Lead Software Engineer- Java / Kafka / AWS / Terraform

Overview In this Lead Software Engineer role, you will drive secure, high-quality software development for mission-critical, scalable banking applications. You will work within a cross-functional team to design and deliver production-grade Java solutions, leverage cloud and IaC tooling, and promote AI-assisted engineering practices to raise quality and speed. You will guide architectural evaluations with external and internal stakeholders and uphold strong security and reliability standards. This opportunity lets you shape engineering practices at a leading financial institution while solving complex, high-impact problems. Compensation / Benefitsbase salary plus incentive compensationcomprehensive health care coverageretirement savings planbackup childcaretuition reimbursementmental health support ResponsibilitiesDeliver creative software solutions and troubleshoot complex problems beyond routine approachesDevelop secure, production-grade code and perform peer reviews and debuggingDrive adoption of AI-assisted engineering practices with standardized validation (secure coding, automated testing)Leverage SDLC tools and automation to improve development value and efficiencyIdentify opportunities to automate remediation and improve operational stabilityLead architecture-evaluation sessions with vendors and internal teams to assess applicability and design Key requirements5+ years of software engineering experienceHands-on design, development, testing, and operational stabilityJava server-side development with Spring (Spring Boot, Spring MVC, Spring Kafka)Experience designing high-throughput, low-latency 24/7 appsDistributed technologies and frameworks experienceSQL and stored procedures (Oracle/Sybase/SQL Server/CockroachDB)Messaging technologies (Kafka, WebSphere MQ/JMS, RabbitMQ)Test automation (JUnit/Mockito, Cucumber/Gherkin) and Git for source controlExperience with AI-assisted development tools and responsible AI practicesAWS and Terraform experiencePreferred: Java and Python developmentleadership and team coachingstrong collaboration across cross-functional teamseffective communication with technical and non-technical stakeholdersJava (Spring Boot, Spring MVC, Spring Kafka)Kafka, WebSphere MQ/JMS, RabbitMQAWS, Terraform