Senior Java Developer Job Description - Senior Backend Java Engineer

The Senior Java Developer delivers robust, scalable server side solutions and leads technical delivery within development teams. This role is suitable for experienced Java engineers who can design application architecture, produce high quality code, mentor colleagues and collaborate with product and operations stakeholders.

Senior Java Developer Job Profile

The Senior Java Developer is responsible for the full software development lifecycle of enterprise Java applications. The role focuses on designing, implementing and maintaining backend services, APIs and integration layers to meet functional and non functional requirements.

Senior developers are expected to influence technical direction, improve engineering practices and provide guidance to more junior engineers while ensuring code quality, performance and reliability of production systems.

Senior Java Developer Job Description

The Senior Java Developer leads the design and delivery of backend components, translating business requirements into technical solutions. The role involves producing well structured, maintainable code, creating technical specifications and contributing to architectural decisions. The developer will work across cross functional teams to integrate services, define data contracts and ensure secure, resilient implementations.

Day to day responsibilities include code development, peer review, writing automated tests and supporting continuous improvement of build and deployment practices. The role also requires proactive performance tuning, troubleshooting production incidents and driving initiatives to reduce technical debt and increase system observability.

The Senior Java Developer is expected to mentor and coach team members, participate in planning and estimation activities and communicate technical trade offs clearly to product and operational teams.

Senior Java Developer: Duties and Responsibilities

• Design and implement backend services and APIs using Java, ensuring clean architecture and modular design
• Author and maintain server side code that is reliable, testable and maintainable
• Develop and maintain RESTful interfaces and integration layers with external systems
• Collaborate with architects and product owners to translate requirements into technical designs
• Lead and participate in code reviews to uphold coding standards and best practices
• Create and maintain automated unit and integration tests to achieve appropriate test coverage
• Analyse and optimise application performance and memory usage to meet SLAs
• Investigate and resolve production issues, provide timely root cause analysis and corrective actions
• Mentor and coach junior developers, supporting skills development and knowledge sharing
• Contribute to sprint planning, estimations and delivery tracking within an Agile team
• Define and document technical specifications, APIs and operational run books
• Apply secure coding practices and participate in security reviews and remediation
• Maintain and improve continuous integration and delivery practices without introducing manual bottlenecks
• Drive reduction of technical debt and propose refactoring where appropriate

Senior Java Developer: Requirements and Qualifications

• Bachelor degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering or equivalent experience
• At least five years of professional experience developing Java applications
• Strong understanding of object oriented design principles and software design patterns
• Proven experience building scalable microservices and REST APIs
• Solid knowledge of concurrency, multithreading and memory management in Java
• Experience with relational and NoSQL databases and competency in SQL
• Practical experience in writing automated unit and integration tests and applying test driven approaches
• Familiarity with continuous integration and continuous delivery concepts and practices
• Experience in performance tuning, profiling and identifying bottlenecks
• Proven ability to mentor developers and lead technical discussions
• Effective verbal and written communication skills with cross functional stakeholders
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills and a disciplined approach to delivery