Tech Lead – Java (AWS)

Tech Lead – Java (AWS)

Location: Irving, TX (Onsite) | Contract

Overview

Our client is seeking a Tech Lead – Java (AWS) to drive the design and delivery of cloud-native backend services on AWS. In this player-coach role, you will set the technical direction for the team, write code on critical paths, and directly manage a team of engineers while partnering with cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

Technical Leadership

• Own the architecture and technical roadmap for the team's Java services on AWS.
• Design and build scalable, secure, and resilient microservices and APIs using Java and Spring Boot.
• Write production code on critical paths, lead design and code reviews, and set the bar for code quality and testing.
• Make AWS architecture decisions across compute, data, messaging, and networking, balancing reliability, security, and cost.
• Drive CI/CD, infrastructure as code, observability (New Relic), on-call, and incident-review practices.

People Leadership

• Manage engineers directly: regular 1:1s, goal setting, performance reviews, and career development.
• Coach engineers through code reviews, pairing, and stretch assignments, and grow future tech leads.
• Address performance issues early, with clear expectations and direct, fair feedback.

Delivery and Collaboration

• Partner with product, architecture, security, and business stakeholders to turn requirements into a prioritized backlog.
• Collaborate with QA, DevOps, platform, and other engineering teams on priorities, dependencies, and integrations.
• Run predictable Agile/Scrum delivery: sprint planning, estimation, dependency management, and releases.
• Communicate status, risks, and trade-offs clearly to engineering leadership.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, software engineering, or a related field.
• 10+ years of professional software engineering experience, including 7+ years building backend systems in Java.
• 2+ years managing engineers with direct reports, including performance reviews and career development.
• Deep expertise in modern Java (17+) and Spring Boot, including REST API design, Spring Data, and Spring Security.
• 3+ years designing, building, and running production systems on AWS (e.g., ECS/EKS, Lambda, API Gateway, RDS, DynamoDB, S3, SQS/SNS, CloudWatch, IAM).
• Strong microservices and distributed systems design, including event-driven architecture, messaging, caching, and resiliency patterns.
• Solid relational and NoSQL database skills (e.g., PostgreSQL or Oracle, DynamoDB), including data modeling and performance tuning.
• Hands-on experience with CI/CD (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or GitLab CI), containers (Docker, Kubernetes/ECS), and automated testing (JUnit, Mockito).
• Proven track record of delivering complex, production-grade projects end to end in an Agile environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication; able to explain technical trade-offs to engineers and business stakeholders alike.

Preferred Qualifications

• AWS certification (Solutions Architect – Associate/Professional, or Developer – Associate).
• Infrastructure as code with Terraform, AWS CDK, or CloudFormation.
• Event streaming with Kafka, Amazon MSK, or Kinesis.
• Observability tools such as New Relic, Datadog, Splunk, Grafana/Prometheus, or OpenTelemetry.
• Experience modernizing monolithic applications or leading migrations to AWS.
• Experience in retail, e-commerce, or payments at high transaction volumes.

Pay rate: $80/hr (W2). This is a 1-year contract position, onsite 5 days/week in Irving, TX.