Java Tech Lead

ThinkMarkets is a global financial technology company, specializing in providing multi-asset trading solutions to thousands of clients around the world. With our flagship ThinkTrader platform, we make it available for our clients to trade the world 24-hours a day. Our mission is to bridge the gap between traders, investors, and platforms by allowing access to global markets and thousands of products thus providing our clients the ability to trade the world in the palm of their hand. We use the latest technologies to give traders seamless access to our proprietary trading platforms. 

We are seeking a high caliber individual for the Java Tech Lead role to join our rapidly growing global workforce in Sofia, Bulgaria. The Java Tech Lead will be responsible for overseeing and leading a team of back-end software engineers as well as working together with program managers, software developers, quality assurance and user experience experts on the different aspects of the software development cycle. In this position, the key focus will lie on leveraging new technologies to enhance existing architecture. Someone who excels in this role will possess a sophisticated approach to software development and testing, intrinsic drive for growth, and commitment to our goals. 

Responsibilities: 

Leadership & People Management 

• Oversee and mentor a team of backend engineers, manage performance, and support career development. 

• Play a key role in the hiring process and talent management cycle. 

• Build an engineering culture focused on quality, ownership, and innovation. 

Architecture & Development 

• Define system architecture and technical design for scalable and resilient services. 

• Hands-on participation in coding new features and modules (approx. 30% of time). 

• Ensure technical excellence through code reviews, design reviews, and mentoring. 

Collaboration & Delivery 

• Work with Product, UX, QA, and Business teams in an agile environment to deliver features on time and with high quality. 

• Partner with stakeholders to refine the product roadmap and translate it into actionable deliverables. 

• Estimate work, plan execution, and ensure team goals are met. 

Operations & Quality 

• Troubleshoot production issues and ensure system reliability. 

• Monitor features post-deployment using metrics and observability tools. 

• Continuously improve CI/CD pipelines and development processes. 

Requirements: 

• 7+ years of backend engineering experience, preferably in Financial Services / FinTech, with 2+ years in a leadership role. 

• Expert-level knowledge of Java (Java 11+, ideally Java 17 or later), including: 

• Strong OOP principles and SOLID design. 

• Practical use of design patterns (e.g., Factory, Observer, Builder, Singleton, Strategy, etc.). 

• Proficiency in Java Concurrency API, multithreading, parallel processing, and reactive programming. 

• Deep understanding of memory management, JVM internals, and performance tuning. 

• Experience with modern frameworks: Spring Boot, Spring Cloud, Hibernate/JPA, Microservices. 

• Hands-on experience designing and consuming APIs (REST, gRPC, WebSockets) for high-performance systems. 

• Containerization & Orchestration: Strong experience with Docker and Kubernetes (Helm charts, service mesh such as Istio, scaling, monitoring). 

• Databases: Proficiency in relational databases (MsSQL, MySQL, PostgreSQL) and familiarity with NoSQL (MongoDB, Redis, Cassandra). 

• Messaging & Event Streaming: Experience with Kafka, RabbitMQ, or similar technologies. 

• DevOps & CI/CD: Familiarity with Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD, Ansible, Terraform, and GitOps best practices. 

• Monitoring & Observability: Proficiency with Prometheus, Grafana, ELK stack, or similar. 

• Security & Compliance: Knowledge of secure coding, OAuth2/OpenID Connect, and FinTech-related standards (PCI DSS, GDPR). 

• Strong foundation in Linux environments, networking, and shell scripting. 

What we offer:  

• Highly competitive remuneration 

• 25 days annual paid leave & 1 day Birthday leave 

• Health insurance & Dental Care for you, spouse, and kids under 18 

• Hybrid working option 

• Fully covered Multisport card 

• Fresh fruits, nuts, healthy snacks, and beverages 

• Modern office in Infinity Tower, close to public transports and commodities