degree or equivalent (implied by "Degree + 10+ years' experience")
• Years of Experience: 10+ years of professional software engineering experience

Required Skills

• Programming Language: Extensive experience with Java 17+ and Spring Boot for RESTful API development.
• API Management: Experience with API gateways and management platforms, specifically Apigee (or similar).
• Cloud Platforms: Proficiency deploying and maintaining software in public cloud environments (AWS, Azure, or GCP); AWS preferred given the platform context.
• Testing: Proven ability to write comprehensive automated tests (unit, integration, end-to-end) using frameworks like JUnit and Mockito.
• Architecture: Experience designing and implementing Event-Driven Architectures using message streaming solutions (e.g., AWS Kinesis, SQS, SNS, Apache Kafka, RabbitMQ, Azure Event Hub).
• Datastores: Deep understanding of multiple datastore types:
  • Relational: PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, AWS RDS/Aurora
  • NoSQL: MongoDB, Cassandra, AWS DynamoDB
  • Search: Elasticsearch
  • Caching: Redis
  • Vector databases
• CI/CD: Hands-on experience configuring and deploying software via CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps, Jenkins, or GoCD).
• Agile: Demonstrated success working within an Agile/Scrum framework.
• Security: Knowledge of secure service-to-service integrations using OAuth 2.0, JWT, and entitlement-based authorization models.
• Soft Skills: Strong decision-making, critical thinking, and technical leadership abilities.

Preferred/Nice-to-Have:

• Familiarity with AI-assisted coding companions (GitHub Copilot, Cursor).

Lead Software Engineer provides technical leadership in the design, development, testing, and deployment of state-of-the-art digital platform hosted on AWS. This role will build a world-class platform to host a wide range of digital applications.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the design and development of enterprise-scale REST APIs and microservices using Java 21+, Spring Boot, Apigee API Gateway, and AWS cloud services.
• Architect API-first solutions; define service contracts, payload schemas, and OpenAPI/Swagger specifications.
• Lead solution decomposition by breaking business requirements into technical designs, user stories, and implementation tasks.
• Guide engineers in developing secure service-to-service integrations using OAuth 2.0, JWT, and enterprise entitlement-based authorization models.
• Serve as the technical lead for complex initiatives, driving architecture decisions, design reviews, and code reviews.
• Collaborate with product owners, UI development teams, architects, and partner teams to ensure successful delivery of customer-focused solutions.
• Establish engineering best practices for reliability, scalability, observability, security, and maintainability.
• Drive quality engineering practices including automated testing, performance testing, load testing, and production readiness reviews.
• Lead troubleshooting and resolution of complex production issues.
• Create and maintain technical documentation, operational runbooks, and engineering standards.
• Drive end-to-end software ownership from design through deployment, monitoring, support, and continuous improvement.