Lead Engineer

The Java Technical Lead is responsible for Java runtime upgrades, source code remediation, dependency management, application build activities, deployment support and regression testing. The role leads the assessment and migration of the Java application estate to Red Hat JBoss EAP and newer Java versions, decides which applications are migrated directly or modernised into microservices, and supports production cutover, hypercare and operational readiness.

Key Responsibilities

Assess the current application estate, including deployment descriptors, datasources, JMS integrations, security configurations and scheduled jobs. Create migration plans and effort estimates, and identify application compatibility issues. Determine which applications can be migrated directly and which should be modernised into microservices.

Refactor application code and configuration for Red Hat JBoss EAP. Migrate datasources, JMS queues, security domains, JNDI resources, logging frameworks and deployment configurations. Develop and expose REST APIs with appropriate versioning, authentication and resilience patterns. Automate JBoss configuration using JBoss CLI scripts.

Upgrade applications across Java versions (8 to 11/17/21) and resolve runtime issues, including removed APIs (JAXB, JAX-WS, CORBA), the javax to jakarta namespace change, reflective access errors and third-party library incompatibilities. Update Maven/Gradle builds and CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins or Azure DevOps. Execute functional, regression, integration and performance testing.

Troubleshoot migration, deployment and application performance issues. Support production cutover, hypercare, rollback planning and operational readiness activities. Produce technical documentation, runbooks, architecture diagrams and knowledge transfer materials. Mandatory Skills: Java 8/11/17/21 migration and upgrade experience, including fixing runtime and dependency issues.

Hands-on Red Hat JBoss EAP / WildFly experience: configuration, deployment, CLI scripting and troubleshooting. Experience migrating applications between Java EE application servers (e.g. WebLogic, WebSphere, SAP NetWeaver or Tomcat to JBoss). Java EE / Jakarta EE (Servlets, EJB, JPA, JMS, JNDI) and Spring Framework / Spring Boot.

JMS messaging (ActiveMQ / ActiveMQ Artemis, or IBM MQ with willingness to work on Artemis). Authentication and security integration (LDAP, SAML/OAuth2; Keycloak or Red Hat SSO is a plus). Maven/Gradle and CI/CD pipeline knowledge (Jenkins or Azure DevOps). Strong troubleshooting of Java application performance issues (JVM tuning, memory leaks, thread contention).

Linux and Windows server exposure for application deployment and log analysis.

Preferred Skills

SAP Java Stack experience. Application modernisation projects. Azure-hosted Java applications.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology or a related discipline. 8-12 years of Java development experience, including technical leadership of Java version upgrades and application server migrations to Red Hat JBoss EAP / WildFly. Job Specific Skills: Java 8 to 11/17/21 upgrades, including removed APIs, javax to jakarta migration and reflective access issues.

Red Hat JBoss EAP / WildFly configuration, deployment and JBoss CLI automation. Migration from WebLogic, WebSphere, SAP NetWeaver or Tomcat to JBoss. Java EE / Jakarta EE, Spring Framework / Spring Boot and REST API design. JMS messaging with ActiveMQ / ActiveMQ Artemis or IBM MQ. Security integration with LDAP, SAML/OAuth2, Keycloak or Red Hat SSO.

Maven/Gradle builds and Jenkins or Azure DevOps CI/CD pipelines. JVM tuning and performance troubleshooting on Linux and Windows servers. Certifications: Oracle Certified Professional: Java SE Developer (preferred). Red Hat Certified Specialist / Enterprise Application Developer (JBoss EAP) (preferred). Spring Professional or Microsoft Azure Developer (AZ-204) certification is an advantage.