Senior Java Developer (enterprise microservices delivery)

About the Role We are looking for a Senior Java Developer with 6-9 years of experience to design, develop, and maintain enterprise-grade microservices and event-driven applications. You will bring strong expertise in Java, Spring Boot, and Apache Kafka - building scalable, resilient backend services deployed on Azure (preferred) or AWS. You will work closely with architects, product owners, and cross-functional engineering teams to deliver high-quality, cloud-native solutions at enterprise scale. Key Responsibilities Java & Spring Boot Design, develop, and maintain scalable Java microservices using Spring Boot - applying clean architecture, SOLID principles, and microservices design patterns. Build secure, well-documented RESTful APIs - following API-first design principles, OpenAPI / Swagger standards, and versioning best practices. Develop and optimise data access layers using Spring Data JPA / Hibernate - managing entity relationships, query optimisation, and database migrations. Write comprehensive unit and integration tests using JUnit and Mockito - maintaining high code coverage through TDD practices. Participate actively in code reviews - upholding coding standards, security practices, and architectural consistency. Apache Kafka & Event-Driven Architecture Design and implement event-driven microservices using Apache Kafka - developing producers, consumers, and Kafka Streams applications with Spring Kafka. Design Kafka topic architecture - partitioning strategies, replication factors, retention policies, and consumer group configurations. Implement robust error handling - DLQ, retry strategies, and poison pill handling for resilient Kafka consumer behaviour. Configure Kafka Schema Registry with Avro or Protobuf - enforcing schema evolution and backward / forward compatibility. Monitor and troubleshoot Kafka cluster health - consumer lag, partition rebalancing, and broker performance metrics. Azure Cloud (Preferred) Design and deploy cloud-native Java microservices on Azure - AKS, App Services, Azure Functions, and Azure Container Registry. Integrate applications with Azure messaging services - Service Bus, Event Hub, and Event Grid - alongside Kafka for hybrid event-driven architectures. Implement Azure security best practices - Managed Identities, Key Vault, Azure AD RBAC, and Private Endpoints. Configure Azure monitoring and observability - Application Insights, Azure Monitor, and Log Analytics. Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines using Azure DevOps - automating build, test, security scanning, and deployment workflows. Architecture & Delivery Contribute to microservices architecture - applying DDD, CQRS, Event Sourcing, and Saga patterns. Collaborate with Solution Architects, BAs, Product Owners, and DevOps teams in Agile sprint delivery. Troubleshoot complex production issues - Kafka consumer lag, performance bottlenecks, and distributed system failures. Produce clear technical documentation - API contracts, event schemas, and deployment runbooks. Mentor and support junior Java developers across Spring Boot, Kafka, and Azure domains. What We're Looking For 6-9 years of hands-on Java development with a strong track record of enterprise microservices delivery in production. Deep Spring Boot expertise - Spring MVC, Spring Cloud, Spring Security, and Spring Kafka. Proven Apache Kafka experience - producer / consumer development, Kafka Streams, topic design, DLQ, and Schema Registry. Strong Azure cloud experience (preferred) - AKS, App Services, Service Bus, Event Hub, Key Vault, Azure AD, and Azure DevOps. Solid database skills - relational (Azure SQL / PostgreSQL / MySQL) and non-relational (Cosmos DB / MongoDB / Redis). Experience with Docker and Kubernetes / AKS for cloud-native microservices deployment. Hands-on CI/CD experience - Azure DevOps, Jenkins, or GitLab CI. Strong understanding of event-driven architecture - messaging patterns, eventual consistency, and saga orchestration. Excellent communication and collaboration skills across architects, product owners, and engineering teams. Nice to Have OpenSearch / Elasticsearch - index design, full-text search, aggregations, and Spring Boot integration. Azure Managed Kafka (Event Hub for Kafka) or AWS MSK experience. Service mesh - Istio or Linkerd - for AKS microservices traffic management. CQRS and Event Sourcing using Axon Framework or equivalent. GraphQL API development alongside REST. Terraform or Azure Bicep for Infrastructure-as-Code. Azure Developer Associate (AZ-204) or Azure Solutions Architect (AZ-305) certification. AWS Certified Developer Associate certification. Experience in Financial Services, FinTech, or regulated industry environments.