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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Java Application Developer

💰 $70,000 - $110,000

Software DevelopmentJavaBackendApplication Engineering

🎯 Role Definition

As a Java Application Developer, you will design, implement, test and maintain Java‑based applications and services in alignment with business requirements and technical standards. You will join a cross‑functional team, collaborate with product owners, UX and QA teams, and support full‑lifecycle application delivery—from requirements gathering, architecture and development to deployment and ongoing maintenance. Your role will emphasise clean code, scalable architecture, high performance, robustness, and maintainability in an enterprise environment.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Junior Java Developer
  • Java Software Engineer
  • Backend Developer (Java)

Advancement To:

  • Senior Java Application Developer
  • Lead Java Engineer / Java Architect
  • Engineering Manager (Java Applications)

Lateral Moves:

  • Full‑Stack Java Developer
  • Java Microservices Engineer
  • Cloud Java Applications Developer

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  1. Translate business and functional requirements into detailed technical design, architecture and code for Java applications using Java SE/EE or Java Spring ecosystems.
  2. Design, develop, test and deploy high‑quality Java application modules and services that meet functional and non‑functional requirements including performance, scalability and reliability.
  3. Build and maintain RESTful services and APIs using Java frameworks such as Spring Boot, Spring MVC, Java EE, ensuring clear contracts, versioning and backward compatibility.
  4. Integrate backend Java applications with relational databases (SQL Server, MySQL, Oracle) and NoSQL solutions, implement data access layers using JPA/Hibernate, and write efficient SQL/ORM queries.
  5. Optimize existing Java applications: identify bottlenecks, improve memory usage, reduce latency, improve throughput, and enhance system resource efficiency.
  6. Conduct unit testing, integration testing and participate in automated test frameworks to ensure code quality, reliability and maintainability of Java applications.
  7. Write clean, maintainable, modular and well‑documented Java code adhering to object‑oriented principles (OOP), SOLID design patterns, dependency injection, and coding standards.
  8. Participate in code reviews, peer reviews and mentor other engineers to promote best practices, code quality and continuous improvement.
  9. Collaborate with QA, DevOps, product and UX teams as part of agile scrums: attend sprint planning, stand‑ups, retrospectives, refine user stories, estimate tasks and deliver features.
  10. Utilize version control systems (Git, SVN, TFS), build and dependency management tools (Maven, Gradle), CI/CD pipelines and application deployment tools to deliver Java applications into production.
  11. Support deployment and maintenance of Java applications in cloud or on‑premise environments, including containerised or microservices architecture (Docker, Kubernetes) and working with DevOps teams.
  12. Troubleshoot production incidents, perform root‑cause analysis of Java application failures, propose permanent solutions and participate in post‑mortems to prevent recurrence.
  13. Maintain technical documentation including architecture diagrams, API specifications (OpenAPI/Swagger), user manuals, release notes and configuration guides for Java applications.
  14. Refactor legacy Java application code, modernise older modules, migrate from older Java versions or frameworks, reduce technical debt and enhance maintainability.
  15. Ensure application security by implementing authentication/authorization (OAuth2, JWT), role‑based access control, data encryption, and secure coding practices in Java applications.
  16. Collaborate with cross‑functional teams to define integration points between Java applications, external systems, third‑party services, message queues (Kafka, RabbitMQ) and event‑driven architectures.
  17. Monitor applications in production: implement performance monitoring, logging/observability (e.g., ELK, Prometheus), alerting, and continuously improve reliability and uptime of Java services.
  18. Design and implement business logic, workflows and batch jobs using Java, ensuring that scheduled and real‑time processes complete successfully under expected loads.
  19. Align Java application development with product roadmap and business goals: work with stakeholders to prioritise features, manage backlog, define MVPs and deliver incremental value.
  20. Stay up to date with latest developments in the Java ecosystem (Java 11/17/21), frameworks, libraries, cloud native patterns, microservices, reactive programming and propose adoption of new tools or architectures.

Secondary Functions

  • Assist with ad‑hoc tasks such as scripting, data extraction or performance profiling of application modules.
  • Contribute to the organisation’s Java application roadmap by recommending tech stack improvements, migration strategies and modularisation initiatives.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate domain needs into application features and support business stakeholders with technical insights.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the backend development team and support continuous improvement initiatives.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Strong proficiency in Java (Java 8/11/17+) and the Java ecosystem including Java SE/EE frameworks.
  • Solid experience with Spring Framework (Spring Boot, Spring MVC), Spring Data, dependency injection and modular Java development.
  • Proven ability to design and build RESTful APIs and web services, using tools like OpenAPI/Swagger, JSON/XML and support for versioning.
  • Experience with relational databases (e.g., MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server), SQL, ORM tools (Hibernate/JPA) and performance tuning of queries.
  • Familiarity with build tools and CI/CD: Maven, Gradle, Jenkins/GitLab CI, version control (Git, SVN).
  • Demonstrated experience in microservices architecture, containerisation (Docker), orchestration (Kubernetes) and cloud deployment (AWS, Azure, GCP).
  • Proven skills in application performance tuning: latency optimisation, memory management, concurrency, multi-threading in Java.
  • Understanding of software design patterns, SOLID principles, reactive programming (optional), and object‑oriented design.
  • Knowledge of application security and secure coding practices: OAuth2, JWT, role‑based access control, data encryption and compliance.
  • Experience with testing frameworks such as JUnit, Mockito, integration tests, and familiarity with QA/automation collaboration.

Soft Skills

  • Excellent analytical and problem‑solving abilities to translate business requirements into technical solutions and debug complex issues.
  • Strong communication skills to interact with cross‑functional teams, articulate technical concepts to non‑technical stakeholders and mentor peers.
  • Collaborative mindset: able to work effectively within agile teams, contribute to sprint ceremonies, peer reviews and team planning.
  • Time management and organisational skills: prioritise tasks, meet deadlines, manage multiple workstreams and deliver quality under pressure.
  • Detail‑oriented and disciplined in writing maintainable code, documentation and following software engineering best practices.
  • Adaptability and continuous‑learning attitude: stays current with evolving Java technologies, frameworks and patterns and applies them to improve the codebase.
  • Ownership mindset: takes responsibility end‑to‑end for features, drives decision‑making, proactively suggests improvements and holds delivery accountability.
  • Customer‑ and business‑oriented thinking: understands how application features impact business outcomes and user experiences.
  • Mentoring and team development: supports junior engineers, participates in code reviews, knowledge‑sharing sessions and fosters a culture of learning.
  • Resilience and flexibility: handles production issues calmly, adapts to changing priorities and thrives in fast‑paced development environments.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology or a related technical discipline.

Preferred Education:
Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering or a related field, or relevant professional certifications in Java or software development.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Computer Science or Engineering
  • Software Engineering / Development
  • Information Systems
  • Backend Application Development

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:
2–4 years of hands‑on experience as a Java Developer or Application Developer working on enterprise Java applications.

Preferred:
4–6+ years of experience developing Java applications, APIs and services, working with microservices or cloud architecture, and with exposure to mentoring or guiding team members.

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