Senior Backend Engineer - Java

As a Senior Backend Engineer, you will be reporting to the Vice President of Engineering and would be a key member of Real’s R&D team. You will operate in an AI-first environment leveraging tools like Claude Code to translate product ideas into production-ready systems. You will help lead the overall technical vision for all things back-end, implementing features, squashing bugs, and making improvements across our Java Spring Microservices. You would also drive adoption of AI-assisted development practices within the backend engineering team. This role is not just about writing code; it’s about designing scalable systems, validating and owning AI-assisted code, and driving technical excellence across the team.

Responsibilities

Reporting to the Vice President of Engineering as a key member of Real's R&D team; Operating in an AI-first environment leveraging tools like Claude Code to translate product ideas into production-ready systems; Leading the overall technical vision for all things back-end, implementing features, squashing bugs, and making improvements across Java Spring Microservices; Driving adoption of AI-assisted development practices within the backend engineering team; Designing scalable systems; Validating and owning AI-assisted code; Driving technical excellence across the team; Collaborating with other engineers through pairing sessions, code reviews, and knowledge sharing in weekly Friday Dev Chats; Mentoring and leading junior engineers in software engineering methodology, design, and best practices; Working with the product team and feature owners to understand requirements and see them through to execution and deployment

Requirements

Extensive experience with Java 17+ (migrating toward Java 21), Spring Boot 3.x, JPA/Hibernate 6, and SQL relational databases; Comfortable writing unit and integration tests and maintaining strong code coverage; Experience designing event-driven microservices and applying patterns such as Domain-Driven Design (DDD), hexagonal (ports & adapters) architecture, and CQRS; In-depth knowledge of relational databases including indices, connection pools, transactions (ACID), and schema design performance implications; Experience with NoSQL databases and knowing when to prefer one over a relational database; Opinionated about backend software development direction with ability to recommend and take initiative; Keen eye for refactoring using standard design principles and patterns; Welcoming, collaborative attitude and excited to learn and teach; Enjoy working with a remote team across time zones; Comfortable in an agile, fast-paced startup environment; BA/BS degree and 8+ years of related experience or equivalent combination; Must have experience in Spring/Spring Boot, Hibernate, and Relational Databases; Demonstrated Project Coordination/Management skills; Must be willing to work Eastern (EST) time zone hours; Hands-on experience with AI coding assistants such as Claude Code, Cursor, and Codex (or similar) in real development workflows; Familiarity with agentic / CLI-based AI workflows and Model Context Protocol (MCP) integrations; Experience applying AI to accelerate code review, test generation, and documentation; Ability to critically evaluate and refactor AI-generated code for production readiness; Strong judgment on when to use AI vs manual implementation; Ability to sit for long periods of time

Nice to have

A real estate background with transferable skills would be an asset