We are looking for an experienced and driven associate director - Java backend - to lead backend engineering initiatives, drive scalable architecture decisions, and mentor high-performing engineering teams.

The ideal candidate should have strong expertise in Java-based backend systems, distributed architecture, cloud technologies, and engineering leadership.

This role requires close collaboration with product, engineering, QA, DevOps, and business stakeholders to deliver reliable, scalable, and high-quality solutions.

Responsibilities:

- Lead and manage backend engineering teams across product development initiatives.

- Drive architecture, design, and development of scalable backend systems and APIs.

- Ensure high availability, performance, security, and scalability of applications.

- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to define technical roadmaps and execution plans.

- Mentor engineers and support career growth, hiring, and team development.

- Establish engineering best practices, coding standards, and development processes.

- Participate in technical reviews, system design discussions, and production issue resolution.

- Drive continuous improvement in system reliability, observability, and operational excellence.

- Work closely with DevOps teams for CI/CD, deployment automation, and cloud infrastructure optimisation.

Requirements:

- Bachelor's or Master's degree in computer science or a related field.

- 10+ years of experience in backend software development.

- Strong expertise in Java and backend frameworks such as Spring Boot, Spring MVC, or related technologies.

- Experience with microservices architecture and distributed systems.

- Strong understanding of REST APIs, messaging systems, caching, and database design.

- Experience with SQL and NoSQL databases.

- Familiarity with cloud platforms such as AWS, GCP, or Azure.

- Experience with containerisation and orchestration tools like Docker and Kubernetes.

- Strong problem-solving, communication, and stakeholder management skills.

- Prior experience managing or mentoring engineering teams.

Good to Have:

- Exposure to event-driven architectures and streaming platforms like Kafka.

- Experience working in high-scale B2C or product-based environments.

- Knowledge of system monitoring, observability, and performance tuning.

- Understanding of Agile/Scrum development methodologies.

Preferred Traits:

- Strong ownership mindset and execution capability.

- Ability to balance technical depth with business priorities.

- Collaborative leadership and people management skills.

- Passion for building scalable and impactful products