IT Software Engineer 5 (Java Lead Engineer)
Request ID: 102471-1
Open Positions: 4
Location: Chicago, IL
Work Model: Hybrid (Currently 2 days/week onsite; may increase based on business needs)
Schedule: Monday – Friday, 1st Shift
Duration: Long-Term Contract
Interview Process: Three technical interview rounds via Microsoft Teams (Video On):
• Coding Interview
• Architecture Interview
• Team/Behavioral Interview
• Final round may be conducted onsite
Position Overview
Caterpillar is seeking an experienced Java Lead Engineer to design, develop, and deploy enterprise-scale digital platform solutions. This role requires strong backend development expertise, technical leadership, and hands-on experience building highly available, scalable cloud-based applications.
Key Responsibilities
• Lead the design, development, and deployment of Java-based enterprise applications.
• Provide technical leadership, mentoring, and guidance to development teams.
• Drive delivery of business-critical features and enhancements.
• Design and support highly available, reliable, and scalable solutions.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop new functionality and applications.
• Lead troubleshooting, debugging, performance tuning, and production support activities.
• Conduct integration testing and support customer acceptance testing.
• Participate in architecture discussions, technology evaluations, and technical recommendations.
• Promote software engineering best practices, coding standards, and code quality.
• Mentor junior developers and support team growth initiatives.
• Work with business stakeholders and internal customers to define and deliver solutions.
Required Qualifications
• Bachelor''s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field.
• 10+ years of hands-on experience designing and developing Java applications.
• 3+ years of experience leading geographically distributed development teams.
• Strong backend engineering experience in enterprise environments.
Required Technical Skills
• Java 17
• Backend Application Development
• RESTful Web Services / APIs
• AWS Services:
o IAM
o Kinesis
o DynamoDB
o API Services
o SQS
o SNS
o KMS
• Strong SQL and database querying skills
• DevOps practices and CI/CD
• High Availability and Reliability Engineering
• Application Design and Architecture Experience
Required Soft Skills
• Strong leadership and mentoring abilities
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills
• Ability to work effectively under pressure and meet deadlines
• Passion for technology and continuous improvement
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills
Preferred Candidate Profile
• Hands-on Java backend lead with recent development experience.
• Strong AWS cloud engineering background.
• Experience building scalable, resilient enterprise applications.
• Comfortable balancing technical leadership with hands-on coding responsibilities.
• Proven experience leading distributed teams.
Disqualifiers / Red Flags
• Primarily Front-End or UI-focused developers.
• Primarily Full-Stack Developers without strong backend specialization.
• Candidates whose recent experience is primarily architecture with limited hands-on coding.
• Candidates outside the local area unless clearly committed to relocating and working onsite from Day 1.
• Overqualified candidates whose experience significantly exceeds role requirements.
• Candidates with unstable or highly fragmented work histories.
• Previously submitted and rejected candidates.
• Resumes exceeding 3 pages (excluding submission templates).
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