Lead Software Developer (m/f/d)

Become Lead Software Developer (m/f/d) at Retarus.

Retarus is a worldwide provider of cloud-based messaging solutions at enterprise scale. We serve over 40% of the companies listed on the S&P Global 100, e.g. Adidas, Bayer, SAP, BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, T-Systems, Swarovski & UPS, as well as governmental agencies and major players in markets across the world. Privately owned and founder-managed for over thirty years, Retarus is customer-oriented, stable, a fair employer, and a strategic business partner with a long-term vision. With some 500 employees in 19 offices on four continents, Retarus operates locally and thinks globally: our teams are organized across borders and are highly integrated. This makes Retarus a multicultural, multilingual, and engaging workplace. We are committed to creating a diverse and dynamic environment for our employees, with generous compensation, time off, and a global, collaborative workplace.

What we offer

• Mobile working and flexible working time
• Collaborative, diverse company culture and superior team spirit
• Flat hierarchies and great feedback culture
• Development opportunities & career perspective
• International business & cross-site collaboration
• Modern, dog-friendly offices with nice amenities
• Public transportation, lunch vouchers and further benefits

What you'll do

We are looking for a Lead Software Engineer to drive technical leadership and architectural direction for our agile development team. You will be instrumental in delivering cutting‑edge SMS and messaging solutions that are high-volume, globally distributed, and highly reliable.

As a Lead, you are not just a contributor - you are a force multiplier. You will own the architectural vision, ensure coherence across services, and reduce fragmentation while still keeping your hands dirty in code. You will act as the primary technical point of contact, guiding the team through complex design decisions, balancing short-term delivery with long-term maintainability, and fostering a culture of engineering excellence.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership & Architecture

• Own the Architecture: Define and drive architectural direction across services. Identify consolidation opportunities, define clear boundaries for microservices, and ensure system coherence.
• Design for the Future: Lead technical design reviews with a focus on reliability, security, observability, and performance. Balance immediate business needs with long-term system health and scalability.
• Cross-System Impact: Extend your influence beyond your immediate team. Provide architectural clarity, reduce duplication, and ensure designs fit into the broader system landscape.
• Coach & Mentor: Act as a cohesive force for the team. Mentor Senior and Mid-level engineers, championing modern collaboration practices (e.g., Pull Requests) and providing constructive code reviews.
• Facilitate Ownership: Delegate ownership effectively — do not hoard tasks. Empower the team to make decisions while ensuring alignment with the broader technical strategy.
• Foster Culture: Improve team cohesion, psychological safety, and inclusiveness.

Delivery & Execution

• Drive Delivery: Collaborate with Product Owners and Engineering Management to ensure work is clearly scoped and technically sound. Detailed planning, and realistic estimation.
• Operational Excellence: Raise the bar for how we build and run software. Champion automation, high-quality testing cultures, and operational readiness (high uptime, low latency, low error rates).
• Hands-on Contribution: Continually keep your skills sharp by contributing to large, complex projects. You are expected to write high-quality, high-information, low-maintenance code.

What you'll need

• Deep Experience: 7+ years of experience in software development with a proven track record of architectural leadership and consistent delivery at scale.
• Java Expertise: Strong proficiency in building high-performance, event-driven, and secure software solutions in Java . Familiarity with frameworks like Quarkus or Spring Boot is a plus.
• System Design: Expertise in API design, RESTful services, messaging systems, and stream processing. Strong understanding of distributed systems.
• Infrastructure & Ops: Hands-on experience with CI/CD pipelines, **Docker**, **Kubernetes**, and strong proficiency in **Linux** environments.
• Strategic Mindset: Ability to align team execution with long-term technical and product strategy. You understand the "bigger picture."
• Communication: Excellent communication skills. You can explain complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders and align with other Tech Leads across the organization.

What you can expect

At Retarus, you will work on impactful and dynamic projects, with real opportunities to make a difference. Our customers are leaders across diverse industries, with constantly evolving needs and high expectations. You’ll be working with cutting-edge technology and great creative leeway to meet customers’ needs – and the projects you work on will be deployed globally. Working at Retarus, you will collaborate closely with convivial, culturally diverse teammates. You will grow professionally in a dynamic and exciting workplace and design impactful solutions in real time with top companies.

Very important

Come as you are. Retarus is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, or veteran status.

Apply via our online application portal – it’s easy and doesn’t take long. Our colleague Alissa Selman is happy to field any questions you may have:

We’re looking forward to getting to know you!

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