Lead Software Engineer - Microservices & Kafka Architect

Empower LLC; Greenwood Village (CO); On-site; USD 114,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

401k with match

Tuition reimbursement

Casual dress

Paid time off

Volunteer time off

BRGs

Job summary

Empower LLC in Colorado is seeking a Lead Software Engineer to design, develop, and deliver scalable enterprise applications. You will lead microservices with Spring, architect real-time streaming with Kafka, and guide engineering teams across the SDLC.

Ideal candidates drive technical direction, mentor engineers, champion TDD/BDD, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure high availability and secure, reliable software.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
• 7+ years of professional software development experience, including 2+ years in a lead/mentorship role.
• Strong expertise in Java (Java 11 or later).
• Solid hands-on experience with Spring, Spring Boot, and RESTful web services.
• Deep understanding of microservices architecture and distributed systems.
• Proven experience in building real-time streaming applications with Apache Kafka.
• Strong experience in SQL (MySQL, PostgreSQL, or similar) and NoSQL databases (MongoDB, Cassandra, etc.).
• Proficiency in Hibernate, JPA, and ORM concepts.
• Strong understanding and application of TDD and BDD methodologies.
• Experience with Git and CI/CD practices.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and development of microservices-based architectures using Spring and Spring Boot.
• Architect and build real-time streaming applications using Apache Kafka.
• Define technical strategy and oversee the full software development lifecycle, from requirements to deployment.
• Mentor and guide engineers, conducting design and code reviews to ensure high standards.
• Champion TDD and BDD practices, ensuring code quality and maintainability.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver secure, reliable, and scalable software.
• Drive adoption of best practices in system design, testing, DevOps, and CI/CD pipelines.
• Optimize performance of applications and resolve complex technical issues.
• Ensure systems are built for high availability, scalability, and maintainability.
• Contribute to architectural decisions and align technical initiatives with business goals.

Skills

Java 11+

Spring/Spring Boot

Microservices

Kafka

TDD/BDD

Leadership

REST APIs

CI/CD

Git

Databases

Education

BS/MS in CS/Engineering

Tools

Kafka

Docker

Kubernetes

AWS

Hibernate/JPA

GIT

Job description

Empower LLC in Colorado is seeking a Lead Software Engineer to design, develop, and deliver scalable enterprise applications. You will lead microservices with Spring, architect real-time streaming with Kafka, and guide engineering teams across the SDLC.

Ideal candidates drive technical direction, mentor engineers, champion TDD/BDD, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure high availability and secure, reliable software.