Lead Software Engineer

Java/Kotlin AWS Cloud-Native Systems Technical Leadership

Full-Time Hybrid (3 Days On-Site) 10+ Years Experience

Position Overview

We are seeking a Lead Software Engineer to provide deep technical leadership for the design and implementation of Java-based, cloud-native systems on AWS, in a hybrid role based in Chicago, IL. You will define service architecture, data flows, and integration patterns that meet strict scalability, availability, and security requirements, driving architectural decisions across microservices, event-driven, and asynchronous processing patterns with clear service ownership and well-defined contracts.

You will lead development of core backend services using modern Java frameworks and AWS-native patterns - including RESTful and event-based APIs, message-driven processing, and distributed data management. You will guide adoption of AWS services such as managed compute, messaging, storage, and databases, define standards for infrastructure as code, resiliency, fault tolerance, and graceful degradation, and establish best practices for CI/CD automation, observability, logging, metrics, and tracing. By proactively identifying architectural bottlenecks, scalability constraints, and technical debt, you will directly improve system performance, reliability, and long-term maintainability while enabling the work group to scale features and throughput efficiently.
Key Contributions & Responsibilities
• Design and implement backend services, cloud-native components, and core platform functionality (approximately 45-55% of role).
• Investigate and resolve defects, performance issues, and production incidents; implement fixes and improvements to ensure system stability and reliability (approximately 15-20% of role).
• Review pull requests, lead technical design discussions, and define architecture and implementation standards (approximately 15-20% of role).
• Participate in architecture reviews, integration discussions, and cross-team coordination on shared APIs and cloud architecture (approximately 5-10% of role).
• Participate in sprint planning, backlog refinement, standups, retrospectives, and other necessary technical or operational ceremonies (approximately 5-10% of role).
• Partner with Product Owners and engineering managers to translate requirements into technical solutions and align execution with delivery priorities.
Team Structure & Work Environment
• You will work closely with the engineering team to guide the design and implementation of Java-based services on AWS, and collaborate with other engineering teams to align on APIs, integrations, and shared cloud architecture.
• This is a hybrid role requiring 3 days on-site per week in Chicago, IL. Candidates must currently reside in the local area or be willing to relocate at their own expense and work from the office starting day one - relocation status must be clearly noted on the resume. Candidates with a consistent pattern of short tenure or frequent job changes will not be considered.

Requirements
Candidate Requirements
Education & Experience
• 10+ years of relevant software engineering experience required.
• No degree required.
• 3+ years of experience leading a team is preferred.
Required Technical Skills
• Strong AWS expertise, including designing and operating cloud-native, highly available distributed systems.
• Advanced Java and/or Kotlin experience in production environments.
• Spring Boot for building microservices and REST APIs (e.g., Spring Web/MVC, dependency injection, configuration, actuator/health checks).
• Microservices architecture and distributed systems patterns, including service boundaries, resiliency, and fault tolerance.
• RESTful API design and implementation, including documentation via OpenAPI/Swagger.
• SQL and relational databases, including data modeling, query tuning, and performance optimization.
• NoSQL/non-relational data stores such as DynamoDB, MongoDB, or Cassandra.
• CI/CD and build/deploy automation, including pipelines, quality gates, and repeatable releases.
• Data streaming and asynchronous messaging using event-driven patterns (e.g., Kafka).
• Observability and production troubleshooting, including logging, metrics, tracing, and incident investigation.
Required Soft Skills
• Strong technical communication skills - able to clearly explain complex designs and trade-offs to engineers, product owners, and managers.
• Collaborative mindset with the ability to work effectively across teams on shared architectures and dependencies.
• Technical leadership and ownership - driving decisions and follow-through on complex engineering problems.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical thinking, especially in debugging, production support, and performance issues.

Ability to balance technical depth with delivery, making pragmatic decisions aligned with business priorities, while remaining primarily hands-on.

Benefits

• 401(k)

• Dental insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Disability insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Paid Holidays

Please follow the link to our website for a list of job openings in Engineering, IT, Project Management, and more! https://www.dsnworldwide.com

Salary expectations: 140,000-165,000 per annual