Principal Java Engineer

Position: Principal Java Engineer Relevant Experience: 10+ years Type: Full Time Work Mode: Remote Salary: Competitive Industry: Banking / Fintech – Verification of Payee & Open Finance Products Location: European Union Reports to: Head of Engineering / Solution Architect About Us Banfico is a growth-stage SaaS fintech involved in designing and launching innovative Verification of Payee & Open Finance solutions. We are a bootstrapped profitable organisation with corporate presence in Europe, LATAM and the Middle East. Our portfolio of clients contains more than 200 financial institutions including some large banks. We are looking for a Principal Java Engineer — a highly skilled individual contributor who combines deep technical expertise with a passion for building high-quality software. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys solving complex backend challenges, influencing architecture and coding standards, and mentoring fellow engineers. Roles & Responsibilities Design and develop scalable, secure, and high-performance Java-based microservices and APIs. Own technical solutions end-to-end — from design through deployment and monitoring. Contribute to architectural discussions and help evolve Banfico’s core product platforms. Collaborate closely with architects, product owners, management, and DevOps to deliver reliable fintech solutions. Write clean, efficient, and testable code while maintaining high-quality standards. Conduct code reviews and provide constructive feedback to junior and mid-level developers. Mentor and guide team members through technical challenges, fostering knowledge sharing. Troubleshoot performance, scalability, and security issues in distributed systems. Stay current with emerging technologies and propose improvements to enhance product quality and scalability. Serve as a go-to technical expert within the Java engineering group, providing hands-on guidance when required. Participate in POCs, design reviews, and technical discussions to ensure alignment with overall system architecture. Required Skills & Experience 10+ years of professional experience in backend development using Java (17+) and Spring Boot / Spring Cloud. Proven experience building microservices and RESTful APIs in production environments. Strong understanding of distributed systems, data structures, and concurrency. Proficiency with databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB) and messaging systems (Kafka, RabbitMQ). Hands-on experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and CI/CD tools such as Jenkins or GitHub Actions. Solid grasp of secure coding practices, OAuth2 / OIDC, and API security. Strong understanding of API management principles, APIOps, and Enterprise Integration Patterns. Hands-on experience with at least one major cloud platform (AWS, Azure, or GCP). Analytical problem-solving mindset with strong debugging and optimization skills. Excellent communication and collaboration abilities, especially in distributed teams. Prior experience in fintech or regulated financial domains is advantageous. Experience in secure financial data integrations or payment systems is a plus. Desirable Skills Experience with API gateways (e.g., Kong, Apigee, AWS API Gateway, WSO2). Exposure to event-driven or reactive architectures. Familiarity with DevSecOps practices and automated compliance testing. Understanding of Open Banking standards such as PSD2, OBIE, or Berlin Group. Contributions to open-source projects or fintech communities. Additional Expectations Hands-on and detail-oriented engineer who enjoys solving deep technical problems. Not a people manager — but an engineer who naturally mentors and supports others. Open to experimenting with new frameworks, libraries, and architectural approaches. Pragmatic thinker who balances technical purity with business priorities. Actively contributes to the engineering culture by promoting clean code practices and technical excellence. Benefits Opportunity to work on high-impact Verification of Payee & Open Finance products used by leading financial institutions. Exposure to modern engineering challenges in fintech and compliance ecosystems. Remote flexibility within the European Union. Competitive compensation and professional development opportunities. Be part of a highly skilled engineering team driving enterprise-grade fintech solutions. Other Details Banfico does not sponsor work permits/visas for this role. However, we are happy to work with EoR arrangements for eligible EU-based candidates.