Java Lead Developer

Job Summary

The Application Development Lead Engineer - Java & cloud, working independently, is responsible for overseeing the design, development of scalable, secure, and maintenance of custom and commercial software applications. The role leads a team of developers and works closely with teammates and business stakeholders, often in a SAFe Agile team, to understand business requirements and translate them into technical solutions. The role is responsible for identifying technical risks and implementing mitigation plans, and is expected to stay up to date with emerging technologies and industry trends. The Lead Engineer also mentors and trains junior developers on their team, gives input to prioritization, and ensures code is written to high standards of quality and maintainability.

Job Responsibilities

• Designs and develops custom and commercial software applications, using programming languages to meet specific business requirements. Collaborates with other teams and stakeholders to ensure that the software aligns with the overall technical architecture and strategic goals of the organization.
• Collaborates with teammates to give complexity and timing input to product delivery roadmaps and provides oversight to the team to remove technical roadblocks to ensure successful delivery of the roadmap.
• Provides technical leadership and mentorship to team members, including conducting code reviews, providing training and support, and setting development standards, to maintain a high level of code quality and ensure adherence to coding standards and best practices.
• Champions the most effective software development methodology, such as Agile or Waterfall, to ensure consistency and efficiency across initiatives, and stays up to date with the latest software development practices and trends to continuously improve the development process.
• Designs and builds cloud-native applications for deployment on platforms such as Azure, or OpenShift
• Lead development tasks within Agile ceremonies, including PI Planning and backlog grooming.
• Implement and support CI/CD pipelines using tools like Jenkins, GitLab CI, or similar.
• Design and document RESTful APIs and integration services using OpenAPI/Swagger.
• Reviews and tests code changes to ensure compliance with coding standards, security protocols, and software quality assurance best practices, and provides guidance on how to resolve any issues that arise during the testing process.
• Collaborates with enterprise and solution architects to evaluate and recommend new technologies and software tools to improve efficiency in the development process and keeps up to date with the latest industry trends and developments to ensure that the organization remains competitive in the market.
• Identifies and resolves complex technical problems and issues with software applications and processes, providing recommendations for improvements as needed, and stays up to date with emerging technologies and industry trends to proactively identify and resolve potential technical issues.
• Manages application maintenance activities as needed such as application upgrades, adherence to security protocols, and user support.
• Communicates with stakeholders to provide updates on initiative progress, ensures alignment with business goals, and manages stakeholder expectations informing them of any impactful changes or issues.

Job Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in Application Development or a related field.
• Proficiency in Java (Spring Boot), REST API development, and integration technologies.
• Experience with CI/CD, containers (Docker, Kubernetes), DevOps practices, and cloud-native architectures.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field and/or commensurate experience.
• Certification as a Software Development Professional is desirable in applicable technologies.
• Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis.

Location

Hybrid defined as three (3) or more days in the office per week.

Technical Skills:

An Application Development Lead Engineer can support a variety of technologies and software solutions tailored for the insurance sector in use by Westfield that may include, but are not limited to the list below:

• Java, C++, Python, HTML5, CSS3, SpringBoot, Struts (or similar MVC frameworks) and related tools
• Integration technologies (REST API development, SOAP based web services)
• Database Management languages and tools (SQL, DB2)
• Front-End Development tools
• Software security technologies (encryption, authentication)

Behavioral Competencies

• Collaborates
• Communicates Effectively, to both technical and non-technical audiences
• Customer Focus
• Decision Quality
• Nimble Learning, including troubleshooting and research of new technologies
• Leadership

This job description describes the general nature and level of work performed in this role. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, skills, responsibilities, knowledge, etc. These may be subject to change and additional functions may be assigned as needed by management.