Are you passionate about building robust backend systems and enjoy discussing the reasoning behind technical decisions—not just writing code?
We're looking for a Senior Backend Java Developer to join an international team developing mission-critical solutions for the Swiss public administration. This is an opportunity to work on highly scalable backend services while collaborating with experienced engineers who value technical excellence, software craftsmanship, and architectural thinking.
This role is ideal for someone who enjoys solving complex engineering challenges, understands the fundamentals of Java in depth, and is comfortable explaining why a particular approach is the right one—not just how it was implemented.
What you'll be doing:
- Design, develop and maintain scalable backend services using Java, Spring Boot and/or Quarkus.
- Design and implement robust RESTful APIs and microservice-based architectures.
- Build clean, maintainable and production-ready software following engineering best practices.
- Develop efficient persistence layers using JPA/Hibernate, ensuring proper transaction management and data consistency.
- Participate in architecture discussions and contribute to technical decisions across the platform.
- Troubleshoot production issues, analyse root causes and optimise application performance.
- Ensure high code quality through testing, code reviews and Clean Code principles.
- Collaborate with international Agile teams in English.
What we're looking for:
Strong Java fundamentals
We're looking for engineers who truly understand how Java works under the hood. During the interview you'll be expected to discuss and explain concepts such as:
- Collections Framework
- Generics
- Interfaces vs Abstract Classes
- Enums
- Inheritance and Object-Oriented Design
- Exception Handling
- equals() and hashCode()
- Java memory model and object lifecycle
- SOLID principles and Clean Code practices
More than simply having used Java professionally, we're looking for candidates who understand the reasoning behind these concepts and can explain when and why to use them.
Backend Development:
- 8+ years of experience developing backend applications with Java.
- Strong experience with Spring Boot and/or Quarkus.
- Experience designing scalable REST APIs.
- Solid experience building microservices.
- Strong knowledge of SQL databases, JPA/Hibernate, entity relationships and transaction management.
- Experience working with production systems, including troubleshooting, debugging and performance optimisation.
Software Quality:
- Experience designing and implementing unit, integration and component tests.
- Familiarity with testing frameworks and best practices.
- Strong understanding of code reviews, refactoring and Clean Code principles.
Communication:
- Professional English (minimum B2).
- Comfortable discussing technical topics in an international environment.
Nice to have:
- Experience with Quarkus.
- Docker and Kubernetes.
- Cloud-native development.
- CI/CD pipelines.
- Experience leading technical initiatives or acting as a Technical Lead.
- Mentoring and supporting junior developers.
- Driving architectural discussions and technical decision-making.
What makes this opportunity different?
The technical interview is centred around engineering discussions rather than algorithmic challenges or live coding.
The focus is on understanding how you think, how you approach technical problems, and how you justify your decisions. You'll be encouraged to explain your reasoning, discuss trade-offs between different approaches, and demonstrate your understanding of core Java and backend engineering concepts. Being able to acknowledge when you don't know something—and reason through it—is valued more than trying to provide the "perfect" answer.
If you're passionate about backend engineering, enjoy discussing architecture, and want to work on technically challenging software alongside experienced engineers, we'd love to hear from you.
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