Backend Technical Lead

Job Location: The job is open to candidates from anywhere in Europe (or Europe timezone)

Flexibility: Remote position, flexible hours

Type of Employment: Employee or Contractor (depending on the location)

KeyWords: Java, Spring, Graph databases, API design, TDD, Clean Code, DDD

Why you'll love working with us:

• Influential Role: Shape and direct how we operate, making a tangible impact on our processes and products.
• Innovation Encouraged: We value and support initiative, creativity, and forward-thinking.
• Growth Opportunities: We are committed to your professional and personal development.
• Work-Life Balance: Enjoy the flexibility to harmonise your personal and professional life.
• Dynamic Environment: Experience a fun, engaging, and collaborative office culture.
• Supportive Management: Benefit from a low-overhead, supportive management style that prioritises your success.

What to expect?

Before applying for the job of Technical Lead at GraphAware, you should first answer YES to all of the following questions: 

• Can you work on complex tasks without close supervision?
• Do you connect and communicate well with different types of people? 
• Do you want to make a real difference and influence the success of the company you work for?

Agreed to all the above? Then keep reading. 

You will be joining our team of engineers developing our core product Hume. You will take part in the implementation of the Hume core features - working on the API and the engine for providing graph accesses and manipulation, workflow orchestration, access control, and data mining/analysis. 

You will interact with the product managers to understand their needs, propose and design solutions, and implement them. You will work closely with the Backend team to ensure that work is delivered smoothly together with other teams such as front end and data.

Main responsibilities

• Working with your team to enable the delivery of efficient, tested, and well-written features
• Being involved and contributing to team-level technical discussions
• Software design and code reviews
• Providing technical advice, anticipating technical issues, communicating these clearly to relevant stakeholders, and making architectural /design decisions to avoid or resolve them
• Caring about the quality of the codebase and continually looking for ways to improve it
• Apply principles of clean architecture ‘Hexagonal Architecture’ to design and develop software solutions.
• Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks early and optimise the software for better performance.
• Maintain and manage a comprehensive Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) to track software components and dependencies.
• Monitor and address security vulnerabilities (CVEs) in the codebase promptly.
• Demonstrating the features implemented to get feedback and suggestions
• Coaching, mentoring, knowledge sharing
• Understanding customer needs, contributing ideas, and resolving issues

If you want to succeed, we believe you need to have the following skills/background:

Technical Skills 

• At least 7 years of experience in complex Java projects that span multiple teams
• Advanced knowledge of Spring
• Advanced knowledge of Docker
• Strong proficiency in SQL and relational database modelling, including expertise in designing effective entity-relationship schemas and using migration tools like Liquibase
• Analysing requirements, understanding how they fit into the big picture, designing components/services/APIs, implementing and delivering quality, working software
• Demonstrating the features implemented to get feedback and suggestions
• Leading team-level technical discussions
• Caring about the quality of the codebase and continually looking for ways to improve it
• Providing technical advice and making technical decisions that impact the Hume team
• Proficient in applying clean code principles, refactoring, and Test-Driven Development (TDD), with a comprehensive understanding of the testing pyramid, including unit, integration, end-to-end, and performance testing.
• Clear understanding of techniques and best practices related to Web Application security
• Passion for simple, clean architectures

Bonus Technical Skills

• Knowledge of key Graph database concepts
• Knowledge of Cypher and Neo4j (Neo4j Certification is a big plus)
• Proficiency in logging and monitoring tools (e.g., Splunk, Datadog, Grafana) is required for effective system analysis and performance monitoring
• Integrating services with message brokers and event streaming platforms, like Kafka or RabbitMQ.
• Understanding of service orchestrators like Kubernetes
• Knowledge of full stack application architectures, from design and development until production readiness, including DevOps best practices.
• K6 performance testing
• SBOMs and Cyclone DX
• Kubernetes
• Master’s Degree in Computer Science (or other relevant fields)

Soft Skills

• Demonstrated ownership and accountability, with a commitment to delivering results
• Pursuit of excellence in all endeavors
• Proficient in decomposing complex tasks into manageable parts for efficient resolution
• Customer and product success-oriented mindset
• Proactive, innovative thinker, constantly seeking improvement opportunities
• Resilient 'Can-do' attitude, agile in problem-solving
• Exceptional time management, adaptability to changing priorities, and maintaining high availability
• Proven experience in leading and collaborating within distributed teams
• Strong analytical skills, with an ability to work effectively under stringent security requirements
• Effective interpersonal and communication capabilities
• Good understanding of different communication styles and cultural differences
• Fluent in English, knowledge of other European languages is more than welcome

What We Offer

We invite you to join GraphAware, where you will have the chance to play a pivotal role in a global technology company renowned for its unique and vibrant culture. As a Tech Lead, you will be at the forefront of evolving a product that stands shoulder-to-shoulder with industry giants. Our solutions are trusted by leading companies across various sectors, and as we embark on an exciting new chapter, we face significant challenges that promise professional growth and fulfilment. 

Who We Are

GraphAware, founded in 2013, is dedicated to empowering organisations with a competitive edge through the innovative application of graph technologies. Our flagship product, GraphAware Hume, is utilised by analysts, data scientists, and data-savvy business users worldwide. Hume plays a crucial role in ensuring public safety, combating financial fraud, discovering new medicines, advising on key policy decisions, and much more. Additionally, we assist clients in implementing bespoke solutions based on Hume and Neo4j—the leading graph database—by offering expert consulting, training, and software development services.

We are a dynamic, multinational, and multicultural team of experts in software, databases, graph theory, and machine learning. Despite our small-company culture, our ambitions are monumental. We are passionate about graphs and driven by the success of our customers. At GraphAware, a sense of ownership and a commitment to excellence are the norms. We support one another through challenges and celebrate professional growth, encouraging our colleagues to pursue their career aspirations.

Join us, and be part of a team where your contributions have a global impact and your professional development is a top priority.