Senior Scala / Akka Software Engineer

Cullerton Group; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 118,000 - 168,000; Full time

Job summary

Cullerton Group is seeking a highly experienced Senior Software Engineer to design, develop, and maintain scalable platform notification services that alert customers to critical events affecting industrial engines and machinery. The role focuses on backend development using Scala, Akka, and Java, building reliable, high-availability services.

Hybrid work in Chicago (Mon and Wed onsite preferred) with 100% remote candidates considered; 12-month contract with potential for permanent employment;

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's in a related field with extensive industry experience.
• 5+ years of software development experience using Java 8+.
• 3+ years hands-on Scala programming experience.
• 2+ years with Akka technologies (Akka Streams/Actors/HTTP/Persistence).
• Strong CS fundamentals and experience with distributed systems and backend services.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain scalable backend services using Scala, Akka, and Java 8+.
• Build reliable, high-availability applications and distributed systems for real-time notifications.
• Troubleshoot complex issues and independently deliver technical solutions.
• Develop clean code, documentation, and operational guides.
• Mentor engineers and collaborate with cross-functional teams on development, testing, and deployment.

Education

Bachelor's degree + 10+ years experience OR Master's + 8+ years experience

Tools

Scala

Java 8+

Akka

AWS

CI/CD

Spring Boot

PostgreSQL

DynamoDB

Kubernetes

Job description

Cullerton Group has a new opportunity for an IT Software Engineer 5 (Senior Scala / Akka Software Engineer) in Chicago, IL. The work will be done hybrid (Monday and Wednesday onsite preferred), with 100% remote candidates also considered. This is a 12-month position that can lead to permanent employment with our client. Compensation is 104/hr + full benefits (vision, dental, health insurance, 401k, and holiday pay).

Job Summary

We are seeking a highly experienced Senior Software Engineer to design, develop, and maintain scalable platform notification services that alert customers to critical events affecting industrial engines and machinery. This role focuses on backend software development using Scala, Akka, and Java, building reliable, high-availability services that support complex enterprise applications. The engineer will independently solve challenging technical problems, contribute to software architecture, and mentor other developers while maintaining high standards of software quality. The ideal candidate has extensive experience developing distributed systems, cloud-based applications, and event-driven architectures.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain scalable backend services using Scala, Akka, and Java 8+.
• Build reliable, high-availability applications and distributed systems supporting real-time notification services.
• Troubleshoot complex application and infrastructure issues while independently delivering technical solutions.
• Develop structured application code, technical documentation, and operational guides while maintaining software quality standards.
• Mentor software engineers, provide technical guidance, and collaborate with cross-functional teams on software development, debugging, integration testing, and deployment.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 10+ years of experience OR Master's degree with 8+ years of experience in software engineering or a related technical discipline.
• 5+ years of software development experience using Java 8+.
• 3+ years of hands‑on Scala programming experience.
• 2+ years of experience with Akka technologies, such as Akka Streams, Actors, HTTP, or Persistence.
• Strong understanding of computer science fundamentals, including data structures and algorithms.
• Experience developing and maintaining complex software applications and backend services.
• Ability to independently resolve complex technical issues and contribute to software architecture and development.
• Strong communication, problem‑solving, and collaboration skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience designing and implementing highly available, reliable, and scalable distributed systems.
• Knowledge of architectural patterns including Microservices, MVC, and Event‑Driven Architecture.
• Experience with AWS cloud services, including API Gateway, ALB, NLB, Fargate, Lambda, S3, CloudWatch, IAM, and CloudFormation.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins, Azure DevOps, or similar tools.
• Experience working with relational and NoSQL databases, including PostgreSQL and AWS DynamoDB.
• Experience working within Agile/Scrum development environments.
• Experience designing and developing Spring Boot RESTful APIs.
• Knowledge of functional programming concepts and reactive streaming.
• Exposure to Typelevel libraries and ZIO framework.
• Demonstrated technical leadership and mentoring experience on small to medium‑scale software projects.

Why This Role?

This position offers an opportunity to work on advanced software platforms that support critical industrial operations and connected machinery. You will contribute to high‑impact backend engineering projects, build scalable cloud‑based services, and collaborate with experienced engineers on modern distributed systems. Cullerton Group provides a professional environment with growth potential, competitive benefits, and opportunities for long‑term career development.