Job description

Job Title: Principal Software Engineer Location: Remote (U.S.) Employment Type: Contract (W2 through ZipStaff — No C2C or 1099) About the Opportunity: ZipStaff is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to lead design and delivery of scalable microservices for a leading healthcare analytics organization. This is a hands-on technical leadership role. You will architect Java / Spring Boot services, optimize high-throughput SQL workloads, own Kafka event-streaming pipelines, and mentor a team of 4–8 engineers. Candidates who cannot lead delivery and contribute production code will not be a fit. What You’ll Do: • Lead the design and delivery of scalable microservices using Java and Spring Boot , with clean separation of concerns and resilience. • Design and optimize MS SQL schemas, stored procedures, and queries for high-throughput transactional workloads. • Architect and maintain Kafka-based event-streaming pipelines for real-time processing and decoupled service communication. • Collaborate with UX and product teams on responsive, accessible front-end interfaces integrated with back-end APIs. • Conduct code reviews, define coding standards, and drive engineering best practices. • Mentor and coach 4–8 engineers ; run 1:1s, support career growth, and remove technical blockers. • Partner with product managers and architects to translate business requirements into technical roadmaps. • Champion observability, security, and CI/CD across the platform. • Screen candidates, run technical interviews, and help build the team. Required Qualifications: • 10+ years of hands-on software engineering experience delivering production systems at scale. • Deep expertise in Java (11+) and the Spring ecosystem (Spring Boot, Spring Cloud, Spring Security, Spring Data). • Strong MS SQL skills — indexing, execution plans, normalization, and T-SQL. • Proven experience building and operating Kafka pipelines in a distributed microservices environment. • Solid front-end proficiency in at least one modern framework ( React, Angular, or Vue ). • Demonstrated leadership: led a team of engineers, owned delivery milestones, and influenced architecture. • Comfortable in Agile / Scrum environments; experience facilitating sprint ceremonies. • Strong communication skills with technical and non-technical stakeholders. Take Ownership, conflict/consensus, escalate with solutions, bridge to business. • Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship now or in the future. Preferred Qualifications: • Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP). • Healthcare analytics, claims, or other regulated data-platform background. • Proven hiring / interview experience on an engineering team. About ZipStaff ZipStaff partners with leading organizations to connect skilled technology professionals with high-impact contract opportunities. We focus on quality matches and long-term success. To apply , please submit your resume highlighting your Java/Spring Boot, MS SQL, Kafka, and engineering-leadership experience Pay: $58 - $60 per hour

Requirements

Must-haves

Job Title: Principal Software Engineer
Location: Remote (U.S.)
Employment Type: Contract (W2 through ZipStaff — No C2C or 1099)
Lead the design and delivery of scalable microservices using Java and Spring Boot , with clean separation of concerns and resilience.
Design and optimize MS SQL schemas, stored procedures, and queries for high-throughput transactional workloads.
Architect and maintain Kafka-based event-streaming pipelines for real-time processing and decoupled service communication.
Collaborate with UX and product teams on responsive, accessible front-end interfaces integrated with back-end APIs.
Conduct code reviews, define coding standards, and drive engineering best practices.
Mentor and coach 4–8 engineers ; run 1:1s, support career growth, and remove technical blockers.
Partner with product managers and architects to translate business requirements into technical roadmaps.
Champion observability, security, and CI/CD across the platform.
Screen candidates, run technical interviews, and help build the team.
10+ years of hands-on software engineering experience delivering production systems at scale.
Deep expertise in Java (11+) and the Spring ecosystem (Spring Boot, Spring Cloud, Spring Security, Spring Data).
Strong MS SQL skills — indexing, execution plans, normalization, and T-SQL.
Proven experience building and operating Kafka pipelines in a distributed microservices environment.
Solid front-end proficiency in at least one modern framework ( React, Angular, or Vue ).
Demonstrated leadership: led a team of engineers, owned delivery milestones, and influenced architecture.
Comfortable in Agile / Scrum environments; experience facilitating sprint ceremonies.
Strong communication skills with technical and non-technical stakeholders. Take Ownership, conflict/consensus, escalate with solutions, bridge to business.
Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship now or in the future.

Nice-to-haves

Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
Healthcare analytics, claims, or other regulated data-platform background.
Proven hiring / interview experience on an engineering team.

Application prep

Use the role’s language and application details while tailoring your materials.

Keywords to mirror

javasqlci/cdreactangularvueagilescrumdockerkubernetesawsazuregcp

Platform: betterteam
Effort: medium