Java Developer

Aquent is partnering with a leading financial services institution that is at the forefront of transforming the finance industry through innovative thought and creative problem-solving. This organization is dedicated to challenging the status quo and modernizing its core technology infrastructure, particularly within critical financial systems. By joining this team, you will be empowered to make a significant impact on your career and contribute to building intelligent systems that directly influence the financial security of millions of people.

Unleash Your AI Expertise to Transform Financial Systems!

Are you ready to be a trailblazer at the intersection of cutting-edge AI technology and complex financial domains? We are seeking a visionary leader to drive AI-focused workflows across the entire System Development Life Cycle. This isn't just another development role; it's an opportunity to lead the charge in integrating advanced AI capabilities into the heart of our financial systems, directly impacting how millions manage their wealth and retirement. You will be instrumental in shaping the future of financial technology, leveraging your expertise to build intelligent, efficient, and robust solutions that set new industry standards.

As a Senior AI Developer, you will play a pivotal role in a significant technical transformation, leading the modernization of core infrastructure and driving innovation. Your contributions will directly enhance the efficiency, reliability, and intelligence of systems that are vital to our operations and our customers' financial well-being. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams, mentor engineers, and champion best practices in AI-assisted development, ensuring our solutions are not only cutting-edge but also secure and scalable.

What You'll Do:

• Lead the integration and application of AI-focused workflows throughout the System Development Life Cycle, from implementation and refactoring to unit testing, regression support, code reviews, scripting, automation, troubleshooting, and documentation.
• Drive the adoption and effective use of AI assistance for common development tasks, including code suggestions, test generation, review support, and automation scripts, while maintaining clear ownership for correctness and quality.
• Pioneer the application of generative AI to reduce context switching and accelerate delivery across typical engineering workflows, extending beyond just writing new code.
• Develop and implement agentic workflows and spec-driven development methodologies, translating low-level design artifacts (such as class structures, API contracts, and data models) into structured specifications that guide AI-assisted implementation.
• Establish team-level practices for effective AI-assisted development, including custom instructions and prompt engineering.
• Actively develop large-scale software solutions using Java and the Spring framework, focusing on cloud development and robust web services that support high-volume transactions in a highly available environment.
• Implement and deploy AI/ML solutions into production, ensuring seamless integration and optimal performance.
• Design, build, and manage containerized microservices in cloud environments.
• Contribute to continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines for cloud deployments.
• Participate in IT transformations and system modernization initiatives, migrating legacy platforms to distributed, modern architectures.
• Collaborate effectively with fellow developers, architects, and adjacent teams, fostering a collaborative mindset and a bias for action.

Must-Have Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 7+ years of professional software engineering experience in actively developing large-scale software using Java, Spring framework, cloud development, and Web Services supporting high volume transactions in a highly available environment.
• 2+ years of hands-on experience with AI/ML implementation and production deployment.
• 6+ years of experience working with containers and microservices in the cloud.
• 6+ years of experience in cloud deployment in a continuous integration, and continuous delivery model (CI/CD).
• 2+ years of experience with major cloud platforms.
• 2+ years' experience working with databases such as MongoDB, Aerospike, and/or PostgreSQL.
• 2+ years of prior experience in IT transformations and system modernization initiatives from legacy to distributed platforms.
• Demonstrated exposure to, or hands-on experience with, generative AI coding assistants used across day-to-day engineering workflows in the SDLC (implementation, refactoring, unit testing, regression support, code reviews, scripting/automation, troubleshooting, and documentation), applying engineering judgment and validation.
• Practical familiarity with generative AI tools within IDE/CLI-style workflows.
• Working knowledge of agentic workflows, spec-driven development, custom instructions, and prompt engineering, with the ability to establish team-level practices for effective AI-assisted development.
• Hands-on experience with Large Language Models.
• Understanding of financial services capabilities and operations.
• Excellent communication skills and a proven ability to communicate and lead other engineers in a collaborative environment.
• Collaborative mindset coupled with a bias for action to effectively engage with fellow developers, architects, and adjacent teams.

Nice-to-Have Qualifications:

• Master's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, related degree, or related practical experience.
• Good knowledge of messaging technologies (e.g., Rabbit MQ, Kafka, or equivalent).
• Experience in the Financial Services industry.
• Experience in Test Driven Development, QA Automation, and a strong quality mindset and behaviors.
• Proficiency in developing architectural and design documentation, functional and technical specifications, and automated test processes.
• Willingness to learn all aspects of the technology stack and document findings.
• Ability to research and document production and test environments along with architecture and design work.
• Knowledge of Agile methodology and experience in an Agile working environment.
• Experience with widely used project management and collaboration tool suites.

Please note: This position is available on a W-2 employment basis only and is not open to Corp-to-Corp (C2C) arrangements. The client is also unable to provide employment-based visa sponsorship or transfers for this role.

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About Aquent Talent:

Aquent Talent connects the best talent in marketing, creative, and design with the world's biggest brands.

Our eligible talent get access to amazing benefits like subsidized health, vision, and dental plans, paid sick leave, and retirement plans with a match.

Aquent is an equal-opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics. We're about creating an inclusive environment-one where different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives are valued, and everyone can contribute, grow their careers, and thrive.