Principal Java/ Scala Software Engineer

We are looking for a Principal Java/ Scala Software Engineer. This is a full-time permanent hire, hybrid position in Raleigh, North Carolina with our client. In this role a s a Principal Java/ Scala Software Engineer, you will be creating next-generation products and strategies for the company, bring your own perspective on how to solve a variety of internal and external opportunities.

Responsibilities as a Principal Java/ Scala Software Engineer:

• Serve as SME person on coding and technical issues
• Design and implement scalable solutions, including schema design, indexing strategies, and query optimization
• Develop and maintain Java-based APIs to interface with Solr and other backend systems
• Lead efforts to improve relevance, including tuning scoring algorithms, implementing synonyms, and customizing analyzers
• Monitor and optimize performance
• Ensure high availability and fault tolerance of search infrastructure
• Conduct code reviews, mentor junior engineers, and contribute to architectural decisions
• Work closely with product managers and UX designers to translate business requirements into technical solutions
• Stay current with emerging technologies and best practices in search engineering and Java development

Required skills and qualifications as a Principal Java/ Scala Software Engineer:

• 10+ years of hands-on experience with enterprise development languages such as Java or Scala
• Knowledge of message queues (e.g., Kafka, SQS) and event-driven architecture
• Experience developing / maintaining web applications based on modern search engines such as Solr / Elasticsearch, including indexing, query parsing, relevance tuning, etc.
• Experience scaling search server clusters to accommodate increasing traffic to meet specific performance requirements
• Experience developing / deploying high-performance RESTful web services (SOAP, XML-RPC, JSON-RPC, REST)
• Build and manage cloud-based infrastructure and services on AWS (e.g., EC2, Lambda, S3, RDS, DynamoDB, API Gateway)
• Exposure to DevOps or Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) practices
• Understanding of security best practices in API and cloud environments
• Expertise in test-driven development and maintenance including techniques for applying best practices for overall project benefit
• A proven expert in partnering and leading internal and external technology resources in solving complex business needs