Java Staff Engineer_Remote

Java Staff Engineer

About the Role

Our client is undergoing a technology transformation and is restructuring its Insurance Product Administration Systems teams by Line of Business (LOB). The Staff Engineer will be a key technical leader embedded within a team, rather than floating across teams as in the past.

This role will focus on:

• Bringing engineering solutions to business problems-but more importantly, helping to define and understand the problems before solving them.


• Modernizing legacy platforms while working alongside COBOL engineers and Java developers.


• Building out API strategies and integration ecosystems to streamline data exchange across teams.


• Supporting mainframe modernization efforts, but not as a COBOL developer-rather, as an engineer who can help optimize, integrate, and modernize legacy systems.


• Leading DevOps, cloud strategy discussions, and mentoring engineers in best practices.


• The key focus for us from a fit standpoint is someone who has a track record of bringing engineering solutions to business problems, but perhaps more importantly, they can help define and understand the business problem we are here to help solve. Strong engineering/solution skills are key, but ability to focus first on the problem statement is absolute need.


• Additionally, we would like someone understands/sees the mainframe as another platform in the portfolio - not unlike mid-tier or Cloud. They do not need to be mainframe COBOL developers - I prefer they are not unless it is a breath of experience item. But again, understands or is willing to learn the mainframe as a platform.


• Ideally, they would have worked within Financial Service or Banking Services, or they have ERP solutions as part of their experience.

The ideal candidate has strong engineering skills, understands how to align technology with business needs, and can mentor and lead technical teams in modernization efforts.

Key Focus Areas

1. Technical Leadership & Engineering Strategy

• Lead solution design and software integration patterns across a diverse engineering ecosystem.


• Ensure solutions are built with a long-term vision, scalability, and alignment with enterprise architecture goals.


• Identify technical debt and modernization opportunities, particularly in COBOL-Java transitions, API integration, and system decoupling.


• Work with engineering leadership, product teams, and business stakeholders to define the strategic technology direction for insurance product systems.


• Collaborate with COBOL engineers to modernize mainframe-based systems while implementing best practices from Java and cloud-based development.


• Implement best practices in code reviews, DevOps, feature flagging, and automated testing.


• Apply expert industry knowledge and broad understanding of multiple disciplines with technical knowledge to drive outcomes for customers.


• Ability to work and problem solve independently on initiatives that align to the broader software engineering strategy


• Design systems and software integration patterns across a diverse software engineering ecosystem. These patterns should align to high level engineering goals and business initiatives

1. Software Development & Modernization

• Work on modernizing core insurance administration systems, particularly in annuities, life insurance, and underwriting.


• Develop solutions that help transition legacy integrations (450+ direct integrations) into a modern API-driven ecosystem.


• Implement Kafka-based data streaming solutions and decouple monolithic systems.


• Migrate source code from Bitbucket to GitHub and enhance version control best practices.


• Apply software engineering best practices (TDD, CI/CD, DevOps) to modernize and streamline development processes.


• Lead efforts in moving toward OpenShift containers and cloud-based architectures.


• Select, evaluate, and integrate third-party software vendors to improve system capabilities.


• Use independent, critical thinking to solve complex problems which are significant to the customer. Uses application and system data, as well as past experiences to inform decision making.
  
  


• Leader in technical expertise; Develops most architecturally impactful components of solutions


• Lead to identify, incorporate and define development frameworks and libraries useful to the product

1. Collaboration & Mentorship

• Work closely with product owners to translate business requirements into technical solutions.


• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to teams composed of both COBOL and Java engineers in modern software development best practices.


• Act as a bridge between business and engineering teams, ensuring alignment between technical solutions and business goals.


• Lead cross-functional initiatives to define API strategies, build vendor integrations, and improve system-of-record modernization efforts.


• Coach and train engineers in DevOps methodologies and cloud computing strategies.


• Ensure strong knowledge-sharing practices across engineering teams.


• Coordinate design and integration of the entire system including subsystems. Research and recommend technology to improve the current systems


• Participate in team's collaboration session to provide technical expertise to solve a problem/remove technical roadblock for the team


• Participate in product planning and implementation. Helps product owner to create technical user stories as required/needed.


• Contribute to detailed application specifications, standards, and diagrams and develop coding standards / best practices

1. Key Projects & Responsibilities by Team

Annuities (Annuity Servicing & Settlements)

• Lead annuity modernization efforts, including migration of annuity contracts and client decoupling strategies.


• Focus on settlement option system modernization-moving legacy mainframe systems into modern architectures.


• Improve data integration strategies to optimize the annuity servicing process.

Life Insurance (Life Servicing & Policy Administration)

• Work on life insurance modernization (term, whole life, and variable life products).


• Define API strategies and vendor management solutions for seamless data flow.


• Support integration ecosystem development to facilitate data exchange between core life insurance systems.

New Business & Underwriting

• Work on automation of the life and annuity application intake process and underwriting workflows.


• Ensure contract setup, compliance, and policy handoff to servicing teams is seamless.


• Lead engineering initiatives that optimize underwriting decision-making and system integration.

Technology Stack & Tools

• Languages & Platforms: COBOL, Java (versions 8 to 17), OpenShift, Docker


• Data Streaming & Messaging: Kafka (preferred), RabbitMQ (phasing out)


• Version Control & DevOps: GitHub (migrating from Bitbucket), CI/CD, ShipRight


• Cloud & Security: Azure security protocols implemented, AWS in the broader ecosystem


• Data Integration & APIs: Qlik (Change Data Capture), WebSphere, API ecosystem modernization

Required Skills & Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in software engineering, including experience leading technical teams.


• Strong experience in modernizing legacy platforms (mainframe modernization, COBOL-to-Java transitions, API integration).


• Ability to define and understand business problems before proposing solutions.


• Hands-on experience with API development, data integration, and microservices.


• Strong software engineering expertise-understanding scalability, high availability, and performance tuning.


• Proficiency in data integration and system decoupling strategies.


• Strong communication and leadership skills-able to work with both business and technical teams.


• Experience mentoring teams and implementing software engineering best practices (DevOps, CI/CD, automated testing).

Preferred Qualifications

• Financial services, insurance, banking, or ERP system experience.


• Experience with COBOL or legacy insurance platforms (not as a developer but as a modernization expert).


• Experience with data streaming technologies (Kafka, RabbitMQ).

Beacon Hill is an equal opportunity employer and individuals with disabilities and/or protected veterans are encouraged to apply.

California residents: Qualified applications with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.

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Company Profile:

Beacon Hill Technologies, a premier National Information Technology Staffing Group, provides world class technology talent across all industries utilizing a complete suite of staffing services. Beacon Hill Technologies' dedicated team of recruiting and staffing experts consistently delivers quality IT professionals to solve our customers' technical and business needs.

Beacon Hill Technologies covers a broad spectrum of IT positions, including Project Management and Business Analysis, Programming/Development, Database, Infrastructure, Quality Assurance, Production/Support and ERP roles.

Learn more about Beacon Hill and our specialty divisions, Beacon Hill Associates, Beacon Hill Financial, Beacon Hill HR, Beacon Hill Legal, Beacon Hill Life Sciences and Beacon Hill Technologies by visiting .

Benefits Information:

Beacon Hill offers a robust benefit package including, but not limited to, medical, dental, vision, and federal and state leave programs as required by applicable agency regulations to those that meet eligibility. Upon successfully being hired, details will be provided related to our benefit offerings.

We look forward to working with you.

Beacon Hill. Employing the Future