Lead Software Engineer (FE/BE/AWS/Big Data)

Software Guidance & Assistance, Inc., (SGA), is searching for an Lead Software Engineer (Java/AWS/Big Data) for a CONTRACT assignment with one of our premier Regulatory clients in Rockville, MD or Tysons, VA.
Hybrid - 3x a week on-site
FINRA's Surveillance Platform and Analytics team is seeking an exceptional Lead Software Engineer with strong technical leadership skills and an entrepreneurial mindset to guide the design and development of innovative full-stack solutions. This role combines hands-on technical contribution with team leadership, architectural guidance, and strategic technical direction for business-critical surveillance systems that protect market integrity.

The ideal candidate is a seasoned technologist who balances technical depth with leadership breadth, mentors engineers, drives architectural decisions, and leverages cutting-edge technologies including AI to enhance both team productivity and product capabilities. This role provides clear progression to Staff/Principal Engineer positions.

Key Responsibilities
Technical Leadership : Lead the design and architecture of complex, distributed systems based on business needs; define technical direction, evaluate new technologies, and drive adoption of best practices
Team Mentorship : Guide and mentor senior and mid-level engineers, fostering their technical growth through code reviews, technical guidance, and career development
Full-Stack Development : Design and build critical enterprise applications leveraging Java, JavaScript/Angular, Spring Boot, REST/Web Services, and big-data technologies
Cloud-Native Architecture : Architect and implement highly scalable, resilient solutions on AWS leveraging serverless and container technologies (Lambda, ECS, S3, RDS, EMR)
Agile Collaboration : Partner closely with architects, principal engineers, product owners, and management to align technical execution with business objectives and translate requirements into robust solutions
Distributed Systems Expertise : Lead initiatives involving microservices, event-driven architectures, and big-data technologies across the team
AI Integration Leadership : Drive initiatives to leverage AI technologies (generative AI, LLMs, AWS AI services) for both developer productivity and product innovation
DevOps Excellence : Champion CI/CD, infrastructure as code, automated testing, and observability practices across the team
Innovation & Strategy : Drive POCs, evaluate emerging technologies, and lead adoption of innovations that provide competitive advantage
Cross-Team Influence : Collaborate with other teams and leaders to share knowledge, establish engineering standards, and drive organization-wide technical initiatives
Ownership & Quality : Set the standard for code quality, tackle the most complex technical challenges, and demonstrate strong ownership and self-starter mentality

Basic Qualifications
Education : Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or other relevant Engineering discipline (Master's preferred)
Leadership Experience : 10+ years in software engineering with 3+ years in technical leadership or lead engineer roles demonstrating team mentorship and architectural decision-making
AI Experience : Proven experience leading AI integration initiatives and leveraging AI technologies to drive developer productivity and incorporate AI capabilities into software solutions
Software Engineering : 10+ years of experience building full-stack software using Java, JavaScript, REST/Web Services, Angular, and Spring Boot
Cloud Expertise : 7+ years of experience architecting and building solutions on AWS Cloud (ECS, Lambda, RDS, S3, EMR, etc.)
Big Data : 5+ years of experience working with big data technologies such as Hadoop, Spark, Presto, or AWS EMR
Database Skills : 5+ years of experience designing schemas, writing complex SQL queries, and optimizing database performance
Scripting : Strong proficiency in Unix shell, Python, Perl, Groovy, or similar scripting languages
Communication : Strong technical communication skills including documentation, presentations, and stakeholder management

Preferred Qualifications
Extensive experience designing and architecting enterprise-scale systems with complex business requirements
Deep understanding of AWS Well-Architected Framework with ability to conduct architecture reviews
Experience architecting and leading AI/ML initiatives including production GenAI applications; familiarity with MLOps practices, LangChain, vector databases, or RAG architectures
Expert-level experience designing and implementing CI/CD pipelines at scale and DevOps practices
Production experience with containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes/EKS) and container security
Advanced experience with infrastructure as code (Terraform, CloudFormation, CDK)
Strong background in monitoring, observability, and SRE practices (CloudWatch, Datadog, Splunk, Prometheus, Grafana)
Expert knowledge of microservices, event-driven architectures (Kafka, Kinesis, SQS, SNS), and distributed systems patterns
Deep understanding of secure coding practices, OWASP, and AWS security best practices (IAM, KMS, Secrets Manager)
Proven track record leading business-critical, large-scope projects with multiple stakeholders
Experience influencing without authority and driving consensus across technical teams
Track record of innovation through patents, publications, open-source contributions, technical thought leadership, or POCs
Experience conducting technical interviews and participating in hiring decisions

SGA is a technology and resource solutions provider driven to stand out. We are a women-owned business. Our mission: to solve big IT problems with a more personal, boutique approach. Each year, we match consultants like you to more than 1,000 engagements. When we say let's work better together, we mean it. You'll join a diverse team built on these core values: customer service, employee development, and quality and integrity in everything we do. Be yourself, love what you do and find your passion at work. Please find us at .

SGA is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of Race, Color, Sex, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Religion, National Origin, Disability, Veteran Status, Age, Marital Status, Pregnancy, Genetic Information, or Other Legally Protected Status. We are committed to providing access, equal opportunity, and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, and our services, programs, and activities. Please visit our company to request an accommodation or assistance regarding our policy.