IT Software Engineer ; Java Lead Engineer Job Northern Kentucky USA,Software Development

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

12months contract

Interview Process

Via Teams with Video ON (3 sets of technical interviews, including1 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 Dev Ops 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:
- IAM
- Kinesis
- DynamoDB
- API Gateway
- SQS
- SNS
- KMS
Strong SQL and database development skills.
Experience with Dev Ops 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.