Senior Java Backend Engineer - Modernize Legacy Apps

Cognizant

Minneapolis (MN)

Hybrid

USD 81,000 - 135,000

Full time

7 days ago

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Job summary

Cognizant in Minneapolis, MN, seeks a Senior Java Software Engineer to modernize legacy applications using Java and Spring Boot. You will join the application modernization team and collaborate with architects, product owners, analysts, QA engineers, and other squads to deliver secure, scalable solutions.

You will analyze legacy code, design and test new services, and productionize artifacts created with Claude Code and Claude Cowork.

Qualifications

8+ years of hands-on software engineering experience, with strong expertise in Java and Spring Boot application development.
Strong hands-on experience using Claude Code and Claude Cowork in real-world software engineering or application-modernization delivery.
Experience designing and integrating RESTful APIs and enterprise backend services using Java and Spring Boot.
Sound understanding of object-oriented design, clean-code principles, common design patterns, and modern application architecture.
Experience with relational databases and SQL; exposure to Oracle stored procedures and triggers is valuable.
Experience with automated testing, Git-based development, code reviews, Agile delivery, and CI/CD practices.
Ability to understand complex legacy applications, convert existing behavior into clear requirements, and implement modern technical solutions.
Demonstrated ability to create effective prompts and workflows in Claude Code and Claude Cowork and critically review generated output for functional correctness, security, performance, scalability, and maintainability.
Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, and teamwork skills.

Responsibilities

Analyze legacy source code, application behavior, data flows, and business rules across multiple technologies.
Use Claude Code and Claude Cowork as primary engineering tools to accelerate legacy-code analysis, reverse engineering, user-story creation, solution design, refactoring, code generation, testing, and technical documentation.
Design, develop, test, and maintain scalable applications, RESTful APIs, and enterprise backend services using Java and Spring Boot.
Translate legacy functionality into maintainable modern components while preserving business rules, functional accuracy, and customer experience.
Review, validate, secure, and productionize code and technical artifacts generated through Claude Code and Claude Cowork.
Write clean, testable code and create unit, integration, regression, and performance tests.
Participate in architecture discussions, code reviews, estimation, sprint ceremonies, deployments, and operational support.
Apply engineering standards for security, reliability, scalability, performance, observability, and maintainability.
Collaborate with architects, product owners, analysts, QA engineers, and other domain squads to manage dependencies and integrations.
Communicate technical risks, blockers, assumptions, and delivery progress.
Contribute reusable prompts, workflows, patterns, and practices that support a repeatable Claude Code and Claude Cowork-enabled software development lifecycle.
Take end-to-end ownership of software artifacts from analysis and design through deployment and support.