Java Architect

REI Systems•Sterling, VA

3h•Hybrid

About The Position

REI Systems is seeking an experienced Java Architect to provide technical architecture, solution design, and hands-on engineering leadership for mission-critical applications supporting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The role combines enterprise architecture strategy with hands-on development, collaboration with FDA stakeholders, and guidance for development teams through modernization initiatives, cloud adoption, system integration, and continuous delivery. Solutions must meet federal security, compliance, performance, and operational requirements. The Java Architect will lead the design and development of secure, scalable, resilient, high-performing Java applications and microservices, with a focus on Java, Spring, RESTful APIs, AWS, relational databases, DevSecOps, and modern application architecture. The role includes setting technical standards, mentoring engineers, modernizing legacy applications, and supporting cloud-native transformation and enterprise integration. The position is hybrid, with work at the REI Sterling Office two days per week or as needed, and regular on-site presence at FDA facilities in the Washington, DC Metro Area for account leadership and delivery oversight. A bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Operations Management, or a related field is specified. The candidate must be eligible to obtain the public trust clearance required for the FDA program.

Requirements

10+ years of software engineering experience, including significant hands-on Java application development.
5+ years of experience in technical architecture, solution design, or technical leadership for enterprise applications.
Strong hands-on expertise in Java, Spring Boot, Spring Framework, Spring Security, and RESTful web services.
Demonstrated experience designing and implementing microservices and distributed enterprise applications.
Strong knowledge of object-oriented design, software design patterns, SOLID principles, and enterprise application architecture.
Experience designing, developing, or modernizing applications hosted on AWS.
Hands-on experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and containerized application deployments.
Experience with relational databases, particularly Oracle and PostgreSQL, including SQL optimization and data integration.
Experience with CI/CD pipelines, Git-based version control, Maven or Gradle, and automated development workflows.
Knowledge of API security, authentication, authorization, and secure software development practices.
Experience troubleshooting complex application issues, performance bottlenecks, and integration challenges.
Demonstrated ability to lead technical discussions, review architectural designs, and mentor software engineers.
Experience working in Agile/Scrum development environments.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience interacting with technical leadership and business stakeholders.
Ability to obtain and maintain the background investigation or Public Trust clearance required for the FDA program.
Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Operations Management, or a related field.
Hybrid work with regular on-site presence at FDA facilities in the Washington, DC Metro Area; the posting specifies the REI Sterling Office two days per week or as needed.

Nice To Haves

Prior experience supporting FDA, HHS, or other federal civilian government IT programs.
Experience modernizing legacy Java applications and migrating enterprise workloads to AWS.
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate or Professional certification.
Oracle, PostgreSQL, and PL/SQL development experience.
Experience with Apache Kafka, RabbitMQ, or event-driven architecture.
Familiarity with Angular, React, TypeScript, or other modern frontend frameworks.
Experience with enterprise API management, API Gateway, and integration platforms.
Experience with Terraform, Ansible, Kubernetes, and GitOps-based deployment approaches.
Familiarity with SonarQube, Fortify, Checkmarx, or comparable security and code quality tools.
Experience with application monitoring and observability using CloudWatch, Splunk, ELK, Prometheus, or Grafana.
Knowledge of Section 508 accessibility requirements and federal application security standards.
Experience with system modernization, cloud-native transformation, and enterprise integration initiatives.
Exposure to AI-enabled applications, AI/ML service integration, or intelligent workflow automation.

Responsibilities

Lead the architecture, design, and development of enterprise Java applications supporting FDA mission-critical systems.
Define application architecture, technical standards, integration patterns, and development best practices.
Design scalable, modular, and maintainable solutions using Java, Spring, and microservices.
Provide hands-on technical leadership through architecture reviews, design sessions, code reviews, and proof-of-concept development.
Translate business and functional requirements into technical architecture, solution designs, and implementation roadmaps.
Develop architecture diagrams, technical design documents, API specifications, and system integration documentation.
Evaluate legacy systems and recommend modernization strategies, including refactoring, cloud migration, and API enablement.
Identify and resolve architectural challenges involving performance, scalability, availability, security, and interoperability.
Mentor Java developers and technical leads and promote consistent engineering practices.
Architect and develop enterprise applications using Java 11/17/21 and Spring technologies.
Design and implement RESTful APIs and microservices for distributed applications.
Apply design patterns, object-oriented programming, SOLID principles, and clean architecture practices.
Implement service-to-service communication, asynchronous processing, exception handling, and transaction management.
Design secure API integrations using OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, JWT, and API gateway patterns.
Work with Hibernate/JPA, JDBC, and ORM frameworks.
Support event-driven architecture and messaging integrations where applicable.
Establish automated unit, integration, and API testing standards.
Design, deploy, and optimize cloud-native and cloud-enabled applications in AWS.
Provide architectural guidance for AWS services, including EC2, ECS, EKS, Lambda, S3, RDS, API Gateway, IAM, CloudWatch, and CloudFormation.
Architect containerized applications using Docker and Kubernetes.
Support application modernization, cloud migration, and infrastructure automation initiatives.
Design highly available, fault-tolerant, secure, and cost-effective cloud solutions.
Collaborate with cloud infrastructure and DevOps engineers on deployment, monitoring, scaling, and disaster recovery.
Apply AWS security, networking, identity management, and cloud architecture best practices.
Design and optimize database integrations involving Oracle, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, and other relational databases.
Develop and review complex SQL queries, stored procedures, and PL/SQL components as applicable.
Guide database performance optimization, indexing, connection pooling, and data access patterns.
Design data integration between enterprise applications, legacy platforms, and external systems.
Support data integrity, transaction management, and secure data exchange across distributed applications.
Collaborate with DevSecOps teams to establish automated build, testing, deployment, and release processes.
Support CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or comparable tools.
Apply infrastructure-as-code practices using Terraform, AWS CloudFormation, or similar technologies.
Integrate code quality, dependency scanning, vulnerability detection, and security testing into development workflows.
Promote secure coding and address vulnerabilities identified through SAST, DAST, and software composition analysis.
Implement logging, monitoring, audit trails, and application observability.
Ensure architecture and development practices align with federal security requirements, including NIST guidelines, FISMA, FedRAMP, and FDA-specific standards.
Collaborate with FDA stakeholders, product owners, business analysts, project managers, and development teams.
Participate in Agile ceremonies, including sprint planning, backlog refinement, architecture discussions, and release planning.
Work with QA engineers, database administrators, cloud engineers, and DevSecOps teams to deliver solutions.
Provide technical estimates, identify architectural risks, and recommend mitigation strategies.
Support technical troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, production issue resolution, and continuous application improvement.
Communicate technical concepts clearly to technical and nontechnical stakeholders.
Deliver secure, scalable, and maintainable Java enterprise solutions; establish engineering standards; accelerate modernization and cloud adoption; improve reliability, performance, security, and maintainability; and provide hands-on technical guidance for timely, high-quality delivery.