IT Software Engineer 5 (Java Lead Engineer)

Job Title: IT Software Engineer 5 (Java Lead Engineer)

Location: Chicago, IL 60661 (Hybrid work model (2x a week) currently; eventually this could change to more days in office if needed)

Duration: 12 months contract

Interview Process: Via Teams with Video ON (3 sets of technical interviews, including 1 coding interview, 1 Architecture interview and 1 team interview (behavioral); 3 separate interviews.) FINAL ROUND WILL BE IN OFFICE.

As a Java Lead Engineer, you will play a key role in the design, development, and deployment of client's enterprise digital platforms. This position requires a hands-on technical leader who can drive backend application development, mentor engineering teams, and deliver scalable, highly available cloud-based solutions while collaborating with global stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the design, development, testing, and deployment of Java-based enterprise applications.

• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to development teams, including geographically distributed teams.

• Design and develop RESTful APIs and backend services using Java 17.

• Build and support cloud-native solutions leveraging AWS services such as IAM, Kinesis, DynamoDB, SQS, SNS, KMS, and API Gateway.

• Troubleshoot and resolve complex application and infrastructure issues.

• Participate in architecture discussions and contribute to technical solution design.

• Drive software quality through code reviews, best practices, and development standards.

• Collaborate with business stakeholders, product teams, and end users to gather requirements and deliver solutions.

• Lead integration testing, customer acceptance testing, and production deployments.

• Support DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, and operational excellence initiatives.

• Mentor junior engineers and promote continuous improvement across the team.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.

• 10+ years of experience in Java application design and development.

• 3+ years of experience leading geographically distributed development teams.

• Strong expertise in Java 17 and backend application development.

• Experience developing RESTful web services and microservices architectures.

• Hands-on experience with AWS cloud services, including:

o IAM

o Kinesis

o DynamoDB

o API Gateway

o SQS

o SNS

o KMS

• Strong SQL and database development skills.

• Experience with DevOps practices and CI/CD pipelines.

• Understanding of scalable, highly available, and reliable system design.

• Exposure to application architecture and solution design.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with enterprise-scale distributed systems.

• Knowledge of cloud-native application development patterns.

• Experience working in Agile/Scrum environments.

• Familiarity with monitoring, observability, and performance optimization.

Required Soft Skills:

• Strong leadership and mentoring capabilities.

• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.

• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.

• Ability to perform effectively under pressure and tight deadlines.

• Passion for technology and continuous learning.

• Collaborative mindset with the ability to work across cross-functional teams.