Lead Java Developer
Role Title: Java Full-Stack Lead Developer
Location: Sheffield, UK
Work mode: Hybrid – 3 days weekly from office
Skills: Java Full-Stack, Java (8/11/17+), Spring Boot / Spring Cloud, RESTful APIs, microservices, React / Vue / Angular and ORM frameworks (Hibernate, JPA)
We at Coforge are looking for Java Full-Stack Lead Developer in Sheffield, UK
The Opportunity: (Brief Overview of the Role)
We are seeking a highly experienced Java Full-Stack Lead Developer with strong system architecture expertise to lead the design and delivery of scalable, distributed systems.This is a hands-on leadership role where you will define architecture, guide a globally distributed engineering team, and ensure high standards in both backend and frontend development.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the architecture design of complex, scalable and high-availability systems
- Make critical decisions on system design, tech stack, and trade-offs
- Drive end-to-end development across backend and frontend (hands-on coding required)
- Lead and coordinate a globally distributed team across different time zones
- Establish and enforce engineering best practices, coding standards, and design principles
- Conduct design reviews, code reviews, and architecture governance
- Optimize system performance, scalability, and reliability
- Troubleshoot and resolve complex production and distributed system issues
- Collaborate with product, design, and business stakeholders globally
What you will need to succeed in the role: (Minimum Qualification and Skills Required)
Architecture & System Design (Must-Have)
- Proven experience designing large-scale distributed systems
- Microservices architecture
- Event-driven architecture
- High concurrency and scalability patterns
- Strong knowledge of:
- System trade-offs (consistency vs availability, latency vs throughput)
- API design and service boundaries
- Fault tolerance and resilience design
- Experience with system decomposition and domain modelling
Backend
- Expert-level proficiency in Java (8/11/17+)
- Strong experience with Spring Boot / Spring Cloud
- Deep understanding of RESTful APIs and microservices
- Experience with ORM frameworks (Hibernate, JPA)
Frontend
- Strong hands-on experience with at least one: React / Vue / Angular
- Solid understanding of frontend architecture and state management
- Ability to contribute to frontend system design (not just coding)
Data & Infrastructure
- Strong experience with relational databases (Oracle / SQL Server / PostgreSQL)
- Experience with: Redis or distributed caching, Message queues (Kafka / RabbitMQ)
- Familiar with: Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD and automated deployment pipelines
What additional skills will be good to have? (List out good to have skills and certifications)
Excellent project management skills with a track record of successfully leading large-scale initiatives preferred
Nice to Have (Strong Differentiators)
- Experience with cloud-native architecture (AWS / Azure / GCP)
- Experience designing multi-region or global systems
- Exposure to AI systems (LLM, RAG, vector databases)
- Experience with observability (metrics, tracing, logging systems)