Lead Java Developer – Vice President

The Applications Development Tech Lead Analyst is responsible for leading the design, development, modernization, and support of enterprise applications while driving technical strategy, engineering excellence, and delivery across multiple initiatives. The role requires deep expertise in Core Java, Spring Boot, Microservices, Cloud technologies, Kafka, and distributed systems, along with modern AI-first software engineering practices.

The successful candidate will serve as a technical leader and trusted advisor, guiding solution architecture, mentoring engineering teams, and leveraging AI-powered engineering tools to accelerate delivery and improve software quality.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and implementation of scalable, resilient, and cloud-native applications using Core Java, Spring Boot, Microservices, and Kafka.
• Drive architecture and technical design decisions across multiple projects and application domains.
• Provide technical leadership for complex engineering initiatives, ensuring alignment with enterprise architecture and engineering standards.
• Partner with business, product, architecture, and technology teams to define solution strategies and deliver outcomes.
• Lead performance optimization, resiliency improvements, security reviews, and production stability initiatives.
• Establish and promote engineering best practices for coding, testing, CI/CD, observability, and automation.
• Utilize AI-powered coding assistants and engineering agents (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Devin AI) to improve development efficiency, code quality, and developer productivity.
• Apply Context Engineering and AI-first development practices to effectively leverage coding agents throughout the SDLC.
• Mentor senior and junior engineers and drive technical skill development across teams.
• Act as a recognized SME and technical advisor for stakeholders, architects, and engineering leadership.
• Assess technology risks, drive remediation strategies, and ensure compliance with Citi policies and regulatory requirements.

Required Qualifications

• 13+ years of application development experience.
• Strong expertise in:
  • Core Java
  • Spring Boot
  • REST APIs & Microservices
  • Multithreading & Concurrency
  • Collections Framework
  • Transaction Management
  • SQL / RDBMS
  • Cloud Platforms
  • Kafka
• Strong understanding of distributed systems, scalability, resiliency, and performance optimization.
• Experience driving technical design, architecture reviews, and engineering governance.
• Experience mentoring engineers and leading technical initiatives across teams.
• Strong communication, stakeholder management, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to operate independently and influence technical direction across organizations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, OpenShift, and cloud-native platforms.
• Familiarity with observability, monitoring, and SRE practices.
• Experience using GitHub Copilot, Devin AI, or similar coding agents.
• Understanding of Context Engineering, prompt design, and Agentic SDLC practices.
• Strong knowledge of secure software development and application security..

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Job Family Group:

Technology

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Job Family:

Applications Development

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Time Type:

Full time

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Most Relevant Skills

Please see the requirements listed above.

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Other Relevant Skills

For complementary skills, please see above and/or contact the recruiter.

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