Senior Backend Engineer (Java/Spring)

AVG; New York (NY); On-site; USD 168,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Gen is seeking a Senior Backend Engineer (Java/Spring) for Engine by Gen in New York, NY. This role focuses on building robust backend services behind a financial products marketplace, leveraging AI-assisted development while maintaining strong API design and reliability.

You will own quality, architect scalable systems, and collaborate cross-functionally to deliver high-impact features in an onsite, multi-day-per-week cadence.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years shipping production software.
• Strong REST API design with versioning and backward compatibility.
• Experience designing and evolving distributed systems.
• Solid data modeling across SQL and NoSQL.
• Experience with event-driven architecture (Kafka, SQS).
• Observability: logging, metrics, tracing, debugging in prod.
• CI/CD, Docker, Kubernetes, AWS experience.
• Articulate complex technical tradeoffs to stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Own quality — design reviews, code review, test strategy, and production readiness.
• Architect for change — design backend systems that are small, composable, and resilient.
• Design clean contracts — REST APIs, events, and service boundaries for integrations.
• Strengthen the system — improve performance, reliability, and observability.
• Collaborate cross-functionally — work with product, data, and engineers.
• Lead AI-assisted development — use AI agents for prototyping, scaffolding, and refactoring, then harden with tests.
• Raise quality through testing — unit, integration, and end-to-end with fast CI feedback.

Skills

Java

Spring Boot

5+ years

REST API design

Distributed systems

Data modeling

Observability

CI/CD

AI-assisted development

Stakeholder communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

AWS

Kafka

PostgreSQL

DataDog

Cursor/Claude Code

Job description

Senior Backend Engineer (Java/Spring) — Engine by Gen

About Gen

Gen is a global company dedicated to powering Digital Freedom through its trusted consumer brands including Norton, Avast, LifeLock, MoneyLion, Engine and more. Our combined heritage is rooted in financial empowerment and cyber safety for the first digital generations, and today we deliver award-winning cybersecurity, online privacy, identity protection and financial wellness solutions to nearly 500 million users in more than 150 countries.

Together, we share a collective passion and vision to protect consumers and help them grow, manage and secure their digital and financial lives. We’re always looking for smart, fearless and high-impact talent who see AI as a teammate – leveraging it to move faster and deliver meaningful results.

When you’re part of Gen, you’ll have the flexibility, tools and support to do your best work and grow your career – from flexible working options and time off to competitive pay, benefits and well-being programs.

At Gen, we are scrappy and relentlessly customer driven. We create room for healthy debate, experimentation and continuous learning, and we seek out people with different experiences, identities and ideas to join our team. You’ll work with people who back each other, respect each other and understand that our differences are a competitive advantage.

If this sounds like you, we’d love you to be part of Gen.

About the Role

Engine by Gen partners with leading financial institutions to surface the richest, most comprehensive set of personalized financial product offers to consumers. We're looking for an experienced backend engineer with strong judgment and a thoughtful critical perspective to help build the services behind our financial products marketplace.

This role isn't about producing baseline code quickly, modern AI tools can do that. It's about collaboration, setting direction, making sound decisions, and driving technical quality. You'll use AI agents as force multipliers while holding a high bar for correctness, maintainability, testability, and operational excellence.

What You'll Do

• Own quality — design reviews, code review, test strategy, and production readiness.

• Architect for change — design and build backend systems that are intentionally small, composable, and resilient to evolving product requirements.

• Design clean contracts — dependable REST APIs, events, and service boundaries that support partner integrations and downstream systems.

• Strengthen the system — improve performance, reliability, and observability, and catch the subtle issues that are easy to miss in fast-moving, AI-assisted development.

• Collaborate cross-functionally — partner with product, data, and fellow engineers to shape solutions, clarify tradeoffs, and deliver reliably.

• Lead AI-assisted development — use AI agents for prototyping, scaffolding, and refactoring, then harden the result and validate it through tests, reasoning, and edge-case review.

• Raise quality through testing — unit, integration/contract, and end-to-end coverage with fast CI feedback loops.

What You'll Bring

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

• 5+ years building and shipping production software, with deep expertise in Java and Spring Boot.

• Strong REST API design skills — service contracts, versioning, and backward compatibility.

• Experience designing and evolving distributed systems, including service decomposition and inter-service communication.

• Solid data modeling and persistence across SQL and NoSQL, including indexing and query performance.

• Experience with event-driven architecture (Kafka, SQS, or similar), including event design and reliability considerations.

• Strong observability instincts — logging, metrics, tracing, and debugging production systems.

• Testing across unit, integration, and contract layers, plus CI/CD, Docker, Kubernetes, and AWS.

• Ability to articulate complex technical tradeoffs to stakeholders and translate product vision into high-fidelity technical direction.

• Hands-on experience with Cursor, Claude Code, or equivalent AI-augmented IDEs — with sound discernment about where AI is strong, where it falls short, and how to avoid shipping "AI-shaped" code.

Stack: Java, Spring Boot, Kafka, PostgreSQL, Kubernetes, AWS, DataDog

What's Next

• Recruiter Interview

• Take Home Assessment

• Technical Interview

• Hiring Manager Interview

• Culture Fit Interview

Location: New York, NY (Onsite 3 days per week)

The annual base salary for this position is expected to be between $168k - 190k. Base salary is one component of Gen's total compensation package, which includes 401(k) match, health insurance options, disability coverage, life insurance, and unlimited paid time off. Actual salaries will vary based on a candidate's qualifications, experience, skills, and competencies related to the role.

Gen is an equal opportunity employer, and we're committed to fair, inclusive practices at every stage of the candidate and employee journey. Employment decisions are based on merit, experience and business needs.