Associate Director

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.