Senior Software Engineer (Tech Lead) at Zeraki

About the Role

• 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 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 

What We’re Looking For 

Experience & Technical Skills 

• 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 

Leadership & Mindset 

• Strong ownership mentality 
• Proven leadership ability 
• Excellent communication skills 
• Pragmatic decision-maker 
• Passion for mentorship