Staff Software Engineer (Java) - Developer productivity

ABOUT THE TEAM

The Developer Productivity (DevPro) team is the driving force behind engineering efficiency at Tide. We are a specialized, internal-facing team dedicated to empowering our backend engineers by eliminating friction, automating repetitive tasks, and creating an exceptional development experience. Our mission is to accelerate the delivery of high-quality software, enabling our product teams to focus on building innovative solutions for our members.

We achieve this by:

• Developing and maintaining core Java libraries that are the backbone of our backend services.
• Building robust CI/CD pipelines optimized specifically for our backend tech stack.
• Creating self-service tooling that simplifies common workflows, from local development to production deployments.
• Championing engineering best practices, ensuring our codebase is scalable, maintainable, and secure.

ABOUT THE ROLE

We are seeking a Staff Developer Productivity Engineer to join our team in Serbia. In this role, you will act as a force multiplier, applying your deep backend expertise to solve the most critical challenges facing our engineering organization. This isn't just about building infrastructure; it's about crafting the tools and frameworks that define how we build and ship software.

The ideal candidate is a seasoned backend engineer with a passion for improving the developer experience. You will have extensive experience with the Java ecosystem, including Spring/Spring Boot and Gradle or Maven, and a proven track record of designing solutions that scale. You'll be proactive, analytical, and an excellent collaborator who can influence and mentor engineers across the business.

As a Staff Developer Productivity Engineer you’ll: 

• Architect and own the internal Java libraries that abstract complexity and standardize development across hundreds of microservices.
• Lead the optimization of our backend CI/CD pipelines, focusing on performance, reliability, and security for Java/Spring applications.
• Drive critical initiatives such as dependency upgrades and framework migrations to ensure our core tech stack remains modern and secure.
• Develop and maintain internal tooling that automates workflows and reduces "toil" for backend teams.
• Serve as a subject-matter expert on testing strategies, build systems (Gradle), and code quality, creating and advocating for company-wide standards.
• Mentor senior and junior engineers on best practices for performance, scalability, and code maintainability.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• Deep expertise in the Java ecosystem (7+ years): Proven experience designing, building, and maintaining production-grade applications using Spring/Spring Boot.
• Strong proficiency in build automation and dependency management: Extensive experience with Gradle or Maven is essential, including multi-module builds, custom plugins, and dependency versioning.
• CI/CD Pipeline mastery: Hands-on experience optimizing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions) specifically for large-scale backend services.
• A passion for developer enablement: A track record of creating internal tools, libraries, or frameworks that have measurably improved engineering efficiency.
• Solid understanding of software engineering best practices: Expertise in unit testing, integration testing, static analysis, and code quality tools.
• Cloud and containerization knowledge: Experience with AWS services, Docker, and Kubernetes is necessary to build effective solutions that integrate with our infrastructure.
• Mentorship and communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to influence technical decisions and mentor engineers at all levels.

OUR TECH STACK

Backend and Database:

• Java, Python
• Spring/Spring Boot
• Gradle

• PostgreSQL
• RESTful APIs
• Event-driven architecture (AWS SQS, SNS)

Development and Deployment:

• AWS cloud and their services (SQS, S3, EKS)
• Docker
• Kubernetes
• Microservice architecture
• GitHub with GitHub Actions for CI/CD pipelines

Monitoring and Analytics:

• DataDog
• Semgrep

Note: New joiners are encouraged to deploy to production within their first two weeks.

WHAT YOU’LL GET IN RETURN

• 25 days paid annual leave
• 3 paid days off for volunteering or L&D activities
• Family-Friendly Leave (according to statutory)
• Personal L&D budget in the amount of 500 EUR per year (may be lower for A1-A2 folks in India Region, UK/ Europe Region and PCS UK sales team)
• Mental wellbeing platform Plumm
• WFH equipment allowance
• Share options

TIDEAN WAYS OF WORKING

At Tide, we champion a flexible workplace model that supports both in-person and remote work to cater to the specific needs of our different teams. 

While remote work is supported, we believe in the power of face-to-face interactions to foster team spirit and collaboration. Our offices are designed as hubs for innovation and team-building, where we encourage regular in-person gatherings to foster a strong sense of community. 

TIDEAN WAYS OF WORKING

At Tide, we champion a flexible workplace model that supports both in-person and remote work to cater to the specific needs of our different teams. 

While remote work is supported, we believe in the power of face-to-face interactions to foster team spirit and collaboration. Our offices are designed as hubs for innovation and team-building, where we encourage regular in-person gatherings to foster a strong sense of community.

#LI-MP1 #LI-Remote