Senior Backend Engineer: Java, Kafka & AWS (Hybrid Pasadena)

Motion Recruitment; Pasadena (CA); Hybrid; USD 96,000 - 152,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental & Orthodontia

Vision Benefits

Health Savings Account

401(k) with match

Paid Sick Time

Pre-tax Commuter Benefit

Job summary

Motion Recruitment is seeking a Senior Backend Engineer to join a hybrid team in Pasadena, CA. The role emphasizes building scalable Java/Spring Boot backends, Kafka data pipelines, and AWS cloud integrations for enterprise-scale applications.

The ideal candidate has 10+ years in backend engineering, strong leadership, and hands-on experience with cloud services and AI-enabled workflows. Onsite presence in Pasadena is required three days per week, with a contract duration of 9+ months.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of professional software development experience with a strong focus on backend engineering.
• Extensive experience designing and building scalable backend applications and distributed systems.
• Strong hands-on development experience with Java 17/21.
• Experience developing RESTful backend services using Spring Boot.
• Strong experience with Apache Kafka and high-throughput, low-latency data pipelines.
• Experience developing cloud-based applications using AWS.
• Experience with AWS services such as Lambda, ECS/Fargate, API Gateway, CloudWatch, Secrets Manager, and IAM.
• Professional development experience with Python.
• Experience working with both SQL and NoSQL databases.
• Experience providing technical leadership and helping engineering teams solve complex development challenges.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop scalable backend applications and services.
• Build RESTful services using Java and Spring Boot.
• Develop and maintain high-volume, low-latency data pipelines using Apache Kafka.
• Design cloud-based solutions leveraging AWS infrastructure and services.
• Work with SQL and NoSQL data stores supporting enterprise applications.
• Collaborate with engineers on backend architecture and distributed system design.
• Provide technical guidance and leadership when solving complex engineering problems.
• Develop unit and integration tests to improve application quality and reliability.
• Participate throughout the software development lifecycle, including design, development, testing, deployment, and ongoing enhancement.
• Apply AI-assisted development tools to improve engineering productivity and software delivery.
• Work with the team onsite in Pasadena three days per week.

Skills

Java 17/21

Spring Boot

Apache Kafka

AWS

Python

RESTful APIs

SQL & NoSQL

Distributed systems

Unit & integration tests

Technical leadership

Tools

Databricks

Job description

Motion Recruitment is seeking a Senior Backend Engineer to join a hybrid team in Pasadena, CA. The role emphasizes building scalable Java/Spring Boot backends, Kafka data pipelines, and AWS cloud integrations for enterprise-scale applications.

The ideal candidate has 10+ years in backend engineering, strong leadership, and hands-on experience with cloud services and AI-enabled workflows. Onsite presence in Pasadena is required three days per week, with a contract duration of 9+ months.