Senior Java EE Developer

Sabenza IT & Recruitment; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 800 000 - 1 100 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading IT recruitment firm in South Africa is seeking an experienced Senior Java EE Developer to design and build secure and scalable backend systems. The ideal candidate will possess over 7 years of enterprise Java development experience, with expertise in Java EE, Spring frameworks, and cloud services like AWS. Responsibilities include leading development initiatives, mentoring junior developers, and optimizing application performance to meet business needs. The position offers a dynamic work environment with opportunities for growth.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of enterprise Java development experience required.
• Strong experience in Java EE/Jakarta EE with ORM frameworks.
• In-depth experience with AWS including API Gateway, EC2, Lambda.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop enterprise backend applications using Java EE standards.
• Build and optimize APIs and microservices with Spring.
• Lead development efforts and mentor junior developers.

Skills

Java EE/Jakarta EE

Spring

Spring Boot

REST APIs

Microservices Architecture

AWS

SQL

Docker

Kubernetes

Git

Tools

PostgreSQL

Oracle

MySQL

SQL Server

Jenkins

GitHub Actions

GitLab CI

Azure DevOps

Job description

We are looking for an experienced Senior Java EE Developer with 7+ years of hands‑on enterprise Java development experience. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in building secure, scalable, and high‑performance backend systems within complex enterprise environments. You will contribute to solution architecture, lead development efforts, and collaborate across multidisciplinary teams to deliver robust business applications.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain enterprise‑grade backend applications using Java EE/Jakarta EE standards.
• Build and optimize APIs, microservices, and integration layers using frameworks such as Spring / Spring Boot, JAX‑RS, JPA, EJB, Hibernate.
• Develop and maintain high‑performance server‑side components and batch processing workflows.
• Implement unit tests, integration tests, and ensure code quality through best practices and standards.
• Participate in solution architecture design sessions for new and existing systems.
• Contribute to the design of scalable, modular, and resilient backend architectures.
• Identify performance bottlenecks and recommend system improvements.
• Work with relational databases such as PostgreSQL, Oracle, MySQL, SQL Server.
• Develop efficient SQL queries, stored procedures, and ORM mappings.
• Ensure data integrity, performance, and security.
• Integrate systems using REST, SOAP, JMS, Kafka, or other messaging platforms.
• Develop and maintain middleware components and enterprise integration patterns (EIP).
• Work with CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps, etc.).
• Build containerized services using Docker; experience with Kubernetes is a plus.
• Experience deploying Java applications in AWS, Azure, or on‑premise environments.
• Familiarity with infrastructure automation/configuration tools is considered an advantage.
• Implement application security best practices (authentication, authorization, OWASP standards).
• Work with identity providers (OAuth2, SSO, JWT, Keycloak, Azure AD, etc.).
• Lead development streams and mentor junior developers.
• Conduct code reviews and enforce development standards.
• Work closely with business analysts, testers, and product owners.

Requirements

• 7+ years enterprise Java development experience (required).
• Strong experience in Java EE/Jakarta EE, Spring, Spring Boot, and ORM frameworks.
• Solid understanding of REST APIs, microservices architecture, and enterprise integration.
• In depth AWS experience with experience encompassing services like API Gateway, EC2, Lambda, etc.
• Strong SQL and database design experience.
• Experience with message brokers (JMS, Kafka, RabbitMQ) and service‑oriented architectures.
• Experience with Git and CI/CD automation.
• Experience deploying and monitoring Java applications in cloud or hybrid environments.
• Experience with Kubernetes / OpenShift, Apache Camel, MuleSoft, or other integration frameworks
• Monitoring tools (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK, Splunk)
• Caching frameworks (Redis, Hazelcast)
• Cloud certifications (AWS, Azure, GCP) are beneficial.