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

CBRE; Richardson (TX); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; 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 is a senior individual-contributor role with technical leadership scope: you will own architecture decisions, drive engineering excellence, integrate AI capabilities into production systems, and mentor mid- and junior-level engineers.

The right candidate has deep hands‑on expertise across backend, frontend, cloud‑native microservices, and DevSecOps

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience with Java full-stack development in modern frameworks (Spring/Spring Boot, Hibernate).
• Proven track record building SPAs with React and Node.js; responsive UI/UX translation.
• Experience architecting microservices, event-driven systems, and RESTful APIs.
• Cloud-native deployment on AWS/Azure; security standards (OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, JWT).
• Proficient in CI/CD, testing, and engineering best practices; Jira/Azure DevOps.
• Experience with AI/ML integration, AI services, and data pipelines is a plus.

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 and production incidents.
• Coach engineers on tests and CI/CD practices; promote secure coding and code quality.
• Guide engineers into cloud, AI/ML, and DevOps to expand impact.
• Collaborate with data science and ML teams to operationalize models and deploy AI services.
• Translate business requirements into scalable technical solutions and explain trade‑offs to stakeholders.

Skills

Java full-stack

Spring/Spring Boot

React

Python

Microservices

AWS/Azure

SQL/NoSQL databases

RESTful APIs

CI/CD

Security (OAuth/OpenID/JWT)

Tools

Kafka

RabbitMQ

Jira

Azure DevOps

Docker/Kubernetes

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 React stack. This is a senior individual-contributor role with technical leadership scope: you will own architecture decisions, drive engineering excellence, integrate AI capabilities into production systems, and mentor mid- and junior-level engineers.

The right candidate has deep hands‑on expertise across backend, frontend, cloud‑native microservices, and DevSecOps practices — and the 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 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 executive stakeholders.

Required Skills

Technical

• 10+ years of hands‑on software development experience, with deep expertise in modern Java full‑stack development.
• 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.

AI & Generative AI

• Practical experience integrating Large Language Models into applications via APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Azure OpenAI, AWS Bedrock).
• Familiarity with prompt engineering, Retrieval‑Augmented Generation (RAG), embeddings, and vector databases.
• Understanding of responsible AI practices, including data privacy, 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 — articulates complex 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 drive alignment.
• Strategic thinker who balances short‑term delivery pressure with long‑term technical investment and debt management.
• Ownership mindset — accountable for outcomes, proactive in driving initiatives forward.
• Conflict‑resolution and negotiation skills to align diverse perspectives and drive consensus on technical direction.
• Adaptability and resilience in fast‑paced environments with shifting priorities.