Lead IT Developer | Retail Support

Associated Wholesale Grocers•Kansas City, KS

About The Position

AWG is looking for a Lead Developer in Information Technology (IT) to provide independent delivery and serve as a functional lead for the Retail domain, with a primary focus on the ongoing support and maintenance of existing applications. The Lead IT Developer is a customer-facing role serving as an advisor, subject-matter expert, and dedicated support partner for our customers. As an experienced Engineer with a specialized focus on solution support and technical troubleshooting, you will be responsible for guiding customers through the post-implementation phase, system optimization, and long-term stability of their retail solutions. You are a passionate technologist who thrives on diagnosing complex issues, diving into existing codebases, and applying your 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.
Excels in working remotely and collaborating with remote team members to solve problems.

Nice To Haves

Retail, wholesale, or Consumer Product Goods industry experience
Development 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 application issues independently to ensure system stability and performance.
Skillfully deliver technical fixes and enhancements of the highest quality, on time, and on budget.
Serve as a functional lead and primary technical contact for the Retail domain.
Provide accurate estimates for maintenance tasks, bug fixes, and support tickets.
Follow defined protocols to manage vendor relationships and the technology lifecycle for existing Retail systems.
Collaborate with customers to understand recurring pain points and desired outcomes to improve the existing user experience.
Build reusable support documentation, knowledge base articles, and materials that enable the AWG community to self-serve.
Participate in a continuous improvement culture, identifying opportunities to optimize existing code and providing/receiving constructive feedback.
Review peer changes for quality, focusing specifically on safe deployment and verification plans to prevent regressions.
Experience executing operational vision and goals in alignment with department leadership.
Solid experience with the full SDLC, particularly the testing and deployment phases within waterfall and/or agile methodologies.
Takes responsibility for the stability of own work and monitors the performance of supported systems.
Works to clarify ambiguous technical issues and remains productive during high-priority incidents.
Ability to work as a committed member of a cross-functional team, sharing insights to deliver exceptional product experience.
Welcomes the ideas and input of others to solve complex technical hurdles.
Skilled at establishing good working relationships across teams to facilitate rapid issue resolution.
Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to translate technical issues into clear updates for various levels of audiences.
Demonstrated ability to quickly learn and support new or legacy technologies.
Considers industry and market trends to ensure long-term system viability and balances strategic upgrades with daily support activities.
Ability to work independently as a self-starter who is resourceful in finding solutions within existing system constraints.
Possesses strong analytical and problem-solving skills, particularly in high-pressure "system down" scenarios.