Java Tech Lead / Solution Architect (React , Telecom)

About the Role
This position involves an opportunity for an experienced Java engineer to engage in hands-on development, solution architecture, and technical leadership on a strategic telecommunications project. You will work remotely on building a modern customer and administration portal and an integration platform to transform legacy business processes. Your responsibilities will include leading the initial technical discovery, defining architectural foundations, and guiding the delivery of a production-ready minimum viable product (MVP). This role requires balancing architecture and technical leadership with hands-on coding, while collaborating with international stakeholders and mentoring a team of three full-stack developers. You will play a crucial role in making key engineering decisions and contributing to a scalable telecommunications platform with long-term prospects.

Accountabilities

• Own solution architecture: Define and maintain the technical architecture for the customer portal and integration platform within the telecommunications Business Support Systems/Operations Support Systems (BSS/OSS) domain.
• Lead technical discovery: Assess requirements, evaluate technical options, identify dependencies, and establish the implementation strategy and architectural foundations for the MVP.
• Design scalable systems: Develop domain models, REST APIs, integration flows, microservices, and event-driven components using sound architectural principles, including Domain-Driven Design (DDD).
• Contribute hands-on development: Write and maintain production-quality Java and Spring Boot code, especially focusing on complex technical components and critical integration scenarios, maintaining a 50/50 balance between architecture and technical leadership and hands-on development.
• Lead and mentor developers: Guide a team of three full-stack Java developers through technical planning, implementation, problem-solving, and delivery, fostering collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Establish engineering standards: Conduct code reviews, define coding conventions, implement quality gates, and promote maintainable, reliable, and secure software development practices.
• Guide frontend architecture: Shape the React and TypeScript application architecture, set UI development standards, review frontend code, and contribute to implementation as needed.
• Design enterprise integrations: Build strategies for integrating external services, third-party APIs, and legacy systems, applying reliable patterns such as idempotency, retries, asynchronous processing, and the Transactional Outbox pattern.
• Drive security and workflow design: Guide the implementation of authentication, authorization, and access-control using OAuth2, OpenID Connect (OIDC), Spring Security, and role-based access control (RBAC), along with appropriate workflow orchestration solutions.
• Collaborate across engineering teams: Work closely with DevOps and QA specialists on AWS environments, CI/CD pipelines, contract testing, deployment practices, and integration quality.
• Document and communicate decisions: Record architectural decisions with Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) and C4 diagrams, and communicate directly with UK-based stakeholders and third-party technical teams through regular live demos.
• Support modern engineering practices: Utilize AI-assisted development tools and contemporary software delivery methods to enhance productivity and engineering effectiveness.

Requirements

• Professional experience: At least 8 years of commercial Java development experience and 2 or more years in a Tech Lead, Solution Architect, or comparable technical leadership position.
• Telecommunications expertise: Practical experience in the telecommunications sector, preferably involving internet service providers (ISPs), BSS/OSS platforms, broadband services, order management, product catalogues, or service qualification.
• Java and backend development: Strong hands-on experience with Java and Spring Boot, including design and implementation of production-grade backend services and complex integrations.
• Frontend development: At least 3–4 years of experience with React/ReactJS and TypeScript, capable of guiding frontend architecture, reviewing code, and contributing to development.
• Solution architecture: Demonstrated experience in designing and delivering microservices-based, integration-heavy systems, with a strong understanding of DDD, event-driven architecture, distributed systems, and scalable application design.
• API and integration design: Experience designing REST APIs and OpenAPI-based contracts, integrating external systems, and implementing reliable communication patterns like retries, idempotency, asynchronous processing, and transactional messaging.
• Telecom standards: Familiarity with TM Forum Open APIs is required, ideally with practical experience in telecommunications integration projects.
• Workflow orchestration: Hands-on experience with Camunda, Flowable, or a comparable workflow/business-process orchestration engine.
• Security expertise: Practical knowledge of OAuth2, OIDC, Spring Security, and RBAC, including implementation of secure authentication and authorization mechanisms.
• Cloud and DevOps: Experience with AWS and containerized environments, including Docker and Kubernetes, exposure to services like Amazon EKS or ECS, and modern CI/CD practices.
• Technical leadership: Proven ability to mentor developers, lead technical planning, conduct effective code reviews, and guide a team towards successful delivery.
• Communication skills: Upper-intermediate (B2+) to advanced (C1) English proficiency with the ability to communicate technical concepts clearly and collaborate with UK-based clients and international teams.
• AI-assisted development: Familiarity with AI-powered coding tools such as Claude Code or Cursor and an interest in effectively applying them within professional software engineering workflows.

Nice to Have:

• Experience with PostgreSQL and database migration tools such as Flyway or Liquibase.
• Familiarity with Apache Kafka or AWS SQS for messaging and event-driven communication.
• Experience with infrastructure-as-code tools like Terraform or AWS CDK.
• Understanding of multi-tenant application architectures.
• Practical experience with Auth0.
• Familiarity with telecommunications and network systems such as RADIUS, NetBox, or IP Address Management (IPAM).
• Knowledge of UK broadband ecosystems and providers like Openreach, PXC, or CityFibre.
• Experience leading technical discovery phases, architecture spikes, or early-stage platform design initiatives.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation: A salary package that reflects your technical expertise, professional experience, and qualifications.
• Remote work: Flexibility and convenience of a remote working environment.
• Strategic project involvement: Join a strategically important pilot team responsible for delivering the first production phase of a new telecommunications platform.
• Potential long-term opportunities: Initial contract duration of approximately four months or more, with potential for longer-term project engagements.
• Modern technology stack: Work with Java, Spring Boot, React, TypeScript, microservices, event-driven architecture, AWS, Docker, and Kubernetes.
• AI-powered development exposure: Engage with AI-assisted engineering practices and tools within an enterprise-scale software development environment.
• Technical ownership: Influence architectural decisions, set engineering standards, and contribute directly to the design and implementation of a new platform.
• Collaborative culture: An environment where technical expertise, innovative ideas, and proactive problem-solving are highly valued.
• Military deferment: Official military deferment or reservation, subject to eligibility and local regulations.