Principal Full Stack Developer - Java, React

United Airlines; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 141,000 - 183,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision

Life insurance

Disability insurance

Parental leave

Commuter benefits

Paid holidays

Paid time off

401(k) and flight privileges

Job summary

United Airlines is seeking a Principal Developer to lead design, development, and maintenance of the notification platform for customer travel. You will collaborate with portfolio owners and service providers to deliver scalable, reliable solutions that align with business goals.

You will mentor teammates, define SLAs, ensure enterprise standards, and drive continuous improvement across the SDLC in a hybrid work environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field (or 10 years equivalent work experience).
• 5+ years in application design, development, and SDLC including Java, Spring Boot, Apache Camel, and open-source technologies.
• Experience with React.
• 5+ years hands-on full-stack Java development.
• 3+ years with foundational AWS services (EC2, S3, RDS, API Gateway, VPC, CloudTrail, CloudFront, Lambda, EKS/ECS).
• Experience building scalable, highly available, and resilient solutions.
• Experience with relational (MySQL, Oracle) and non-relational (MongoDB, DynamoDB) databases.
• Experience with enterprise messaging (IBM MQ, Solace).
• Experience with monitoring/analytics tools (CloudWatch, Dynatrace, Datadog, ELK, Google Analytics).
• Experience in Agile CI/CD environments.
• Knowledge of software engineering best practices (version control, packaging, release management).
• Strong communication and collaborative skills.
• Ability to work a hybrid schedule (2-3 days in office).
• Eligible to work in the United States without sponsorship.

Responsibilities

• Define and implement technical solutions for new systems or enhancements using modern technologies.
• Define SLAs and data-sharing strategies with vendors.
• Lead design, development, and planning of solutions and technology standards to solve complex problems.
• Perform hands-on development and support software systems, optimize performance and resolve issues.
• Ensure systems are properly integrated and aligned with business goals.
• Collaborate with business, support, and development teams to recommend enhancements.
• Provide technical leadership throughout project lifecycle planning and reviews.
• Maintain adherence to enterprise standards and guiding principles across the lifecycle.
• Monitor industry trends and advise on strategic technology direction.
• Provide feedback to enterprise technology owners and architects for future needs.

Skills

Java

Spring Boot

Apache Camel

React

CI/CD

Software engineering

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

10 years of equivalent work experience

Tools

AWS

Job description

Achieving our goals starts with supporting yours. Grow your career, access top-tier health and wellness benefits, build lasting connections with your team and our customers, and travel the world using our extensive route network.

Come join us to create what’s next. Let’s define tomorrow, together.

Description

United's Digital Technology team is comprised of many talented individuals all working together with cutting-edge technology to build the best airline in the history of aviation. Our team designs, develops and maintains massively scaling technology solutions brought to life with innovative architectures, data analytics, and digital solutions.

Job overview and responsibilities

The Principal Developer will have a technical focus on enabling the notification platform for customer travel. This role will lead efforts to design, develop, and maintain innovative solutions while collaborating with portfolio owners and service providers.

The Principal Developer plays a critical role in maintaining the strategic partnership between business needs and technology delivery. This individual will apply strong communication, analytical, and critical‑thinking skills to identify, communicate, and resolve issues, opportunities, and problems to maximize IT and business investments.

The Principal Developer has decision‑making authority, works independently with minimal supervision, and mentors and coaches others. This individual has extensive knowledge and experience across multiple technologies and business areas.

• Define and implement technical solutions for new systems or enhance existing systems using modern technologies.
• Define technical service‑level agreements (SLAs) and data‑sharing strategies with vendors.
• Lead the design, development, and planning of solutions and technology standards to solve complex business problems.
• Perform hands‑on development and support software systems by optimizing performance, resolving problems, and following up on issues and solutions.
• Ensure systems are properly integrated.
• Partner with business, support, and development teams to recommend system enhancements.
• Serve as a resource for technology and project development reviews and technical assessments.
• Ensure technical solutions meet customers' business goals.
• Provide consultation and technical leadership throughout project lifecycle planning.
• Ensure consistency and adherence to enterprise standards and guiding principles throughout the application lifecycle.
• Identify opportunities to leverage and influence existing infrastructure and application components.
• Monitor industry trends through benchmarking, professional associations, and other activities to advise others on strategic technology direction.
• Provide feedback to enterprise technology owners and architects regarding future solution needs.
• Apply the enterprise vision and strategy to project solutions while balancing tactical delivery needs.
• Partner with business and IT collaborators to define the domain architecture strategy.
• Demonstrate mastery of development domain areas, multiple technologies, and toolsets.
• Demonstrate mastery of software engineering.
• Maintain accountability for PCI and SOX environments and development.

Qualifications

What’s needed to succeed (Minimum Qualifications):

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, another related field, or 10 years of equivalent work experience.
• Minimum of 5+ years of experience in application design, development, and the software development lifecycle (SDLC), including experience with Java, Spring Boot, Apache Camel, and other open‑source technologies.
• Experience with React
• Minimum of 5 years of hands‑on experience with full‑stack Java development.
• Minimum of 3 years of hands‑on experience with foundational AWS services such as EC2, S3, RDS, API Gateway, VPC, CloudTrail, CloudFront, Lambda, EKS, and/or ECS.
• Experience building scalable, highly available, and resilient solutions.
• Experience with platform development and modernization of legacy services for cloud migration.
• Experience with relational databases such as MySQL and Oracle.
• Experience with non‑relational databases such as MongoDB and DynamoDB.
• Experience developing and supporting enterprise messaging technologies such as IBM MQ and Solace.
• Experience with monitoring and analytics tools such as CloudWatch, Dynatrace, Datadog, ELK Stack, and Google Analytics.
• Experience working with high‑performing teams in an Agile development environment where continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) are critical.
• Demonstrated knowledge of software engineering best practices, including version control, software packaging, and software release management.
• Must be initiative‑taking, possess effective verbal and written communication skills, and be able to work in a collaborative environment.
• Must be able to work a hybrid schedule (2-3 days per week in office)
• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer without sponsorship
• Successful completion of interview required to meet job qualification
• Reliable, punctual attendance is an essential function of the position

What will help you propel from the pack (Preferred Qualifications):

• Experience designing and developing messaging platform solutions.
• AWS experience.
• Experience with AI tools and agentic AI.

The base pay range for this role is $140,600.00 to $183,108.00.

The base salary range/hourly rate listed is dependent on job‑related, factors such as experience, education, and skills. This position is also eligible for bonus and/or long‑term incentive compensation awards.

You may be eligible for the following competitive benefits: medical, dental, vision, life, accident & disability, parental leave, employee assistance program, commuter, paid holidays, paid time off, 401(k) and flight privileges.

United Airlines is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We recruit, employ, train, compensate, and promote without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, veteran status, or any other protected category under applicable law. We provide reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. To request an accommodation, contact [e-mail]