Lead Software Engineer.

The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America; Holmdel Township (NJ); On-site; USD 118,980 - 195,465; Full time

Job summary

The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America is looking for a Lead Software Engineer to join its Group Benefits API Team in Holmdel Township, New Jersey. The role involves leading an agile team, designing APIs, and building scalable integration solutions. Candidates should have over 15 years of experience as a Java / J2EE engineer and proficiency in Agile methodologies.

This full-time position offers a competitive salary range from $118,980 to $195,465, based on the candidate's education and experience. Join us to help deliver a seamless customer experience through innovative technology.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience as a Java / J2EE software engineer.
• Expertise in Java Spring Boot, GraphQL, and Python.
• Experience with Docker and AWS Cloud services.

Responsibilities

• Lead an agile delivery team as part of an Agile Release Train (ART).
• Develop and enable APIs, events, and messaging-based integrations.
• Mentor and coach engineers and analysts.

Skills

Java / J2EE software engineering

Agile methodologies

Java Spring Boot

GraphQL

Python

RESTful API design

Microservices architecture

Event-driven architecture

OpenAPI / Swagger specifications

Docker

AWS Cloud services

SQL databases

NoSQL databases

EAI frameworks

API security

Version control and CI/CD tools

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field

Job description

Lead Software Engineer

The Group Benefits API Team is responsible for building and operating APIs and integrations that support Guardian’s Group Business. We enable core business capabilities such as Quote, Policy, Customer, Eligibility, and Claims through scalable, secure, and production‑ready APIs. Our APIs power end‑to‑end Group Business intake channels, including customer‑facing portal applications, call center platforms, IVR systems, and conversational interfaces such as chatbots—delivering a unified and seamless customer experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead an agile delivery team as part of an Agile Release Train (ART).
• Design and build well‑engineered, scalable, and production‑ready integration solutions.
• Develop and enable APIs, events, and messaging‑based integrations using modern integration patterns.
• Build and support robust MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers and API platforms that enable Agentic AI solutions within the insurance domain.
• Collaborate closely with Business Partners and Solution Architects to align delivery with product roadmaps and architectural blueprints.
• Mentor and coach engineers and analysts, assign work, conduct code reviews, and uphold engineering excellence.
• Triage and resolve end‑to‑end system and integration issues across applications, middleware, and infrastructure.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field.
• 15+ years of experience as a Java / J2EE software engineer.
• Strong understanding of Agile and SAFe methodologies.
• Expertise in Java Spring Boot, GraphQL, and Python.
• Hands‑on experience delivering Agentic AI applications, including building scalable and resilient MCP servers.
• Deep experience with RESTful API design, data‑driven design, microservices architecture, event‑driven architecture, and enterprise integration patterns.
• Experience designing intuitive and developer‑friendly APIs using OpenAPI / Swagger specifications.
• Experience integrating with messaging platforms such as ActiveMQ and IBM MQ.
• Experience with Docker and AWS Cloud services, including S3, Lambda, SQS/SNS, and Redis.
• Experience working with both SQL and NoSQL databases.
• Hands‑on experience with EAI frameworks such as Apache Camel, TIBCO BusinessWorks, MuleSoft, or similar.
• Experience with rules engines such as OpenL, Drools, or Blaze.
• Strong experience with version control and CI/CD automation tools, including Git, Bitbucket, Jenkins, and Maven.
• Experience implementing API security and access control using OAuth 2.0, JWT, and token‑based authentication.
• Experience with monitoring and observability tools such as AppDynamics and Zenoss.

Salary Range

$118,980.00 – $195,465.00. This is a good faith estimate of base pay for the primary location of the position. The salary will be determined based on education, experience, knowledge, and abilities of the successful candidate.

Benefits

Through skill‑building, leadership development and philanthropic opportunities, we provide opportunities to build communities and grow your career, surrounded by diverse colleagues with high ethical standards. Explore our company benefits at www.guardianlife.com/careers/corporate/benefits. Benefits apply to full‑time eligible employees. Interns are not eligible for most company benefits.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Guardian is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to age, race, color, creed, religion, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, marital status, disability, military or veteran status, or any other classification protected by applicable law.

Accommodations

Guardian is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. Guardian also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified job applicants (and employees) to accommodate the individual's known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless doing so would create an undue hardship. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact [e-mail]. This resource is for accommodation requests only. For other inquiries related to your application and careers at Guardian, refer to the Guardian Careers site.

Visa Sponsorship

Guardian is not currently or in the foreseeable future sponsoring employment visas. In order to be a successful applicant you must be legally authorized to work in the United States, without the need for employer sponsorship.

Notice Regarding Guardian’s Use of Artificial Intelligence in Recruitment

As part of Guardian’s job application process, Guardian may use artificial intelligence tools (“AI Tools”) to automate the sorting and filtering of information provided by applicants as part of its preliminary screening. This preliminary screening may be used to help identify applicant materials and resumes relative to their indication that the applicant meets the requirements for the specific job for which they are applying, as specified in the listing posted on Guardian’s jobs website (Careers at Guardian). Guardian does not use AI Tools to substantially assist or replace human judgment or discretionary decision making in its hiring process. All hiring decisions will be made by Guardian colleagues. Applicants have the choice of opting out of Guardian’s use of AI Tools during the job application process. If you would like to request an alternative process that does not utilize AI Tools or would like to request a reasonable accommodation, within ten business days of your position application, you must email your request to [e-mail], making sure to provide your name and job requisition identification number. Guardian will retain your applicant materials and resume and all information therefrom in accordance with Guardian’s document retention policy.