Sr Backend Java developer #100293

Swoon; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 191,486,000 - 195,619,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

401k

Job summary

Swoon is seeking backend Java developers for a local Chicago contract. The role focuses on backend development (not full-stack) with Java 17+ and Spring Boot, in an onsite/hybrid setup requiring 2 days in the office weekly.

AWS experience and API gateway work are essential as the project spans enterprise APIs and cloud services. Ideal candidates have 10+ years of related experience, strong leadership, and a track record in delivering secure, scalable REST APIs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science or electrical engineering or related field is required
• Minimum 2-3 years of leadership experience
• Good tenure in last two roles (1.5-2 years)
• Majority back-end development experience (75-80% backend)
• Agile framework experience ideally
• Hands-on AWS experience with services like Kinesis, S3, DynamoDB
• Java development with version 17+
• Hands-on database experience
• Enterprise level environment
• AI experience is a plus

Responsibilities

• Lead design and development of REST APIs and microservices using Java and Spring Boot
• Architect API-first solutions and OpenAPI specifications
• Drive end-to-end software lifecycle and CI/CD pipelines
• Guide engineers in secure service-to-service integrations
• Own complex initiatives and perform code reviews and architecture decisions
• Collaborate with product, UI, architects, and partner teams
• Provide engineering best practices for reliability, scalability, and security
• Lead troubleshooting and production issue resolution
• Create technical documentation and runbooks

Skills

Leadership experience

Back-end development

Agile methodologies

AWS experience

Java development

Data base experience

AI experience

Education

Bachelor’s degree in computer science or electrical engineering

Tools

AWS

Apigee API Gateway

Spring Boot

Java 21+

Azure DevOps

Jenkins

GoCD

Job description

Looking for Backend Java developers local to Chicago, IL for one of our top engineer clients!

Looking exclusively for back end developer’s NOT full stack. If the resume reads 50/50 or below 70% back end, we will not be able to move forward with the application. AWS and LEAD experience is also a must!

Location: Downtown Chicago, IL (near west loop)- local candidates ONLY

Workplace type: Onsite/hybrid (Hybrid; will need to go into office 2x a week; but MUST be open to the potential of being 100% onsite at some point during the contract, could be after first month)

Type: Contract

Pay: $67-68.77/hour on w2

IV type: ONSITE+ 1 tech screen prior to submission-2 rounds- ( 1 hour each typically); coding exercises, theoretical questions to answer, etc. (Might be able to combine rounds dependent time)

Length: 12 months- possibility to extend+optional benefits and 401k

Must haves

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science or electrical engineering or related field is required w/ 10+ years’ experience needed- cannot be 9 years and 10 months
• min 2-3 years of Leadership experience (team lead, e
• Good tenure- last two roles must be at least 1.5-2 years minimum tenure to be considered
• Majority back-end development experience (overall 75-80% + back end versus front end) and back-end developer job titles- will not consider anyone with recent roles as "fullstack" or "front end"
• Agile framework experience/scrum environment ideally
• Hands on AWS experience (kinesis, SNS, SQL, S3, DynamDB, RDS)- Deploying and maintaining software using public AWS clo
• Java development- with versions 17 or higher
• Hands on data base experience
• Enterprise level work environment
• solid tenure- last 3 roles 1.5 years+ MINUUM
• Any AI experience is HUGE plus

Required Technical Ski

• (Required)Software Development: Knowledge of software development tools and activities; ability to produce software products or systems in line with product requirements
• Software Product Design/Architecture: Knowledge of software product design; ability to convert market requirements into the software product design
• .Decision Making and Critical Thinking: Knowledge of the decision-making process and associated tools and techniques; ability to accurately analyze situations and reach productive decisions based on informed judgment

Top candidates will also have

• Extensive software development experience using Java 17+ and SpringBoot RESTful API development, including experience with API management and gateway platforms like Apigee
• Proficiency in deploying and maintaining software within public cloud environments, such as AWS, Azure, or Gcp
• Proven ability to own the end-to-end software lifecycle, including writing comprehensive automated tests (unit, integration, and end-to-end) using frameworks like JUnit and Mocki
• Experience designing and implementing Event-Driven Architectures using message streaming solutions (eg: AWS Kinesis, AWS SQS, AWS SNS, Apache Kafka, RabbitMQ, Apache ActiveMQ, Azure Event Hub)
• Deep understanding of datastores, including relational (PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, AWS RDS/Aurora), NoSQL (MongoDB, Cassandra, AWS DynamoDB), search engines (Elasticsearch), caching (Redis), and vector databases.
• Hands-on experience configuring and deploying software via CI/CD pipelines using tools such as Azure DevOps, Jenkins, or GoCD.
• Familiarity with leveraging AI-assisted coding companions, such as GitHub Copilot or Cursor, to accelerate the software development lifecycle.
• Demonstrated success working within an Agile development framework, ideally Scrum
• Typical task breakdown:Lead the design and development of enterprise-scale REST APIs and microservices using Java 21+, Spring Boot, Apigee API Gateway, and AWS cloud services.
• Architect API-first solutions, define service contracts, payload schemas, and OpenAPI/Swagger specifications.
• Lead solution decomposition by breaking business requirements into technical designs, user stories, and implementation tasks.
• Guide engineers in developing secure service-to-service integrations using OAuth 2.0, JWT, and enterprise entitlement-based authorization models.
• Serve as the technical lead for complex initiatives, driving architecture decisions, design reviews, and code reviews.
• Collaborate with product owners, UI development teams, architects, and partner teams to ensure successful delivery of customer-focused solutions.
• Establish engineering best practices for reliability, scalability, observability, security, and maintainability.
• Drive quality engineering practices including automated testing, performance testing, load testing, and production readiness reviews.
• Lead troubleshooting and resolution of complex production issues.
• Create and maintain technical documentation, operational runbooks, and engineering standards.
• Drive end-to-end software ownership from design through deployment, monitoring, support, and continuous improvement.
• Interaction with team:New team: 12-13 folks ( lead engineers, Sr software engineers, etc)