Senior Technical Lead - Java / Distributed Systems

Randstad USA; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 76,000 - 83,000; Full time

Job summary

Randstad USA is seeking a hands-on Senior Technical Lead for Java and distributed systems to architect, design, and deliver core enterprise applications. You will drive reusable frameworks, event-driven pipelines, and cloud-native deployments on AWS with a focus on security, observability, and code quality.

This contract role emphasizes technical leadership, mentorship, and collaboration with Architects, Product Owners, and engineering teams to enforce modern distributed‑system patterns.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science/IT/Engineering or equivalent with 10+ years in software engineering.
• 5+ years building enterprise microservices with Java/Spring Boot.
• 3+ years hands-on Senior Technical Lead/Lead Engineer delivering while coding.
• Distributed Systems & Messaging: Kafka, event-driven design and fault-tolerant patterns.
• Database & Cloud: strong SQL/NoSQL tuning and AWS core services.

Responsibilities

• Lead hands-on development: design, implement, deploy resilient microservices using Java/Spring Boot.
• Build reusable frameworks: externalized rules engines and shared libraries to standardize delivery.
• Architect event and integration streams: Kafka producers/consumers and distributed pipelines.
• Data modeling and optimization: scalable relational/NoSQL structures and complex queries.
• Deploy cloud-native solutions: containerized apps in AWS with IaC and CI/CD pipelines.
• Ensure observability and security: tracing, metrics, logging, secrets management, OAuth2/JWT.
• Mentor engineers and govern coding practices with cross-team collaboration.

Skills

Java

Spring Boot

Kafka

AWS

Docker

Kubernetes

OpenShift

SQL

NoSQL

API Gateway

Distributed Systems

Cloud

OAuth2

S3

Lambda

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Kafka

AWS

Docker

Kubernetes

OpenShift

Datadog

Grafana

S3

EC2

SQS

API Gateway

Lambda

OAuth2

Job description

Randstad is seeking a hands‑on Senior Technical Lead - Java / Distributed Systems to drive the technical design, development, and delivery of core enterprise applications supporting large-scale workforce and operations modernization. In this role, you will go beyond routine API creation to architect and build reusable software frameworks, rules‑driven engines, event‑driven pipelines, and shared libraries that power business‑critical services across multiple applications. Operating as a coding leader rather than an administrative manager, you will partner closely with Architects, Product Owners, and engineering teams to evaluate technical trade‑offs, conduct code reviews, mentor engineers, and enforce modern distributed‑system patterns using Java, Spring Boot, Kafka, and AWS.

location: Washington, Washington, D.C.

job type: Contract

salary: $55 - 60 per hour

work hours: 9am to 5pm

education: Bachelors

Responsibilities

• Lead Hands-On Development: Drive the design, implementation, and deployment of resilient, high-throughput microservices and shared enterprise components using modern Java and Spring Boot.
• Build Reusable Frameworks: Design externalized, configuration-driven business rules engines, common SDKs, and shared libraries to standardize delivery and eliminate duplicate logic across teams.
• Architect Event & Integration Streams: Develop reliable Kafka producers, consumers, and distributed messaging pipelines implementing patterns such as retries, circuit breakers, and dead-letter queues.
• Data Modeling & Optimization: Design scalable relational and NoSQL data structures, author complex queries, and resolve database performance bottlenecks.
• Deploy Cloud‑Native Solutions: Build and maintain containerized applications within AWS (Lambda, S3, EC2, API Gateway, SQS/SNS) with Infrastructure as Code and DevSecOps‑driven CI/CD pipelines.
• Ensure Operational Observability & Security: Implement distributed tracing, metrics, centralized logging, secrets management, and robust API security standards (OAuth2, JWT).
• Technical Mentorship & Governance: Lead code reviews, troubleshoot complex cross‑environment defects, establish development best practices, and guide engineers through implementation trade‑offs.

Qualifications

• Education & Experience: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, IT, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience, paired with 10+ years of software engineering experience (including 8+ years of dedicated Java development).
• Framework Mastery: 5+ years building enterprise microservices and services with Java, Spring Boot, and the broader Spring ecosystem.
• Technical Leadership: 3+ years serving as a hands‑on Senior Technical Lead, Lead Engineer, or Principal Engineer leading delivery while remaining actively engaged in the codebase.
• Distributed Systems & Messaging: Proven expertise with Apache Kafka, event‑driven architecture, domain‑driven design, and fault‑tolerant integration patterns.
• Database & Cloud Skills: Strong relational/NoSQL database performance tuning, complex SQL authoring, and practical development experience with AWS core services.

Skills

• EC2
• S3
• SQS
• AWS
• Angular
• Kafka
• Apache Kafka
• API Gateway
• Reusable Frameworks
• Cloud‑Native Solutions
• Cloud
• CloudWatch
• code reviews
• containerized applications
• logging
• data structures
• database performance tuning
• database performance
• complex queries
• Database
• Datadog
• DevSecOps
• Distributed Systems
• Docker
• domain-driven
• distributed tracing
• enterprise integration
• event-driven architecture
• fault-tolerant
• frontend engineering
• Lambda
• observability tools
• Grafana
• Computer Science
• modern Java
• Java development
• Java
• secrets management
• Kubernetes
• microservices
• NoSQL
• OAuth2
• Red Hat OpenShift
• SQL
• software engineering
• API security
• Splunk
• Spring Boot
• web applications
• resilient
• troubleshoot
• business rules
• circuit breakers
• authoring
• Data Modeling
• Governance
• Technical Mentorship
• metrics
• Security
• Technical Leadership
• OpenTelemetry

Equal Opportunity Employer: Race, Color, Religion, Sex, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, National Origin, Age, Genetic Information, Disability, Protected Veteran Status, or any other legally protected group status.

At Randstad Digital, we welcome people of all abilities and want to ensure that our hiring and interview process meets the needs of all applicants. If you require a reasonable accommodation to make your application or interview experience a great one, please contact [e-mail].

Pay offered to a successful candidate will be based on several factors including the candidate's education, work experience, work location, specific job duties, certifications, etc. In addition, Randstad Digital offers a comprehensive benefits package, including: medical, prescription, dental, vision, AD&D, and life insurance offerings, short-term disability, and a 401K plan (all benefits are based on eligibility).

This posting is open for thirty (30) days.

Education & Experience: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, IT, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience, paired with 10+ years of software engineering experience (including 8+ years of dedicated Java development).Framework Mastery: 5+ years building enterprise microservices and services with Java, Spring Boot, and the broader Spring ecosystem.Technical Leadership: 3+ years serving as a hands‑on Senior Technical Lead, Lead Engineer, or Principal Engineer leading delivery while remaining actively engaged in the codebase.Distributed Systems & Messaging: Proven expertise with Apache Kafka, event-driven architecture, domain-driven design, and fault-tolerant integration patterns.Database & Cloud Skills: Strong relational/NoSQL database performance tuning, complex SQL authoring, and practical development experience with AWS core services.