Lead Backend Java Developer

Raymond James•Saint Petersburg, FL

10h•Hybrid

About The Position

As a Lead Developer on the Enterprise Services team, you will design and deliver technical solutions that power critical applications across the organization. The role involves shaping architecture, influencing technology strategy, and solving complex challenges affecting millions of transactions. You will own work across all stages of the Software Development Life Cycle, with a focus on performance, reliability, and architectural excellence. The position follows a hybrid work model, with an expectation to work in the office three days per week at the St. Petersburg, Florida Corporate Office. The role is not eligible for work visa sponsorship, either currently or in the future. The total compensation includes base salary or wages and may include additional compensation such as cash or equity, discretionary bonuses, or commissions. A benefits package may include medical, dental, and vision coverage; life, critical illness, and accident insurance; disability benefits; retirement savings; paid time off, including vacation, holidays, and sick leave; and parental leave. Eligibility and specific offerings may vary by position and employment status. Raymond James associates are expected to demonstrate the firm's guiding behaviors—Develop, Collaborate, Decide, Deliver, and Improve—and its values of client-first, integrity, independence, and a conservative, long-term view. The company is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions based on merit and business needs.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in the software engineering discipline.
7+ years of hands-on experience with Java 8 or later.
Experience with REST, SOAP, microservices, service-oriented architecture, and event-driven architecture.
7+ years of hands-on experience with Spring, Spring Boot, solution architecture, design patterns, integration frameworks, SQL, and NoSQL.
Experience with near or distributed caches and caching strategies, such as Redis or Apache Ignite.
Experience participating in production support rotations and resolving issues on time.
Experience mentoring junior developers and offshore teams and reviewing deliverable quality.
Experience optimizing API performance, API resiliency, caching frameworks, and streaming or messaging platforms such as Kafka and MQ.
Deep understanding of software engineering practices, object-oriented analysis and design, design patterns, coding modularity, prototypes, and algorithms.
Excellent communication skills, analytical ability, strong judgment, and ability to work effectively in a team environment.
Bachelor's degree completed.

Nice To Haves

Experience with monitoring tools such as Datadog, Dynatrace, or Splunk.
Experience with CI/CD using Jenkins.
AWS experience.
Experience with AI, ML, or NLP.
Financial services experience is highly preferred.

Responsibilities

Design and deliver technical solutions for critical organizational applications.
Shape architecture and influence technology strategy.
Own activities across all stages of the Software Development Life Cycle.
Focus on performance, reliability, and architectural excellence.
Participate in production support rotations and address issues promptly.
Mentor junior developers and offshore team members, including reviewing the quality of designs, code, and timelines.
Optimize API performance, resiliency, and caching, and work with streaming and messaging platforms.