Associate Java Software Engineer

Vestmark, Inc.•Wakefield, MA

3d•$80,000 - $95,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Vestmark is looking for an early-career Software Engineer in Wakefield with strong computer science fundamentals, a passion for solving complex problems, and the drive to grow quickly in a collaborative, high-performance environment. You will work on real systems that matter contributing to backend services and APIs that power wealth management at scale while developing your skills alongside experienced engineers who are invested in your growth. Vestmark is a leading provider of wealth management solutions and services that enable financial advisors and institutions to efficiently manage and trade their clients' portfolios using a purpose-built SaaS ecosystem. With over $2 trillion in assets and 5+ million accounts, we are a trusted partner to some of the largest and most respected players across the wealth management industry.

Requirements

Strong foundational knowledge: data structures, algorithms, object-oriented design, and how production systems behave under real-world conditions.
Ability to reason through system design problems, understand trade-offs, and write code that is correct before it is clever.
Understanding of APIs, basic cloud concepts, and modern software delivery practices.
Proficiency in Java, or a related object-oriented language, with a clear willingness and ability to become productive in Java and Spring Boot quickly.
Working knowledge of relational databases (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server); querying, schema design, and understanding how your application interacts with a database at runtime.
Proficiency in version control (Git or Bitbucket) in a collaborative team environment.
Comfort using AI-assisted development tools (e.g. Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, Cursor) as part of your workflow; we expect curiosity here and a willingness to develop your practice.
Openness to learning how and when to apply AI tooling effectively and responsibly; this is an evolving area and we learn together.
Ability to engage with ambiguous problems: ask good questions, break the problem down, and propose a reasonable approach before jumping to a solution.
Attention to the business context of the work: understanding why something matters, not just what needs to be built.
Demonstrated ability to learn quickly and independently; you don't wait to be taught everything.
Receptive to feedback and able to apply it quickly; continuous improvement is the expectation, not the exception.
M.S. in Computer Science preferred; B.S. required (or equivalent work experience); strong CS fundamentals are the most important signal we look for at this level.
0–2 years of professional software engineering experience; strong internship experience or personal project work considered.
Experience with or clear ability to ramp quickly on Java, Spring Boot, and relational databases.

Nice To Haves

Hands-on experience with agentic frameworks, LLM APIs, or workflow orchestration tools in professional or project settings.
Experience with AWS or equivalent cloud environments.
Background in financial services, mathematics, or quantitative disciplines.
A project, contribution, or body of work you can speak to in depth: something you built, something that broke, and what you learned from both.

Responsibilities

Contribute to the design and implementation of Java-based backend services and APIs, adhering to best practices and industry standards.
Build and ship well-tested, maintainable solutions as part of a squad working on real problems with direct business impact.
Participate in the full delivery lifecycle: design discussions, development, testing, deployment, and iteration.
Write clean, efficient, well-documented, and maintainable Java code; treat code quality as a direct contribution to everyone who touches this codebase after you.
Participate in code reviews as both a reviewer and a recipient; treat both as learning opportunities.
Work closely with senior engineers, product managers, and architects to understand requirements and translate them into technical solutions.
Engage actively in design reviews and architecture discussions; ask questions and develop your point of view over time.
Take feedback seriously and apply it quickly; growth velocity matters here as much as current skill level.
Use AI-assisted development tools (f.e. Claude Code) as part of your day-to-day workflow; we expect you to be curious about these tools and actively developing your practice.
Engage with the team's evolving standards for when and how to apply AI tooling responsibly and effectively.
Contribute to the growth and development of our core values: We Before Me, Positive Energy, Knowledge Explorer, and Own It.