Senior Java Backend Lead — Hybrid Pasadena | AWS, Kafka, AI

Kelly Services; Pasadena (CA); Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Health Savings Account (HSA)

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)

Life Insurance

Disability Insurance

Hospital Indemnity Insurance

401(k) match

Paid sick time

Job summary

Motion Recruitment Partners in Pasadena, CA seeks a Senior Backend Engineer to design and lead scalable backend systems using Java, Kafka, and AWS. The role involves hands-on development, architecture collaboration, and AI-assisted tooling within a hybrid onsite schedule.

The ideal candidate has 10+ years of backend experience, strong Spring Boot and Kafka skills, and proven leadership in distributed systems for enterprise data platforms.

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.
• 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 with SQL and NoSQL databases.
• Experience providing technical leadership and helping engineering teams solve complex development challenges.
• Strong understanding of software engineering development lifecycles.
• Experience developing meaningful unit and integration tests.
• Experience incorporating AI tools into day-to-day software engineering workflows.
• Ability to work onsite in Pasadena three days per week.

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.

Job description

Motion Recruitment Partners in Pasadena, CA seeks a Senior Backend Engineer to design and lead scalable backend systems using Java, Kafka, and AWS. The role involves hands-on development, architecture collaboration, and AI-assisted tooling within a hybrid onsite schedule.

The ideal candidate has 10+ years of backend experience, strong Spring Boot and Kafka skills, and proven leadership in distributed systems for enterprise data platforms.