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.