Principal Software Engineer - Java/Spring Boot/React (In Office)

CBRE; Richardson (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

CBRE is seeking a Principal Full-Stack Engineer to design, build, and operate scalable enterprise applications on a modern Java and React stack. This senior individual-contributor role owns architecture decisions, drives engineering excellence, and mentors engineers across teams.

The candidate will integrate AI capabilities, lead end-to-end delivery, and collaborate with data science to productionize models while maintaining secure, scalable systems.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of hands-on software development with modern Java full-stack.
• Strong command of Java frameworks and libraries, including Spring, Spring Boot, and Hibernate.
• Proven experience building single-page web applications using React, Bootstrap, and Node.js.
• Proven ability to build responsive, intuitive user interfaces and translate UI/UX mockups into production-ready experiences.
• Strong hands-on proficiency with Python for scripting, automation, data processing, and backend services.
• Demonstrated experience architecting and implementing microservices and event-driven systems using messaging platforms such as Kafka or RabbitMQ.
• Expertise developing and maintaining RESTful APIs, backend services, and database schemas across relational (SQL Server, PostgreSQL) and NoSQL (MongoDB, Elasticsearch) platforms.
• Strong SQL development skills, including query optimization and performance tuning.
• Hands-on experience deploying and operating containerized microservices on AWS and/or Azure, applying cloud-native patterns and infrastructure-as-code.
• Working knowledge of modern security frameworks and standards such as OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, and JWT.
• Proven ability to proactively detect and remediate security vulnerabilities across application code and infrastructure within established SLAs.
• Experience with modern testing frameworks (Jest, Mocha, Chai) and a commitment to test-driven development, including unit and integration testing.
• Ability to enforce engineering best practices through peer code reviews, architectural standards, and raising the bar on code quality.
• Proven ability to troubleshoot complex, cross-stack production issues and drive root-cause analysis to resolution.
• Hands-on experience with Agile methodologies and DevOps culture across the software delivery lifecycle, including managing work and releases through Jira and Azure DevOps.

Responsibilities

• Own architecture decisions and drive engineering excellence on a modern Java, Python, and React stack.
• Integrate AI capabilities into production systems, including LLMs, embeddings, RAG pipelines, and agentic workflows.
• Drive architectural decisions and set technical direction across cross-functional teams.
• Lead end-to-end delivery of complex projects, from design through deployment.
• Mentor mid- and junior-level engineers through complex tickets, debugging, root-cause analysis, and production incident response.
• Coach engineers on writing effective unit and integration tests and navigating CI/CD pipelines with confidence.
• Guide engineers into adjacent areas such as cloud computing, AI/ML, and DevOps to expand their scope and impact.
• Collaborate with data science and ML teams to operationalize models, build evaluation pipelines, and deploy production-ready AI services.
• Translate business requirements into scalable technical solutions and explain trade-offs to product, design, and executives.

Skills

Java full-stack

Spring Framework

React

Python

Microservices

AWS/Azure

SQL/NoSQL

Tools

Spring Boot

Hibernate

React

Kafka

RabbitMQ

Docker

Kubernetes

Azure

AWS

SQL Server

PostgreSQL

Elasticsearch

Job description

About The Role

We are hiring a Principal Full-Stack Engineer to design,build, and operate scalable enterprise applications on a modern Java and Reactstack. This is a senior individual-contributor role with technical leadershipscope: you will own architecture decisions, drive engineering excellence,integrate AI capabilities into production systems, and mentor mid- andjunior-level engineers.

About The Role

We are hiring a Principal Full-Stack Engineer to design,build, and operate scalable enterprise applications on a modern Java and Reactstack. This is a senior individual-contributor role with technical leadershipscope: you will own architecture decisions, drive engineering excellence,integrate AI capabilities into production systems, and mentor mid- andjunior-level engineers.

The right candidate has deep hands-on expertise acrossbackend, frontend, cloud-native microservices, and DevSecOps practices — andthe judgment to make trade-offs in ambiguity without waiting for direction.

Must-Have Technologies:

React, Java 17+, Python, Microservices, AWS/Azure, RDBMS, NoSQL

Responsibilities

Own architecture decisions and drive engineering excellenceon a modern Java, Python, and React stack.

Integrate AI capabilities into production systems, includingLLMs, embeddings, RAG pipelines, and agentic workflows.

Drive architectural decisions and set technical directionacross cross-functional teams.

Lead end-to-end delivery of complex projects, from designthrough deployment.

Mentor mid- and junior-level engineers through complextickets, debugging, root-cause analysis, and production incident response.

Coach engineers on writing effective unit and integrationtests and navigating CI/CD pipelines with confidence.

Guide engineers into adjacent areas such as cloud computing,AI/ML, and DevOps to expand their scope and impact.

Collaborate with data science and ML teams to operationalizemodels, build evaluation pipelines, and deploy production-ready AI services.

Translate business requirements into scalable technicalsolutions and explain trade-offs to product, design, and executivestakeholders.

Required Skills

Technical

10+ years of hands-on software development experience, withdeep expertise in modern Java full-stack development.

Strong command of Java frameworks and libraries, includingSpring, Spring Boot, and Hibernate.

Proven experience building single-page web applicationsusing React, Bootstrap, and Node.js.

Proven ability to build responsive, intuitive userinterfaces and translate UI/UX mockups into production-ready experiences.

Strong hands-on proficiency with Python for scripting,automation, data processing, and backend services.

Demonstrated experience architecting and implementingmicroservices and event-driven systems using messaging platforms such as Kafkaor RabbitMQ.

Expertise developing and maintaining RESTful APIs, backendservices, and database schemas across relational (SQL Server, PostgreSQL) andNoSQL (MongoDB, Elasticsearch) platforms.

Strong SQL development skills, including query optimizationand performance tuning.

Hands-on experience deploying and operating containerizedmicroservices on AWS and/or Azure, applying cloud-native patterns andinfrastructure-as-code.

Working knowledge of modern security frameworks andstandards such as OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, and JWT.

Proven ability to proactively detect and remediate securityvulnerabilities across application code and infrastructure within establishedSLAs.

Experience with modern testing frameworks (Jest, Mocha,Chai) and a commitment to test-driven development, including unit andintegration testing.

Ability to enforce engineering best practices through peercode reviews, architectural standards, and raising the bar on code quality.

Proven ability to troubleshoot complex, cross-stackproduction issues and drive root-cause analysis to resolution.

Hands-on experience with Agile methodologies and DevOpsculture across the software delivery lifecycle, including managing work andreleases through Jira and Azure DevOps.

AI & Generative AI

Practical experience integrating Large Language Models intoapplications via APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Azure OpenAI, AWS Bedrock).

Familiarity with prompt engineering, Retrieval-AugmentedGeneration (RAG), embeddings, and vector databases.

Understanding of responsible AI practices, including dataprivacy, hallucination mitigation, evaluation, and guardrails.

Leadership & Soft Skills

Proven ability to lead, mentor, and grow engineering teams,fostering technical excellence and continuous learning.

Excellent written and verbal communication — articulatescomplex technical concepts clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.

Active listener who engages effectively with designers,architects, product managers, and end users to understand needs and drivealignment.

Strategic thinker who balances short-term delivery pressurewith long-term technical investment and debt management.

Ownership mindset — accountable for outcomes, proactive indriving initiatives forward.

Conflict-resolution and negotiation skills to align diverseperspectives and drive consensus on technical direction.

Adaptability and resilience in fast-paced environments withshifting priorities.

Equal Employment Opportunity: CBRE is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity. We have a long-standing commitment to providing equal employment opportunity to all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, veteran status, political belief, or any other basis protected by applicable law.

Candidate Accommodations: CBRE values the differences of all current and prospective employees and recognizes how every employee contributes to our company’s success. CBRE provides reasonable accommodations in job application procedures for individuals with disabilities. If you require assistance due to a disability in the application or recruitment process, please submit a request via email at [e-mail] or via telephone at [phone] (U.S.) and [phone] (Canada).