Applications Support Engineer | Retail Applications

Associated Wholesale Grocers•Kansas City, KS

5h•Remote

About The Position

AWG is seeking an Experienced Applications Support Engineer in Information Technology (IT) to provide independent technical leadership and serve as the functional lead for the Retail domain. The primary focus of this role is the ongoing support, technical maintenance, and stability of existing retail applications. This is a critical, customer-facing role serving as an advisor, subject-matter expert, and dedicated support partner for our customers. As an experienced Engineer specializing in solution support and technical troubleshooting, you will be responsible for guiding customers through the post- implementation phase, system optimization, and ensuring the long-term stability of their retail solutions. You are a passionate technologist who excels at diagnosing complex issues, diving into existing codebases, and applying technical skills to solve critical customer challenges.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in Software Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, or related degree.
5+ years of software support experience, specifically focused on troubleshooting and maintaining production environments.
5+ years of SQL experience (relational databases) with a focus on analyzing and optimizing complex queries to resolve performance bottlenecks.
3+ years of Java and Java frameworks experience (Spring, Spring Boot) with the ability to navigate, debug, and patch existing codebases.
2+ years with JavaScript, HTML5, and CSS to support and maintain front-end retail interfaces.
1+ years of scripting experience (Bash) for automating routine support tasks and log analysis.
Possesses strong analytical and problem-solving skills, particularly in high-pressure "system down" scenarios.
Ability to work independently as a self-starter who is resourceful in finding solutions within existing system constraints.
Considers industry and market trends to ensure long-term system viability and balances strategic upgrades with daily support activities.
Demonstrated ability to quickly learn and support new or legacy technologies.
Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to translate technical issues into clear updates for various levels of audiences.
Skilled at establishing good working relationships across teams to facilitate rapid issue resolution.
Welcomes the ideas and input of others to solve complex technical hurdles.
Ability to work as a committed member of a cross-functional team, sharing insights to deliver exceptional product experience.
Works to clarify ambiguous technical issues and remains productive during high-priority incidents.
Takes responsibility for the stability of own work and monitors the performance of supported systems.
Experience executing operational vision and goals in alignment with department leadership.
Solid experience with the full SDLC, with an emphasis on production stability, testing, and deployment/maintenance phases within waterfall and/or agile methodologies.
Excels in working remotely and collaborating with remote team members to solve problems.

Nice To Haves

Retail, wholesale, or Consumer Product Goods industry experience.
Support and maintenance experience with Java batch (Jberet framework) to maintain and optimize background processes.
Experience troubleshooting file-transfer software such as Cleo Harmony.
Support and maintenance experience with IBM App Connect Enterprise (ACE).
Proven experience debugging web services and API integrations.
Knowledge of Azure/AWS/ cloud or managed services, specifically for navigating cloud-hosted environments.
ETL development and maintenance experience to ensure data integrity.
Experience supporting and troubleshooting Salesforce environments.
Knowledge of DevOps technologies (Jenkins, GitHub) to manage automated deployments and version control.

Responsibilities

Troubleshoot and resolve complex production incidents and application issues independently to ensure maximum system stability and performance.
Serve as the functional lead and primary technical contact for high-priority support issues within the Retail domain.
Deliver high-quality technical fixes and maintenance enhancements, on time and on budget.
Provide accurate estimates for maintenance tasks, bug fixes, and support tickets.
Build reusable support documentation, knowledge base articles, and materials that enable the AWG community to self-serve.
Collaborate with customers to understand recurring pain points and desired outcomes to improve the existing user experience and optimize existing code.
Follow defined protocols to manage vendor relationships and the technology lifecycle for existing Retail systems.
Participate in a continuous improvement culture, identifying opportunities to proactively optimize existing code and processes and providing/receiving constructive feedback.
Review peer changes for quality, focusing specifically on safe deployment and verification plans to prevent regressions.