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Java Technical Lead

LATAM

About Distillery

Distillery accelerates innovation through an unyielding approach to nearshore software development. The world's most innovative technology teams choose Distillery to help accelerate strategic innovation, fill a pressing technology gap, and hit mission-critical deadlines. We support essential applications, mobile apps, websites, and eCommerce platforms by placing senior, strategic technical leaders and deploying fully managed technology teams that work intimately alongside our client's in-house development teams. At Distillery we're not here to reinvent nearshore software development, we're on a mission to perfect it. Distillery is committed to diversity and inclusion. We actively seek to cultivate a workforce that reflects the rich tapestry of perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences present in our society. Our recruitment efforts are dedicated to promoting equal opportunities for all candidates, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, or any other dimension of diversity.

About the Position

We are seeking our new Lead Software Engineer. As a Lead Software Engineer, you will play a dual role: acting as a hands-on technical leader at the principal engineer level, while also managing and mentoring a cross-functional Agile Scrum team.

You will be responsible for driving the delivery of high-quality, scalable platform features and integrations, while fostering a culture of technical excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvement. While the role includes leadership responsibilities, it is primarily a hands-on engineering position with a strong focus on technical execution and delivery.

Responsibilities

Technical Leadership

  • Lead the design, development, and delivery of complex platform features and integrations using Java, Kubernetes, and modern cloud-native technologies.
  • Serve as the technical authority for the team, making architectural decisions and guiding implementation across services, APIs, and data layers.
  • Drive adoption of best practices in API design, observability, performance optimization, and secure coding.
  • Collaborate with architects and principal engineers to align team efforts with broader platform strategy and technical roadmap.

Agile Team Management

  • Act as Scrum Team Lead, facilitating Agile ceremonies (stand-ups, sprint planning, retrospectives) and ensuring smooth delivery cycles.
  • Manage a team of software engineers and SDETs, providing coaching, feedback, and career development support.
  • Foster a high-performing, inclusive team culture focused on ownership, accountability, and continuous learning.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

  • Work closely with Product Managers, Product Owners, QA, DevOps, and other engineering teams to define and deliver high-impact platform capabilities.
  • Coordinate with external stakeholders (e.g., support, customer success, professional services) to ensure platform reliability and customer satisfaction.

Quality & Operational Excellence

  • Champion test automation, CI/CD, and observability practices to ensure high-quality, resilient releases.
  • Partner with SDETs and QA to define and enforce quality standards, including performance, security, and integration testing.
  • Monitor and improve team KPIs such as velocity, defect rates, and deployment frequency.

Strategic Contribution

  • Contribute to technical hiring, onboarding, and team scaling efforts.
  • Identify and drive process improvements and tooling enhancements to increase team efficiency and developer experience.
  • Stay current with emerging technologies and industry trends, evaluating their potential impact on the platform.

Requirements

Technical Expertise

  • 8+ years of experience in software engineering, with at least 2+ years in a technical leadership or management role.
  • Proven track record of designing and delivering scalable, distributed systems using Java and cloud-native technologies.
  • Deep understanding of API management and integration patterns.
  • Hands-on experience with Valkey (or Redis), MongoDB, and PostgreSQL, including performance tuning and data modeling.
  • Strong proficiency in Kubernetes, container orchestration, and microservices deployment strategies.

Leadership & Collaboration

  • Demonstrated ability to lead Agile Scrum teams, facilitate ceremonies, and drive iterative delivery.
  • Strong people management skills, including mentoring, performance reviews, and career development.
  • Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to align cross-functional teams toward shared goals.
  • Experience in technical hiring, team scaling, and building inclusive engineering cultures.

Quality & Operational Excellence

  • Familiarity with test automation strategies, including unit, integration, and performance testing.
  • Experience working closely with SDETs and QA to enforce quality standards and drive continuous improvement.
  • Strong analytical skills with a data-driven approach to decision-making and process optimization.

Strategic Thinking

  • Ability to balance hands-on development with strategic planning and team leadership.
  • Passion for staying current with emerging technologies and evaluating their relevance to platform evolution.
  • Experience contributing to technical roadmaps, architectural reviews, and long-term product planning.