Senior Java Developer – Spring Boot, REST API, Kubernetes/AWS
Location: Dublin or Manchester (Hybrid)
Department: Engineering
Reports to: Engineering Manager
About the Role
We are seeking a highly skilled Senior Java Developer to lead the modernization of our legacy monolithic architecture by decomposing SOAP-based services into stateless RESTful microservices. You will be responsible for transitioning our legacy SOAP-based services to RESTful, scalable microservices using Spring Boot, deployed in AWS via Docker and Kubernetes (or ECS). This is a high-impact role where your expertise will directly influence system scalability, performance, and developer experience.
Key Responsibilities
API Development & Architecture
1. Apply domain-driven design and stateless principles to migrate business functionality from the monolith to a modern architecture
2. Lead the decomposition of tightly coupled SOAP services into independently deployable microservices
3. Design and implement scalable, stateless REST APIs using Spring Boot and SwaggerHub
4. Lead the transformation from SOAP/XML to REST/JSON for internal and external APIs
5. Serve as the front controller for managing requests and orchestrating backend service flows
Microservices & Cloud Deployment
6. Develop and deploy containerized microservices using Docker and Kubernetes, or AWS ECS
7. Implement cloud-native architecture patterns for high availability, fault tolerance, and scalability in AWS
8. Integrate with API Gateway, Lambda, and CloudFormation or other IaC tools for provisioning infrastructure
Testing & Quality
9. Write comprehensive integration, unit, and API tests using JUnit, Mockito, Postman, etc.
10. Debug REST-to-SOAP interactions to ensure seamless migration and data integrity
11. Champion CI/CD and test automation practices across the team
Performance, Caching & DevOps
12. Optimize performance with caching solutions (e.g., Redis, Memcached)
13. Maintain stateless service architecture principles
14. Contribute to observability with Prometheus, Grafana, and ELK Stack
Collaboration & Leadership
15. Collaborate closely with product, QA, DevOps, and platform teams
16. Mentor junior engineers and support technical decision-making across sprints
17. • Advocate for engineering excellence, TDD, and best practices in software delivery
Required Skills & Experience
18. Experience leading end-to-end migration projects from SOAP-based systems to scalable, domain-aligned microservices
19. Proven experience decomposing monolithic applications and rebuilding them as RESTful microservices
20. 7+ years in Java development with strong expertise in Spring Boot
21. Strong knowledge of REST architecture principles and best practices
22. Proven experience designing and building REST APIs at scale
23. Deep understanding of SOAP-to-REST transformations
24. Hands-on with Docker and either Kubernetes or AWS ECS (Elastic Container Service)
25. Proficiency in one or more Infrastructure as Code (IaC) frameworks: Terraform, AWS CloudFormation, or AWS CDK
26. Strong database knowledge: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis
27. Proficient with CI/CD tools (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI, AWS CodePipeline)
28. Strong testing discipline with tools like JUnit, Mockito, Postman, or Karate
29. Experience with OAuth2, JWT, OpenID Connect
30. Familiarity with Java 8+ and awareness of Java 11/17 improvements
Preferred Skills
31. Experience with API Gateways (AWS API Gateway, Kong)
32. Knowledge of Kafka, RabbitMQ
33. Experience with serverless architectures (e.g., AWS Lambda)
34. Broader experience with Infrastructure as Code tooling and best practices