Tech Lead - Java Engineer [Remote

Our client, is seeking a high-performing Lead Software Engineer (Squad Tech Lead) to join their Canadian IT Platforms and Engineering division.
In this strategic squad lead role, you will provide technical leadership, architecture guidance, and hands-on software development for a brand-new Agile team dedicated to modernizing group retirement, savings, and digital client experience journeys. Operating with a 70% leadership and 30% hands-on delivery split, you will mentor a mix of junior and intermediate engineers, collaborate closely with Principal Software Engineers, Architects, and Product Owners, and drive best practices in microservices engineering. You will champion secure coding standards using automated SAST/DAST tools, integrate AI-assisted coding practices (such as GitHub Copilot), and ensure high-concurrency Java Spring Boot applications are resilient, performant, and secure.
Duration: 12-Month Contract (Initial 1-year contract with a high probability of extension for an additional year)
Hybrid (Primarily remote with on-site presence once per quarter; occasional travel between Toronto and Waterloo offices depending on project milestones)

Target Start Date: ASAP
High-Impact Digital Transformation: Lead a newly established, high-visibility Agile squad focused on enhancing digital engagement and retirement outcomes for millions of enterprise clients.
Substantial Contract Horizon: Secure a 1-year contract within a major multi-year digital initiative, featuring a high possibility of an additional 12-month extension.
Modern AI-Assisted Sandbox: Champion AI-driven engineering velocity, leveraging GitHub Copilot and LLMs for code generation, optimization, and team productivity.
Enjoy significant remote flexibility with on-site presence required only once per quarter for strategic alignment.
Technical Leadership & Team Mentorship
Squad Technical Guidance: Lead, coach, and mentor junior and intermediate developers; establish coding standards, conduct peer code reviews, and drive technical excellence across the squad (~70% leadership scope).
Serve as the primary technical voice for the squad, collaborating closely with Principal Engineers, Solution Architects, Product Owners, and business stakeholders to define technical feasibility, scope, and estimates.
Architecture & Removal of Blockers: Support developers in resolving complex technical impediments, ensuring application design aligns with enterprise architectural patterns and API standards.
API & Microservices Delivery: Design, build, and optimize high-scale, resilient backend microservices using Java and Spring Boot (~30% hands-on scope).
DevOps & Quality Engineering: Maintain CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, BitBucket), implement robust unit and integration testing (JUnit, Mockito, RESTAssured), and monitor application performance and stability.
AI-Assisted Engineering: Drive adoption of AI-assisted coding tools (GitHub Copilot, Claude) within the squad to accelerate development velocity and improve documentation and code quality.
Backend Java Expertise: 8 to 10+ years of software engineering experience with expert-level mastery of Java, Spring Boot, REST APIs, microservices design, and performance tuning.
Delivery Leadership Experience: Proven experience acting as a Tech Lead or Senior Lead, guiding junior/intermediate developers, removing blockers, and managing technical deliverables.
DevOps & Testing Pipeline Depth: Solid experience with CI/CD deployment automation (BitBucket, Jenkins) and unit/integration testing frameworks (JUnit, Mockito, RESTAssured).
AI Tooling Literacy: Beginner to intermediate experience leveraging GitHub Copilot or similar LLMs for AI-assisted development, code generation, and productivity.
Communication & Influence: Exceptional verbal and written communication skills with proven ability to bridge technical jargon for non-technical business leaders, POs, and architects.
Preferred Assets & Nice-to-Haves
Domain background within Financial Services, Wealth Management, Group Retirement, or Insurance.
Familiarity with frontend frameworks (React.js or Angular) to better guide full-stack squad initiatives.
Basic understanding of containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes pod setup and configuration).
Exposure to messaging/event-driven architectures (Kafka) or SOAP/XML enterprise integrations.
If you are a tech-savvy Lead Software Engineer who pairs expert Java Spring Boot microservices engineering with a 70/30 leadership mindset, SAST/DAST security knowledge, and AI-assisted development skills, this 12-month hybrid contract is an outstanding opportunity. Bring your technical coaching, API precision, and collaborative leadership to our client's engineering team today!
As a result, we are committed to developing and implementing strategies to increase the equity, diversity and inclusion within the workplace by examining our internal policies, practices, and systems throughout the entire lifecycle of our workforce, including its recruitment, retention and advancement for all employees. In addition to our deep commitment to respecting human rights, we are dedicated to positive actions to affect change to ensure everyone has full participation in the workforce free from any barriers, systemic or otherwise, especially equity-seeking groups who are usually underrepresented in Canada's workforce, including those who identify as women or non-binary/gender non-conforming; Indigenous or Aboriginal Peoples; persons with disabilities (visible or invisible) and; members of visible minorities, racialized groups and the LGBTQ2+ community.
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