Senior Backend Software Engineer (Kotlin/Java)

Role Overview

Senior Backend Software Engineer (Kotlin/Java) working on a contract (6 months) basis with an enterprise retail technology team. You’ll help accelerate delivery of business-critical systems and optimize performance, reliability, and security at massive scale.

Responsibilities

• Deliver complex backend features and automation to speed up product data delivery
• Monitor workflows, troubleshoot issues, and resolve performance bottlenecks
• Lead platform-level testing, debugging, and automation; help establish monitoring and maintenance standards
• Build fully attributed data models and tune data management for optimal performance at scale
• Ensure work meets “definition of done” for reliability, security, and deployment stability
• Support long-term operational health of high-traffic, customer-facing systems

Requirements (Must Haves)

• Strong hands-on experience with Kotlin and Java
• Experience using Spring or Micronaut frameworks
• Proven delivery of production-ready services in large-scale, high-traffic environments
• Hands-on automated testing and CI/CD experience (includes Kotest and Vela Pro)
• Observability and debugging experience using Grafana and Kibana
• Ability to develop, tune, and maintain data-intensive systems with performance and reliability requirements
• Strong independence in executing complex tasks in fast-paced, ambiguous environments

Nice to Haves

• Experience with high-performance data stores such as Valkey or RocksDB
• Background supporting large-scale retail/ecommerce/enterprise data platforms
• Prior contract or consulting experience delivering rapid value
• Strong operational excellence focus (automation, monitoring, incident prevention)