Java Lead Developer

Job Title: Java Tech Lead
Locations: Pheonix, TX, Charlotte, IL (Hybrid 3 days onsite)
Experience Required: 10+ Years
Employment Type: Contract W2 or C2C
Rate: $63/Hr on W2, $70/Hr on C2C

Must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer without sponsorship.

Job Summary:
We are seeking a highly skilled Tech Lead with strong expertise in Java-based microservices architecture to design, develop, and lead scalable enterprise applications. The ideal candidate will have hands-on experience with Spring Boot, AWS services, DynamoDB, and message-driven platforms like Kafka or Solace. This role requires both technical depth and strong leadership to guide teams through complex problem-solving, performance optimization, and project delivery.

Roles and Responsibilities:
Lead end-to-end design and implementation of Spring Boot microservices with robust APIs and secure integrations.
Collaborate with business stakeholders and development teams to analyze requirements, plan deliverables, and ensure timely delivery of high-quality code.
Drive and review system architecture decisions, ensuring high availability, scalability, and performance across distributed applications.
Support the team in debugging, performance tuning, and resolving production issues using tools like Datadog and Elasticsearch.
Implement and maintain AWS infrastructure components such as EKS, ALB, and DynamoDB, ensuring best practices for cloud deployment and configuration.
Oversee CI/CD pipelines (Harness/TeamCity), code reviews, and GitHub workflows (branching, PRs, version control).
Ensure proper testing coverage using JUnit and Mockito, and encourage automated test-driven development within the team.
Collaborate with DevOps teams on containerized deployments using Docker and Kubernetes, promoting continuous integration and smooth release cycles.
Experience with security systems like Ping, Okta
Mentor junior developers, conduct code reviews, and provide technical guidance to maintain best coding and design practices.
Continuously monitor application health, analyze logs for issue prevention, and lead root cause investigations for critical issues.
Deliver clear progress reports in daily scrums, drive sprint commitments, and proactively highlight risks or impediments.
Required Skills:
Core: Java (JDK 11/17), Spring Boot, Microservices Architecture, RESTful APIs (JAX-RS/CXF), JSON (Jackson), PIng
Testing: JUnit, Mockito
Databases: AWS DynamoDB, Spring Data integration
Messaging Platforms: Kafka, Solace, EMS, or MQ
Cloud & DevOps: AWS (EKS, ALB, DynamoDB), Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD (TeamCity/Harness)
Monitoring: Datadog, Elasticsearch
Version Control: GitHub (PRs, branching strategy)
Tools/IDE: IntelliJ, Eclipse

Nice to Have: AWS Certification, exposure to full DevOps pipelines, or infrastructure automation.

Key Attributes
Strong analytical and problem-solving mindset.
Excellent communication and leadership skills with the ability to guide and inspire teams.
Proactive in identifying bottlenecks and implementing preventive measures.
Ownership-driven approach to project execution and delivery.