IT Software Engineer 5

• Location: Chicago, Illinois
• Type: Contract
• Job #105917

IT Software Engineer 5
Location: Chicago, IL (Hybrid - 2 days onsite per week: Monday & Wednesday)
Employment Type: 12-Month Contract
Compensation: $88-$95/hr + optional benefits (medical, dental, vision, 401(k), PTO)
About the Role
Our client is seeking a Lead Software Engineer to provide technical leadership in the design, development, testing, and deployment of enterprise-scale digital solutions hosted on AWS. This is a hands-on coding role focused on building cloud-native microservices and RESTful APIs while driving architecture decisions, mentoring engineers, and delivering highly scalable software solutions.
Responsibilities

• Lead the design and development of backend REST APIs and microservices using Java and Spring Boot
• Architect API-first solutions and define service contracts, payload schemas, and OpenAPI specifications
• Break down business requirements into technical designs, user stories, and implementation plans
• Guide and mentor engineers through design reviews, code reviews, and technical decision-making
• Develop secure service integrations using OAuth2, JWT, and modern authentication frameworks
• Build and maintain applications hosted within AWS cloud environments
• Drive software quality through automated testing, performance testing, and production readiness reviews
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex production issues
• Collaborate closely with product owners, architects, and development teams in an Agile environment
• Maintain technical documentation, standards, and operational runbooks

Required Qualifications

• 8+ years of software development experience
• Strong backend development experience using Java 17/21+ and Spring Boot
• Experience building RESTful APIs and microservices architectures
• Hands-on AWS experience with services such as Lambda, Fargate, CloudFormation, S3, and related technologies
• Experience deploying applications through CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins, Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, or similar tools
• Experience with relational and NoSQL databases
• Agile/Scrum development experience
• Strong communication skills and the ability to explain technical design decisions and application architecture

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Apigee or other API gateway platforms
• Experience with event-driven architectures using Kafka, SQS, SNS, RabbitMQ, ActiveMQ, or similar technologies
• Experience with OAuth2, JWT, and enterprise security models
• Automated testing experience using JUnit, Mockito, or similar frameworks
• Familiarity with AI-assisted development tools such as GitHub Copilot or Cursor

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