Lead Java Developer

Must be local to the Columbus, OH area

Seeking a Lead Software Engineer to provide technical leadership and hands‑on development across large-scale, distributed systems that support products used worldwide. This role is ideal for an experienced engineer who enjoys designing robust software systems, mentoring others, and influencing technical direction while still writing high-quality code.

• Lead the design and delivery of medium to large-scale software initiatives from concept through production.
• Architect scalable, resilient systems using modern Java-based frameworks, cloud infrastructure, and distributed system patterns.
• Establish and champion engineering best practices, including code quality, testing, observability, and documentation.
• Guide teams through complex technical decisions, system design, and implementation trade‑offs.
• Mentor small groups of engineers across teams and levels, acting as a trusted technical leader and sounding board.
• Foster an inclusive, high-trust environment where engineers feel safe to share ideas, experiment, and learn.
• Provide actionable feedback through code reviews, design discussions, and one‑on‑one mentorship.
• Model strong communication skills and collaborative problem‑solving across the organization.

• Partner with product and business stakeholders to translate customer needs into scalable technical solutions.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and industry trends to inform architectural and platform decisions.
• Clearly communicate complex technical concepts to both technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Drive cross-team initiatives that improve system reliability, developer productivity, and platform capabilities.

• Design, develop, and maintain backend services using Java, Spring Boot, and microservices architectures.
• Build and integrate distributed systems leveraging technologies such as Kafka, Spark, and cloud-native services.
• Write clean, testable code and ensure quality through unit, integration, and performance testing.
• Participate in code reviews, incident response, and continuous improvement of engineering processes.

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• 7+ years of professional software development experience, including 5+ years working with Java.
• Demonstrates strong initiative and ownership, driving tasks to completion with minimal supervision.
• Experience in executing work independently while aligning with broader teaming organizational goals.
• Strong expertise in:
• Java and object-oriented design (design patterns, UML)
• Distributed systems and service-oriented architectures
• RESTful and SOAP-based web services
• Experience working with data-intensive or event-driven systems ideal (e.g., Kafka, Spark, Hadoop).
• Worked with AI tools or frameworks used to enhance software development or system capabilities a plus.
• Experience building and operating cloud-based applications (AWS preferred; Snowflake a plus).
• Proficiency with Linux/UNIX environments and CI/CD pipelines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against based on race. color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, age, pregnancy, genetic information or any other consideration prohibited by law or contract.

Must be legally authorized to work in the US without sponsorship for employment visa status now or in the future.

Please no third party recruiting agencies.