Senior Staff Software Engineer- UKG Ready Payroll

UKG; Lowell (MA); Hybrid; USD 151,000 - 215,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Performance bonus

Stock options

Job summary

UKG is seeking a Sr Staff Software Engineer with deep Java, Spring, and React experience to design, build, and optimize scalable enterprise applications and platform services.

You will lead AI-powered capabilities, integrate LLMs, and advance CI/CD practices while collaborating across product, UX, QA, DevOps, and security teams. The role requires hybrid work with a Lowell in-office presence and a strong focus on engineering excellence.

Qualifications

• BS/MS degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• 10+ years of hands-on experience developing enterprise Java-based web applications.
• Strong experience with Java, J2EE, Spring Boot, Spring Framework, Hibernate/JPA, React, JavaScript, HTML5, CSS3, REST APIs, Microservices, SQL, and MVC architecture.
• Strong SQL experience, including Stored Procedures, Functions, Triggers, Views, and query optimization.
• Experience working in Agile software development environments.
• Strong understanding of Test-Driven Development (TDD), automated testing, CI/CD pipelines, and software quality best practices.
• Excellent analytical, debugging, troubleshooting, and communication skills.
• Proven track record of delivering high-quality, scalable software solutions on time.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, test, and maintain scalable Java-based web applications and platform services.
• Build high-quality, secure, scalable, and maintainable software following modern software engineering principles and best practices.
• Demonstrate an excellent understanding of object-oriented programming, design patterns, algorithms, distributed systems, and software architecture.
• Develop both front-end and server-side components using Java, Spring Boot, React, JavaScript, HTML5, CSS3, SQL, Hibernate/JPA, and related technologies.
• Design and implement RESTful APIs and microservices supporting enterprise SaaS applications.
• Build, integrate, and maintain AI-powered features, including LLM integrations, RAG, semantic search, prompt orchestration, and intelligent workflow automation.
• Design, develop, and optimize AI Agents to automate engineering and business workflows with modern agent frameworks and security best practices.
• Leverage AI-assisted development tools to improve productivity while maintaining code quality, security, testing, and maintainability.

Skills

Java

Spring Boot

React

REST APIs

Distributed systems

OO design

AI integration

Education

BS/MS in Computer Science or related field

Tools

GitHub Copilot

OpenAI / LLMs

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

Why UKG:

At UKG, the work you do matters. The code you ship, the decisions you make, and the care you show a customer all add up to real impact. Today, tens of millions of workers start and end their days with our workforce operating platform. Helping people get paid, grow in their careers, and shape the future of their industries. That’s what we do.

We never stop learning. We never stop challenging the norm. We push for better, and we celebrate the wins along the way. Here, you’ll get flexibility that’s real, benefits you can count on, and a team that succeeds together. Because at UKG, your work matters—and so do you.

About the Role:

UKG is looking for a passionate Sr Staff Software Engineer with web application and platform services experience to join our engineering team.

The ideal candidate is an experienced full-stack engineer who excels at designing scalable enterprise applications, building platform services, and leveraging modern AI technologies to improve software development and customer solutions.

This role requires strong Java expertise, experience with cloud-native architectures, and the ability to build and integrate AI-powered capabilities while following software engineering best practices.

Responsibilities Include:

• Design, develop, test, and maintain scalable Java-based web applications and platform services.
• Build high-quality, secure, scalable, and maintainable software following modern software engineering principles and best practices.
• Demonstrate an excellent understanding of object-oriented programming, design patterns, algorithms, distributed systems, and software architecture.
• Develop both front-end and server-side components using Java, Spring Boot, React, JavaScript, HTML5, CSS3, SQL, Hibernate/JPA, and related technologies.
• Design and implement RESTful APIs and microservices supporting enterprise SaaS applications.
• Build, integrate, and maintain AI-powered features, including Large Language Model (LLM) integrations, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), semantic search, prompt orchestration, and intelligent workflow automation where appropriate.
• Design, develop, and optimize AI Agents to automate engineering and business workflows using modern agent frameworks, tool integrations, and enterprise security best practices.
• Leverage AI-assisted software development tools (such as GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, Cursor, Claude, or equivalent) to improve engineering productivity while maintaining high standards for code quality, security, testing, and maintainability.
• Evaluate emerging AI technologies and recommend practical adoption opportunities that improve developer productivity, platform capabilities, and customer experience.
• Work autonomously on complex technical issues requiring analysis across the application stack, including browser, APIs, application services, databases, cloud infrastructure, and third-party libraries.
• Contribute to the design, implementation, and maintenance of core platform infrastructure services supporting highly available SaaS applications.
• Apply software design patterns and common algorithms to build robust, scalable, and efficient solutions.
• Perform insightful and constructive code reviews to maintain engineering excellence, mentor team members, and minimize regression defects and technical debt.
• Write comprehensive Unit Tests, Integration Tests, and API Automation Tests for new features following Test-Driven Development (TDD) and Continuous Integration (CI) best practices.
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex production issues through root cause analysis across applications, infrastructure, cloud services, and third-party integrations.
• Collaborate effectively with Product Management, UX, QA, DevOps, Security, and cross-functional engineering teams.
• Continuously improve application architecture, performance, scalability, observability, security, and development processes.
• Champion engineering excellence through clean code, secure coding standards, automation, performance optimization, AI-assisted development, and continuous improvement.

We work in a hybrid model. 3 days per week in the Lowell office is a requirement. Local candidates highly preferred.

UKG is unable to offer sponsorship for this position.

Basic Qualifications

• BS/MS degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• 10+ years of hands-on experience developing enterprise Java-based web applications.
• Strong experience with Java, J2EE, Spring Boot, Spring Framework, Hibernate/JPA, React, JavaScript, HTML5, CSS3, REST APIs, Microservices, SQL, and MVC architecture.
• Strong SQL experience, including Stored Procedures, Functions, Triggers, Views, and query optimization.
• Experience working in Agile software development environments.
• Strong understanding of Test-Driven Development (TDD), automated testing, CI/CD pipelines, and software quality best practices.
• Excellent analytical, debugging, troubleshooting, and communication skills.
• Proven track record of delivering high-quality, scalable software solutions on time.

AI & Modern Engineering Experience

• Experience integrating Large Language Models (LLMs) into enterprise applications using OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, or similar platforms.
• Experience implementing Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), vector databases, embeddings, prompt engineering, Model Context Protocol (MCP), tool calling, and AI orchestration frameworks.
• Demonstrated ability to leverage AI-assisted development tools to improve software quality, engineering productivity, testing, documentation, and code optimization while adhering to engineering best practices.
• Understanding of responsible AI practices, prompt security, data privacy, AI governance, and AI evaluation methodologies.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience implementing, managing, and improving deployments across private and public cloud platforms supporting enterprise SaaS applications.
• Experience developing infrastructure automation and platform tooling to improve scalability, reliability, deployment speed, and operational efficiency.
• Experience with AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform.
• Experience with Kubernetes, Docker, OpenShift, or other container orchestration technologies.
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, CloudFormation, ARM Templates, or equivalent).
• Experience building and maintaining CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Azure DevOps, GitLab CI, or similar tools.
• Experience implementing monitoring and observability solutions using Datadog, Grafana, Prometheus, Splunk, OpenTelemetry, or equivalent platforms.
• Experience automating operational processes using Bash, Python, PowerShell, APIs, and infrastructure automation tools.
• Experience troubleshooting distributed systems across application, infrastructure, networking, and cloud environments.
• Strong focus on application performance optimization, scalability, reliability, security, and operational excellence.

Company Overview:

UKG is the Workforce Operating Platform with unified HR, payroll, and workforce management, built to solve the unique challenges of frontline work. Powered by people-first AI and decades of labor data, UKG turns workforce intelligence into real-time decisions around staffing, pay, compliance, and productivity, enabling every worker to confidently take action as work happens. That’s why more than 80,000 organizations worldwide trust UKG to run their workforce — not just manage it. Learn more at ukg.com.

Equal Opportunity Employer

UKG is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, disability, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, and other legally protected categories.

View The EEO Know Your Rights poster (https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2022-10/EEOC_KnowYourRights_screen_reader_10_20.pdf)

UKG participates in E-Verify. View the E-Verify posters here (https://www.e-verify.gov/sites/default/files/everify/posters/EVerifyParticipationPoster.pdf)

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Disability Accommodation in the Application and Interview Process

For individuals with disabilities that need additional assistance at any point in the application and interview process, please email [e-mail].

The pay range for this position is $150,500 to $214,500. The actual base pay offered may vary depending on skills, experience, job-related knowledge and work location. In addition to base pay, employees may be eligible to participate in a performance-based bonus plan and to receive restricted stock unit awards as part of total compensation. Learn more about UKG’s benefits and rewards at https://www.ukg.com/about-us/careers/benefits

It is the policy of Ultimate Software to promote and assure equal employment opportunity for all current and prospective Peeps without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, marital status, familial status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, genetic information, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, veteran status, and any other legally protected status entitled to protection under federal, state, or local anti-discrimination laws. This policy governs all matters related to recruitment, advertising, and initial selection of employment. It shall also apply to all other aspects of employment, including, but not limited to, compensation, promotion, demotion, transfer, lay-offs, terminations, leave of absence, and training opportunities.