Sr. Staff Software Engineer

UKG; Lowell (MA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

UKG seeks an accomplished Senior Java engineer to design, develop, test, and maintain scalable web applications and platform services using Java, Spring Boot, React, and modern web technologies.

You will build robust RESTful APIs and microservices for enterprise SaaS, integrate AI features, review code, mentor teammates, and drive performance, security, and reliability across the stack in a hybrid work setting.

Qualifications

• BS/MS degree in Computer Science or related discipline.
• 10+ years hands-on experience developing enterprise Java-based web applications.
• Strong 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.
• Strong understanding of TDD, automated testing, CI/CD pipelines, and software quality best practices.
• Proven track record of delivering high-quality, scalable software solutions on time.
• Experience building and deploying AI Agents using modern frameworks such as LangGraph, OpenAI Agents SDK, CrewAI, AutoGen, or equivalent.
• 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, 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.
• 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, 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 infra 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.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, test, and maintain scalable Java‑based web applications and platform services.
• Build high‑quality, secure, scalable software following modern engineering principles and best practices.
• Demonstrate understanding of OO programming, design patterns, and distributed systems.
• Develop both front‑end and server‑side components using Java, Spring Boot, React, and related tech.
• Design and implement RESTful APIs and microservices for enterprise SaaS applications.
• Build, integrate, and maintain AI‑powered features and LLM integrations where appropriate.
• Leverage AI‑assisted tools to improve productivity while maintaining code quality and security.
• Evaluate new AI technologies and recommend practical adoption opportunities.
• Collaborate with Product, UX, QA, DevOps, Security, and cross‑functional teams.
• Mentor teammates and perform constructive code reviews.
• Write unit, integration, and API tests following TDD and CI practices.
• Troubleshoot production issues through root‑cause analysis across stack layers.
• Contribute to architecture, performance, observability, security, and automation improvements.
• Champion engineering excellence through clean code and secure coding standards.

Skills

Java

Spring Boot

React

JavaScript

REST APIs

Microservices

SQL

Algorithms & Design Patterns

AI integration

Distributed systems

Education

BS/MS in Computer Science or related

Tools

GitHub Actions

Jenkins

Docker

Kubernetes

Terraform

OpenAI API

LangGraph

CI/CD tooling

OpenShift

Job description

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 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.

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.
• Strong understanding of Test‑Driven Development (TDD), automated testing, CI/CD pipelines, and software quality best practices.
• Proven track record of delivering high‑quality, scalable software solutions on time.
• Experience building and deploying AI Agents using modern frameworks such as LangGraph, OpenAI Agents SDK, CrewAI, AutoGen, or equivalent.
• 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.
• 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.

Work Environment

We work in a hybrid model. Three days per week in the office is a requirement.