Java Tech Lead – Vice President

Citi is looking for an experienced Java Tech Lead to join its Digital engineering organization, where you will drive architectural strategy and hands-on technical delivery across large-scale, Next Generation platform initiatives. In this Vice President-level role, you will serve as a recognized technical authority leading design reviews, shaping engineering standards, and enabling high-performing engineering teams to build resilient, scalable solutions that directly impact Citi's digital products and services. This is a high-ownership role for a senior Java Tech Lead who combines deep Java expertise with the ability to influence technology direction across cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Accountable for executing and driving results on large-scale efforts or multiple smaller efforts and serving as a development lead for most medium and large projects, including expertise with application development methodologies and standards for program analysis, design, coding, testing, debugging, and implementation.
• Accountable for exhibiting a strong understanding of client core business functions. Support situations requiring end-user consultation to identify system function specifications and incorporate them into overall system design and delivery.
• Utilize comprehensive knowledge of multiple areas within technology to achieve technological objectives with an independent work style, requiring little or no guidance by more senior developers.
• Make decisions that significantly and measurably impact the business goals for the client organization. Play a significant role in team discussions with TPMs and engineering managers to determine potential risks to a schedule.
• Assist in the planning and managing of application development assignments generally involving large budgets, cross-functional projects, or multiple projects, including analyzing both technical and business risks and impact.
• Effectively communicate risks to business owners so they can make informed decisions.
• Provide guidance on architecturally significant efforts during the preplanning phase, ensuring principles and best practices are followed prior to initiation of work. Monitor Digital roadmaps, including impacts to support upcoming journeys.
• Publish design review extensions and provide documented guidance aligned to sprint plans and timelines.
• Participate in the design review board to focus on the design process, search for generic patterns, and share best practices across the organization.
• Publish design patterns across lines of business and domain commonalities. Drive design reviews for Next Gen Architecture (NGA) and Plan of Record (POR) projects, supporting design principles and best practices.
• Participate in microservices and NGA code reviews.
• Empower SDEs and their teams by mentoring and coaching.
• Have a comprehensive understanding of the business domain, the systems, and the products in your space, including their accountabilities, boundaries, limitations, scale factors, and the reasons behind architectural decisions.
• Provide a long-term perspective for business and technology choices; use technical judgment to vet architecture as required.
• Direct teams on developing and delivering systems that are efficient with resource usage such as hardware, runtime, performance, load, and memory requirements.
• Responsible for broader design decisions and development of long-term strategies that significantly influence the development process and standards.
• Accountable for Design Reviews of Agile and Plan of Record (POR) projects as well as Code Reviews of Next Gen Architecture (NGA) projects. Elaborate, promote, and communicate Design Patterns applicable to NGA architectures and solutions.
• Provide architectural guidance to SDEs based on best practices and in alignment with CTO guidelines and platform.
• Drive clarity and work with complete independence when business or technical strategy is not defined. Provide corresponding architectural guidance and conduct design and code reviews based on projects assigned to your LOB.
• Accountable for the overall strategy and for driving teams inside and outside of your organization to deliver expected results. Drive mindful discussions with business and technical stakeholders leading to timely decisions.
• Participate in discussions to drive smart trade-off decisions balancing efforts, delivery timelines, features, and technical constraints. Identify and remove blockers and find the path forward in challenging situations.
• Create plans with a clear path to delivery. Solve for dependencies between agile and waterfall delivery efforts. Help teams organize for delivery while maximizing resources for the greater good of the Digital organization.
• Understand engineering best practices and apply them to the software development lifecycle (SDLC).
• Elaborate, promote, and communicate clear metrics on Design Reviews, Code Reviews, CI/CD, and Design Patterns adoption.
• Communicate progress, anticipate bottlenecks, provide escalation management, identify, assess, track, and mitigate issues/risks at multiple levels. Recognize discordant views and take part in constructive dialog to resolve them.
• Demonstrate the ability to implement continuous improvement and the induction of new technology. Show examples of influence in scrum teams beyond your own area of focus.
• Appropriately assess risk when business decisions are made, demonstrating consideration for the firm's reputation and safeguarding Citigroup, its clients, and assets by driving compliance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations, adhering to Policy, applying sound ethical judgment, and escalating, managing, and reporting control issues with transparency.

Requirements

• 6–10 years of software engineering experience, with a focus on application development or enterprise architecture at a senior or lead level.
• Deep expertise in Java and Spring Boot, with hands-on experience building and delivering production-grade microservices architectures.
• Proven ability to design distributed systems with a strong grasp of algorithms, data structures, networking, and system scalability.
• Hands-on experience with cloud platforms, including AWS and PCF (Pivotal Cloud Foundry), and content delivery technologies such as Akamai.
• Demonstrated ability to automate code quality, performance testing, and build processes within CI/CD pipelines.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in a relevant technical discipline.

Skills

• Experience with front-end technologies such as Angular or React, enabling effective collaboration with full-stack engineering teams.
• Exposure to Artificial Intelligence concepts and their practical application within software engineering contexts.
• Master's degree in a relevant technical discipline (preferred).

Benefits

• Hybrid working model with 3 days in the office and 2 days working remotely, supporting flexibility and effective team collaboration.
• Strategic technical leadership at Vice President level, with the authority to shape architectural direction across Citi's digital engineering platform.
• Opportunity to work on complex, high-impact engineering challenges at global scale within one of the world's largest financial institutions.
• Access to continuous learning and professional development resources to keep your skills current across cloud, architecture, and emerging technologies.
• Competitive compensation and financial wellbeing benefits reflective of Vice President seniority.
• A performance-driven engineering culture that values technical excellence, clear decision-making, and measurable delivery outcomes.
• Discretionary and formulaic incentive and retention awards for eligible employees.
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage; 401(k); life, accident, and disability insurance; and wellness programs.
• Paid time off packages, including planned time off (vacation), unplanned time off (sick leave), and paid holidays.

Pay

Full-time salary range: $138,720.00 - $208,080.00.

Schedule

Full time