Lead Software Engineer – Backend Engineering (Core) / Integrations

Ontrac Solutions•Chicago, IL

About The Position

We are seeking a Lead Software Engineer (Backend / Integrations) to anchor the backend workstream of a contractor program supporting a critical customer engagement: a state government professional licensing and regulatory compliance platform built on Google Cloud. This is a hands-on technical leadership role. The successful candidate owns the architecture of the core platform services and the external integration layer, sets the engineering standards the backend team works to, and remains in the codebase day to day. They will work closely with the client technical lead, the mobile and frontend engineers, and customer stakeholders to ensure project success from initial definition through final delivery.

Requirements

10+ years of professional backend engineering experience with Java and Spring Boot
Demonstrated technical leadership of a backend team or workstream — setting architecture, reviewing code, and mentoring engineers — while still contributing production code
Production delivery experience on Google Cloud Platform, with ownership of a system through design, launch, and operation
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or equivalent practical experience
Java 21 and Spring Boot 3.x microservice development
Service and API design across a multi-service platform, including contract and versioning strategy
PostgreSQL, including schema design, indexing, and versioned migrations
GCP serverless services: Cloud Run, Pub/Sub, Cloud Tasks, Cloud Workflows, Cloud Scheduler
Event-driven architecture and messaging patterns (idempotency, retries, dead-letter handling)
External system integration over REST, SOAP, SFTP, and webhooks
API security with OAuth 2.0 / OIDC and JWT
Automated testing (JUnit, integration tests), CI/CD, and the quality standards that govern them
Working directly with non-engineering stakeholders to turn requirements into a delivery plan

Nice To Haves

Workflow engines (Flowable, BPMN) and business rules engines
AlloyDB, BigQuery
Payment processing integrations
Experience in government or regulated environments (FIPS, CJIS, HIPAA)
Google Cloud Professional certifications
Prior experience leading a distributed or contractor engineering team

Responsibilities

Own the backend architecture: service boundaries, data model, event contracts, and the integration layer design
Design and implement Java 21 / Spring Boot microservices on Cloud Run (licensing, case management, payments, documents, notifications)
Implement PostgreSQL (AlloyDB) persistence, including row-level data isolation and search indexing
Build asynchronous event flows on Pub/Sub and Eventarc
Implement scheduled and timer-driven processing with Cloud Tasks and Cloud Scheduler (renewal reminders, expiration sweeps, reconciliation)
Author Cloud Workflows orchestrations for multi-service pipelines
Direct the build-out of integrations with external state and federal systems over REST, SOAP, SFTP, and webhooks
Oversee payment flows, including hosted payment page integration and settlement reconciliation
Own platform security and compliance outcomes for encryption and data isolation
Set and enforce test coverage, code review, and CI/CD standards across the backend team
Break down the backend scope, sequence the work, and report delivery status to the client technical lead and customer stakeholders
Mentor engineers on the team and support technical onboarding of new contractors