We are seeking an experienced and highly skilled Java/J2EE Technical Lead at the C13 (Vice President) level to join our Technology organization. The ideal candidate will lead the design, development, and delivery of complex enterprise-grade applications using Java, Spring, Angular, React, Oracle, Kafka, IBM MQ, WebSphere Application Server (WAS), ECS/OpenShift, and Microservices architectures. This role requires a strong engineering mindset, leadership capability, and a passion for building resilient, high-performance financial systems.
Key ResponsibilitiesTechnical Leadership- Lead end-to-end design, development, and delivery of enterprise Java/J2EE applications.
- Provide technical direction, mentorship, and guidance to a team of 5–10 software engineers.
- Conduct code reviews, enforce coding standards, and champion engineering best practices including TDD and BDD.
- Drive architectural decisions across microservices, API design, and UI layers.
- Design and develop scalable Java (11/17) and Spring Boot / Spring Framework microservices.
- Build RESTful APIs and integrate with enterprise messaging platforms — Apache Kafka and IBM MQ.
- Deploy and manage applications on WebSphere Application Server (WAS) and container platforms (ECS / OpenShift / Kubernetes).
- Develop and optimize complex queries, stored procedures, and schema designs using Oracle Database.
- Collaborate with UI teams on Angular and React based Single Page Applications (SPAs).
- Ensure seamless API integration between backend microservices and frontend layers.
- Enforce UI coding standards, component reusability, and accessibility compliance.
- Architect and deliver cloud-native microservices following domain-driven design (DDD) and event-driven architecture patterns.
- Design inter-service communication using synchronous REST and asynchronous messaging (Kafka, IBM MQ).
- Ensure services meet enterprise standards for scalability, resilience, and fault tolerance.
- Lead migration of monolithic applications to microservices architecture where applicable.
- Design and implement Kafka-based event streaming pipelines for real-time data processing.
- Configure and manage IBM MQ queues, topics, channels, and listeners for enterprise messaging.
- Ensure message reliability, ordering, idempotency, and dead-letter handling.
- Champion a test-first culture across the engineering team.
- Lead development of unit, integration, and end-to-end test suites using JUnit 5, Mockito, Selenium, and Cucumber.
- Implement and maintain test automation frameworks integrated into CI/CD pipelines.
- Drive code coverage targets (>80%) and quality gate compliance via SonarQube.
- Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins, Maven/Gradle, and container orchestration tools.
- Deploy microservices on ECS (Elastic Container Service) and/or OpenShift clusters.
- Ensure deployment health through monitoring, alerting, and observability tooling.
- Partner with Product Owners, Business Analysts, QA leads, and infrastructure teams.
- Participate in architecture review boards and contribute to technology standards.
- Ensure solutions comply with security, risk, and audit requirements.
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related technical field (required).
- Master's degree preferred.
- 10+ years of hands-on software engineering experience.
- 5+ years in a technical lead or senior engineering capacity.
- Proven experience in financial services / banking technology environments preferred.
Category
Technologies / Skills
Core Languages
Java (11/17), J2EE, SQL, TypeScript, JavaScript
Backend Frameworks
Spring Boot, Spring MVC, Spring Security, Spring Batch, Hibernate, JPA
Frontend Frameworks
Angular (12+), React (17/18), HTML5, CSS3, RxJS, Redux
Messaging & Streaming
Apache Kafka, IBM MQ (MQ Series)
Application Servers
WebSphere Application Server (WAS), Tomcat, JBoss
Databases
Oracle (PL/SQL, RAC), PostgreSQL, Redis
Container & Cloud
ECS (AWS Elastic Container Service), OpenShift, Kubernetes, Docker
Testing & QA
JUnit 5, Mockito, Selenium, Cucumber, REST Assured, SonarQube
Test Automation
CI-integrated test pipelines, BDD frameworks, Performance Testing (JMeter)
CI/CD & DevOps
Jenkins, Maven, Gradle, Git, Nexus/Artifactory
Security
OAuth 2.0, JWT, SSL/TLS, Vault, LDAP
Architecture Patterns
Microservices, Event-Driven, CQRS, API Gateway, Circuit Breaker
Methodologies
Agile/Scrum, SAFe, TDD, BDD, DevSecOps
Preferred Qualifications- Hands-on experience deploying on AWS ECS with Fargate or EC2-backed clusters.
- Experience with IBM MQ administration and advanced configuration (clustering, SSL, HA).
- Familiarity with Kafka Streams, Schema Registry, and Confluent Platform.
- Exposure to Oracle RAC, GoldenGate, or Data Guard for high availability.
- Knowledge of API Gateway patterns (Apigee, AWS API Gateway).
- Experience with Citi internal platforms such as Helix, Lightspeed Enterprise (LSE), or COIN.
- Certifications: Oracle Certified Professional (Java SE), AWS Certified Developer/Solutions Architect, Kafka Certified Developer.
- Strong technical judgment with the ability to make sound architectural decisions under ambiguity.
- Proven ability to lead, coach, and grow engineering talent.
- Excellent verbal and written communication with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Collaborative and inclusive team leader with a continuous improvement mindset.
- High accountability and ownership for engineering delivery and quality.
- Passion for emerging technologies and innovation in financial services.
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Job Family Group: Technology------------------------------------------------------
Job Family:Applications Development------------------------------------------------------
Time Type:Full time------------------------------------------------------
Most Relevant Skills Please see the requirements listed above.------------------------------------------------------
Other Relevant Skills For complementary skills, please see above and/or contact the recruiter.------------------------------------------------------
Citi is an equal opportunity employer, and qualified candidates will receive consideration without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law.
If you are a person with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation to use our search tools and/or apply for a career opportunity review Accessibility at Citi.
View Citi’s EEO Policy Statement and the Know Your Rights poster.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field
- 10+ years of hands-on software engineering experience
- 5+ years in a technical lead or senior engineering capacity
- Experience designing and developing enterprise Java/J2EE applications and microservices
- Experience with Java, Spring, REST APIs, enterprise messaging, databases, containers, testing, and CI/CD technologies listed in the description
- Master's degree
- Experience in financial services or banking technology environments
- AWS ECS deployment experience using Fargate or EC2-backed clusters
- IBM MQ administration and advanced configuration experience
- Familiarity with Kafka Streams, Schema Registry, and Confluent Platform
- Experience with Oracle RAC, GoldenGate, or Data Guard
- Knowledge of Apigee or AWS API Gateway patterns
- Experience with Citi internal platforms such as Helix, Lightspeed Enterprise, or COIN
- Oracle Certified Professional Java SE, AWS Certified Developer or Solutions Architect, or Kafka Certified Developer certification
Citi Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Citi and has not been reviewed or approved by Citi.
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Healthcare Strength — Benefits coverage is positioned as comprehensive, including health, dental, and vision insurance plus on-site clinics, prescription drug support, and disability coverage. Family-building support such as fertility assistance is described as a notable differentiator within the overall package.
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Retirement Support — Retirement benefits are framed as strong, highlighted by a 401(k) with matching and additional plan options like a Roth 401(k). Financial support is reinforced through discounts and broader financial guidance resources tied to the benefits ecosystem.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Wellbeing support extends beyond insurance through programs like an Employee Assistance Program, counseling/legal resources, and gym or wellness reimbursement. These offerings increase the perceived total rewards value even when cash compensation sentiment varies by role.
Citi Insights
What We Do
Citi's mission is to serve as a trusted partner to our clients by responsibly providing financial services that enable growth and economic progress. Our core activities are safeguarding assets, lending money, making payments and accessing the capital markets on behalf of our clients. We have 200 years of experience helping our clients meet the world's toughest challenges and embrace its greatest opportunities. We are Citi, the global bank – an institution connecting millions of people across hundreds of countries and cities.
