Senior Software Engineer (Tech Lead) at Zeraki
Job Description
Job Summary
We are looking for a Senior Backend Engineer who will also serve as a Tech Lead for a cross-functional engineering team (Frontend, Backend, and DevOps).
This is not just a senior IC role—it is a leadership role grounded in strong technical execution. You will be responsible for delivering complex systems end-to-end, setting engineering standards, and elevating the performance of the entire team.
You will work primarily within a Java/Spring Boot backend ecosystem, while also collaborating closely with frontend engineers (Angular) and DevOps to ensure cohesive, scalable, and reliable systems.
Key Duties & Responsibilities
Technical Leadership & System Design
- Lead the design and implementation of scalable, secure, and maintainable backend systems using Java and Spring Boot
- Own architectural decisions across services, ensuring clear contracts between backend, frontend (Angular), and infrastructure
- Translate ambiguous product requirements into well-defined technical designs and execution plans
- Drive system design discussions, identifying trade-offs in scalability, performance, and maintainability
- Ensure alignment between frontend and backend through well-structured APIs and data contracts
Backend Engineering & Execution
- Write high-quality, production-grade code for mission-critical systems
- Build and maintain RESTful APIs and backend services
- Optimize system performance, reliability, and scalability
- Proactively identify and address technical debt and bottlenecks
- Establish and enforce best practices in code quality and testing
Team Productivity & Enablement
- Act as a force multiplier through code reviews and technical leadership
- Unblock engineers quickly when they face challenges
- Balance personal contribution with team enablement
Ownership & Delivery
- Take full ownership of multi-sprint projects
- Coordinate execution across engineers
- Drive incident response and post-mortems
- Proactively identify and resolve risks
Cross-Stack Collaboration
- Work closely with Angular frontend engineers
- Partner with DevOps on deployment pipelines
- Ensure end-to-end system reliability
Business & Product Alignment
- Align engineering decisions with product goals
- Collaborate with Product Managers
- Balance technical excellence with delivery timelines
Mentorship & Team Development
- Mentor junior and mid-level engineers
- Contribute to hiring and onboarding
- Foster a culture of ownership and learning
Performance Expectations
- Deliver complex multi-sprint projects reliably
- Improve team velocity and code quality
- Maintain high system uptime
- Drive system performance improvements
- Mentor engineers effectively
Educational Qualifications, Experience, & Skills Required
- 5+ years in backend engineering
- Strong expertise in Java and Spring Boot
- Experience with distributed systems
- Strong System and API design skills
- Database experience (SQL/NoSQL)
- Familiarity with cloud services and CI/CD configurations
- Working knowledge of Angular frontend concepts
- Strong ownership mentality
- Proven leadership ability
- Excellent communication skills
- Pragmatic decision-maker
- Passion for mentorship
