Staff Software Engineer, Java BackendJob Number: 964This is a remote position.The
Veterans Affairs business unit helps transform the VA into a modern digital services organization where Veteran outcomes are at the center of every effort. We partner with the VA to design and deliver seamless user experiences for Veterans, their families and caregivers, and VA employees. By applying better practices in service design, product management, and technology, we enable the VA to increase the use, quality, and reliability of services and decrease the time Veterans spend waiting for outcomes.
Primary ResponsibilitiesAs a Staff Software Engineer, you will be a hands-on technical contributor supporting the modernization of enterprise applications and services. You will design, develop, and deliver scalable backend solutions using Java, Spring Boot, and REST APIs while helping establish strong engineering practices across the team.
This role is ideal for an experienced engineer who enjoys solving complex technical challenges, mentoring others, and leading through technical expertise. While initially focused on individual contributions and technical leadership, there is an opportunity to grow into a formal engineering leadership or people management role as the team and program evolve.
Primary expectations of a Staff Software Engineer include:- Design, develop, test, and deploy production-ready backend applications using Java 17+, Spring, and Spring Boot.
- Build and maintain scalable RESTful APIs, microservices, and integrations with existing enterprise systems.
- Take ownership of complex engineering challenges, including system design, API architecture, data access, and service integration.
- Remain actively involved in hands-on development, contributing production code within an Agile delivery environment.
- Drive engineering best practices through code reviews, automated testing, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement.
- Collaborate with engineers, architects, product managers, and other stakeholders to deliver reliable technical solutions.
- Provide technical guidance and mentorship to engineers, helping improve code quality, problem-solving, and engineering practices.
- Participate in architectural discussions, technical design decisions, and modernization initiatives.
- Identify and communicate technical risks, dependencies, and potential solutions to technical and nontechnical stakeholders.
- Collaborate with customer technical teams and architects to align technical solutions with program requirements.
- Support technical interviews, engineering assessments, and knowledge sharing as needed.
- Demonstrate interest and potential to take on expanded technical leadership or people management responsibilities as opportunities develop.
Basic Qualifications- Bachelor's degree and 9+ years of relevant software engineering experience; relevant professional experience may be substituted for education.
- 8+ years of hands-on Java development, including experience with modern Java versions (Java 17+ preferred).
- 5+ years of professional experience with Spring and Spring Boot, developing production backend applications.
- 5+ years designing, developing, and integrating RESTful APIs and microservices.
- Recent hands-on experience writing, testing, and deploying production code.
- Experience working with relational databases such as Oracle, PostgreSQL, or comparable technologies, including SQL and ORM frameworks such as Hibernate/JPA.
- Strong understanding of backend architecture, object-oriented programming, API design, and software engineering best practices.
- Experience with automated testing, code reviews, debugging, and maintaining production applications.
- Experience working across the software development lifecycle, including design, development, testing, deployment, and ongoing support.
- Demonstrated ability to independently own complex technical projects or engineering initiatives.
- Experience providing technical mentorship, guidance, or support to other engineers.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain technical decisions and tradeoffs.
- Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship, now or in the future.
- Must be able to successfully obtain and maintain a Public Trust security clearance.
Preferred Qualifications- An active, VA-adjudicated Public Trust.
- Experience modernizing legacy applications or transitioning monolithic systems into microservices.
- Experience with event-driven architecture, Kafka, Redis, or distributed systems.
- Experience with reactive programming and Spring WebFlux.
- Experience with containerization and orchestration technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes.
- Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, automated deployments, and modern DevOps practices.
- Experience supporting federal government programs, particularly the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
- Experience collaborating across Engineering, Product, Design, and Program Management teams.
- Previous experience serving as a technical lead, engineering lead, or senior technical mentor.
- Interest in growing into an engineering leadership or people management role while maintaining strong technical involvement.
To learn more about working at Ad Hoc, please visit:https://adhocteam.us/join
Benefits:- Company-subsidized health, dental, and vision insurance
- Flexible PTO
- 401K with employer match
- Paid parental leave after one year of service
- Employee Assistance Program
In support of various state and city equal pay transparency laws, Ad Hoc job descriptions feature the starting range we reasonably expect to pay to candidates who would join our team with little to no need for training on the responsibilities we've outlined above. Actual compensation is influenced by a wide range of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, and responsibility. The range of starting pay for this role is $120,000 - $170,000. Our recruiters will be happy to answer any questions you may have, and we look forward to learning more about your salary requirements.
job reference:
https://adhoc.team/
