Senior Engineering Manager - Java Backend

The Senior Engineering Manager within the NIQ Activate R&D organization will report to the Director, Activate R&D and be responsible for leading a high-performing team of software engineers while driving the development of innovative product solutions for our rapidly expanding customer base. This role operates in an open, collaborative, and innovation-driven environment, leveraging modern client and server-side technologies to deliver scalable and impactful solutions.

This is a hands-on leadership role requiring a balanced allocation of responsibilities, with approximately 50% focused on engineering leadership activities such as technical reviews, planning, stakeholder management, talent development, and delivery oversight, and 50% dedicated to hands-on software engineering, including architecture, coding, design reviews, and technical problem solving.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design, develop, and deliver scalable microservices from architecture through production deployment.
• Lead backend system design and implementation, ensuring robust, secure, and maintainable solutions.
• Leverage GitHub Copilot and AI-assisted development tools to accelerate software delivery, improve code quality, and enhance engineering productivity.
• Take ownership of development, maintenance, testing strategy, design discussions, and operations of the team, with containerized API services
• Participate in all aspects of agile software development including design, implementation, and deployment.
• Responsible for the end-to-end lifecycle of new product features/components
• Ensuring application performance, uptime, and scale, maintaining high standards of code quality and thoughtful application design
• Work with a small, cross-functional team on products and features to drive growth.
• Learning new tools, languages, workflows, and philosophies to grow
• Research and suggest new technologies for boosting the product.
• Have an impact on product development by making important technical decisions, influencing the system architecture, development practices and more.

Qualifications

• 12+ years as a Backend developer with at least 4+ years of experience in team management.
• Experience and knowledge of server-side technologies: Java, Springboot, SQL, Agentic AI
• Experience with large scale SQL / NoSQL databases (SingleStore, Postgres)
• Fluent with Relational databases.
• Good problem-solving and analysis abilities
• Good to have experience with Docker containers, Kubernetes, and Cloud environments
• Experience working in agile methodologies and sprint planning
• Must have a B.Sc. in computer science or equivalent.