Chicago, IL Preferred | Remote | 12 Months | 2 Positions
Estimated Start Date: September 28, 2026
Location: Chicago preferred; position may be 100% remote
Time Zone: EST or CST preferred
Schedule: Monday–Friday, 1st shift
Duration: 12 months
Interview Process: One virtual panel interview
We are seeking an experienced Lead Software Engineer to provide technical leadership and delivery ownership for a team of software engineers building and operating scalable, cloud-native applications on AWS.
This role will drive architecture decisions, engineering best practices, and solution design across Java/Spring Boot microservices, OpenSearch platforms, CI/CD, observability, and AWS infrastructure.
The Lead Software Engineer will work closely with Product Owners, Architects, platform teams, and other stakeholders to deliver secure, resilient, scalable, and high-performing solutions while mentoring engineers and improving development processes.
Lead software engineers in the delivery of business-critical applications.
Establish technical direction and architectural standards.
Drive AWS cloud adoption and application modernization initiatives.
Design and support scalable cloud-native applications and distributed systems.
Provide technical leadership across Java, Spring Boot, microservices, REST APIs, and AWS environments.
Ensure solutions meet scalability, performance, security, and reliability requirements.
Drive engineering best practices across development, testing, deployment, and operations.
Promote DevOps, CI/CD, automation, observability, and Infrastructure as Code practices.
Support OpenSearch/Elasticsearch platforms and related application integrations.
Promote the effective use of AI-assisted development tools.
Support incident resolution, operational excellence, and continuous improvement.
Mentor and coach software engineers while helping develop technical talent.
Partner with Product Owners, Architects, and stakeholders to align technology investments with business goals.
Influence cross-functional teams and drive successful delivery of complex cloud-native solutions.
Bachelor's degree required.
10+ years of relevant software engineering experience.
5+ years of experience in a technical lead role.
Extensive experience with Java and Spring Boot.
Strong experience designing and developing microservices and REST APIs.
Hands-on AWS experience, including:
ECS/Fargate
IAM
ALB
RDS
CloudWatch
Secrets Manager
Experience with OpenSearch and/or Elasticsearch.
Strong knowledge of Docker and containerized applications.
Experience with CI/CD and GitHub.
Strong understanding of distributed systems and cloud architecture.
Experience with observability, DevOps, and Infrastructure as Code.
Experience with SQL and NoSQL databases.
Knowledge of event-driven architecture and API integration.
Experience with application and system performance optimization.
Experience using AI-assisted development tools.
The ideal candidate is a senior-level software engineer who has remained technically hands-on while also providing leadership and architectural direction. Candidates should have demonstrated experience leading engineers and delivering complex Java/Spring Boot applications in AWS cloud environments.
Strong technical leadership
Excellent communication and stakeholder management
Mentoring and coaching
Collaboration across technical and business teams
Strong problem-solving and critical-thinking skills
Sound technical decision-making
Ownership and accountability
Conflict resolution
Adaptability
Ability to influence cross-functional teams
Candidates should demonstrate a history of successfully leading the delivery of complex cloud-native solutions in collaborative enterprise environments.