Senior Java Backend Developer - Node.js, AWS Cloud & GenAI

Senior Java Backend Developer – Node.js, AWS Cloud & GenAI

Location: Toronto, ON

Work Model: Hybrid (2 days per week in-person at Toronto office preferred)

Experience Required: 8–10 years

Required Skills

• AWS Cloud Computing
  
• Advanced Java Concepts
  
• AI & GenAI – Products & Tools
  

Primary Skillset

• AWS experience (mandatory)
  
• GenAI experience (mandatory)
  

Job Summary

• Design, build, and operate scalable web applications using Java for the backend and modern JavaScript/TypeScript for the frontend.
  
• Lead solution design, own end-to-end delivery, mentor team members, and drive performance, reliability, and security.
  
• Design, build, and operate cloud-native backend services on AWS using Node.js.
  
• Lead solutions from architecture through delivery while maintaining high standards for scalability, reliability, security, and developer experience.
  

Responsibilities

Architecture & Delivery

• Design and implement robust REST and GraphQL services using Java (Java 17+) and Spring Boot (or Micronaut/Quarkus).
  
• Develop responsive front-end applications using React, Angular, or Vue with TypeScript.
  
• Own end-to-end feature delivery across backend APIs, databases, frontend UI, and integrations.
  
• Define API contracts, service boundaries, and documentation using OpenAPI/Swagger.
  
• Ensure high performance, scalability, and observability through profiling, tracing, and metrics.
  

Cloud, DevOps & Reliability

• Build CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions, Jenkins, or GitLab CI with automated testing and deployments.
  
• Implement Infrastructure as Code using Terraform, CloudFormation, or CDK.
  
• Utilize Docker and Kubernetes (EKS, AKS, or GKE) for containerization and orchestration.
  
• Set up monitoring and alerting using Prometheus, Grafana, OpenTelemetry, CloudWatch, New Relic, or Datadog.
  
• Drive incident response and root cause analysis.
  
• Apply caching, rate limiting, and resilience patterns including circuit breakers, retries, backoff, and bulkheads.
  

Security & Compliance

• Enforce secure coding practices based on OWASP Top 10.
  
• Implement API authentication using OAuth2 and OIDC.
  
• Manage secrets securely.
  
• Implement data protection using TLS, KMS, and encryption at rest and in transit.
  
• Support audits and compliance standards such as SOC2, ISO, and PCI.
  

Quality & Technical Leadership

• Establish coding standards and testing strategies for unit, integration, and end-to-end testing.
  
• Conduct code reviews and mentor development teams.
  
• Lead design reviews and technical roadmap initiatives.
  
• Collaborate with Product, QA, SRE, and Data teams to deliver business outcomes.
  

Required Qualifications

• 8–12+ years of professional software development experience.
  
• 5+ years of experience building backend services using Java, preferably Spring Boot.
  
• Strong front-end development experience with React (preferred), Angular, or Vue.
  
• Experience with state management frameworks such as Redux, NgRx, or Pinia.
  
• Proficiency in JavaScript, TypeScript, and modern build tools such as Webpack, Vite, npm, yarn, or pnpm.
  
• Experience with relational and NoSQL databases including PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, MongoDB, or Cassandra.
  
• Strong SQL and query optimization skills.
  
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, Docker, and Kubernetes.
  
• Hands-on experience with JUnit, TestNG, Mockito, Jest, React Testing Library, Cypress, or Playwright.
  
• Strong understanding of distributed systems, event-driven architecture, messaging, and idempotency.
  
• Solid knowledge of OWASP, OAuth2, OIDC, and JWT.
  
• Excellent problem-solving, communication, documentation, and stakeholder management skills.
  

Nice-to-Have

• Experience with Kafka, Kinesis, RabbitMQ, asynchronous processing, and saga/outbox patterns.
  
• Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP and managed services including RDS, DynamoDB, OpenSearch, and API Gateway.
  
• Performance and scalability optimization using JMeter, k6, JVM tuning, Lighthouse, and Web Vitals.
  
• Experience with micro frontends, design systems, and WCAG accessibility standards.
  
• Experience in fintech, payments, or other regulated environments.
  
• Knowledge of Kotlin, Go, or Python.
  
• Experience with Micronaut or Quarkus.
  

Core Competencies

• Systems thinking with a focus on scalability, resilience, and observability.
  
• Pragmatic execution with emphasis on quality, automation, and iterative delivery.
  
• Strong ownership mindset with a focus on service reliability and continuous improvement.
  
• Security-by-design approach throughout the software development lifecycle.
  
• Technical leadership with mentoring, collaboration, and engineering excellence.