Senior Backend Engineer: Java, Kafka & Elasticsearch on Cloud

Jobtailor; Illinois; On-site; USD 130,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor seeks an experienced software engineer to design, develop, and deliver scalable backend services and RESTful APIs using Java, Kafka, and Elasticsearch on cloud-native platforms. You will contribute to architectural decisions, write clean, tested code, and collaborate across teams to ensure operational excellence and excellent customer experiences.

The role emphasizes problem-solving, adapting to new tools, and staying current with industry practices while supporting enterprise-scale

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 7+ years of software engineering experience designing, developing, and supporting enterprise-scale applications.
• Strong experience building cloud-based applications and infrastructure using infrastructure-as-code practices.
• Proficiency with event streaming platforms such as Kafka.
• Experience with Elasticsearch, including indexing strategies, query optimization, and data analysis.
• Experience working with cloud platforms such as AWS.
• Strong understanding of software engineering principles, including data structures, algorithms, object-oriented design, scalability, availability, and reliability.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with a collaborative mindset.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and deliver delightful product experiences that are powered by Agentic capabilities, scalable, reliable software solutions using modern technologies such as Java, Kafka, Elasticsearch, and cloud-native platforms
• Contribute to architecture and design decisions that support highly available, secure, and scalable systems
• Build and maintain clean, efficient, well-tested, and maintainable code
• Develop and optimize RESTful APIs and backend services
• Participate in code reviews, technical discussions, and collaborative problem-solving sessions
• Troubleshoot, debug, and resolve complex technical challenges
• Work across technology stacks and quickly adapt to new tools and frameworks
• Stay current with emerging technologies and industry best practices to continuously improve engineering practices
• Ensure operational excellence and best customer experience for all the products and systems owned by the team.

Skills

Java Development

Kafka Proficiency

Elasticsearch Experience

RESTful API Development

Infrastructure-as-Code

Data Structures

Algorithms

Object-Oriented Design

Cloud-Based Application Development

Problem-Solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field

Tools

AWS

Terraform

Docker

Job description

Jobtailor seeks an experienced software engineer to design, develop, and deliver scalable backend services and RESTful APIs using Java, Kafka, and Elasticsearch on cloud-native platforms. You will contribute to architectural decisions, write clean, tested code, and collaborate across teams to ensure operational excellence and excellent customer experiences.

The role emphasizes problem-solving, adapting to new tools, and staying current with industry practices while supporting enterprise-scale