Technical Lead (Java Backend) – Brussels – Hybrid

The Technical Lead will serve as the squad’s primary technical authority and hands-on leader within the Instruction & Order Squad. The role combines deep backend engineering expertise with technical leadership, ensuring the squad delivers high-quality solutions while maintaining architectural integrity, security, scalability, and long-term maintainability.

Working within a multidisciplinary Agile Scrum team, the Technical Lead will guide technical decision-making, coach developers, manage technical risks, and contribute directly to software development activities.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership

• Define and communicate the squad’s technical vision and direction.
• Lead technical design discussions and facilitate collective decision-making.
• Ensure alignment with enterprise architecture, security standards, and operational requirements.
• Provide technical guidance and oversight across all squad initiatives.
• Drive technical excellence and engineering best practices.

Software Development

• Contribute hands-on to the development of complex backend solutions.
• Design, develop, and maintain Java-based applications and integrations.
• Support the implementation of REST APIs and enterprise integration patterns.
• Ensure solutions are scalable, maintainable, and production-ready.

Quality & Governance

• Establish and promote standards for:
  • Clean code
  • Code reviews
  • Automated testing
  • Documentation
  • Observability and monitoring
  • Release readiness
• Identify and manage technical debt.
• Support production incident investigations and implement continuous improvements.

Team Development

• Mentor and coach team members.
• Promote knowledge sharing and collaborative problem-solving.
• Foster shared ownership of systems and solutions.
• Strengthen the squad’s technical maturity and autonomy.

Agile Delivery

• Support sprint delivery objectives while maintaining long-term solution quality.
• Collaborate closely with Product Owners, Scrum Masters, Architects, Analysts, Testers, Operations teams, and other delivery teams.
• Highlight technical risks, dependencies, and design decisions.
• Advocate for quality, security, maintainability, and operational stability.

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Required Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in:
  • Computer Science
  • Information Technology
  • Engineering
  • Related field

OR

• Equivalent professional experience.

Certifications (Preferred)

• Technical certifications
• Software Architecture certifications
• Security certifications
• Agile/Scrum certifications

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Required Experience

Professional Experience

• Minimum 6 years of relevant experience in software engineering.
• Proven experience in complex enterprise environments.
• Demonstrated experience as a:
  • Technical Lead
  • Lead Developer
  • Technical Reference within Agile teams

Technical Skills (Mandatory)

Backend Development

• Strong Java development experience, including Java 8
• Spring Framework 4
• Spring Boot
• RESTful API development
• Enterprise integration patterns

Data & Messaging

• Kafka
• Apache Flink
• SQL
• Java database access technologies

DevOps & Development Tools

• Maven
• Jenkins
• Git

Testing

• JUnit
• Cucumber / Gherkin
• WireMock
• Automated testing frameworks and practices

Architecture & Operations

• Application architecture
• Middleware technologies
• Infrastructure dependencies
• Production support and operations
• Secure software development practices
• Code quality governance

Technical Skills (Preferred)

• Lombok
• HttpEntity / ResponseEntity
• Groovy scripting for Jenkins pipelines
• IntelliJ IDEA
• Micro Focus Octane
• Mainframe integration
• Distributed systems integration
• Observability and monitoring solutions
• Performance optimization
• Resilience engineering
• Production stability improvements

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Business Experience

Mandatory

• Experience leading technical decisions within Agile delivery teams.
• Experience collaborating with architecture, security, and operations functions.
• Experience managing technical dependencies and delivery risks.
• Experience improving engineering practices in high-pressure delivery environments.
• Experience within controlled enterprise environments.

Preferred

• Banking sector experience.
• Financial services experience.
• Experience in regulated industries.
• Knowledge of investment solutions or investment platforms.
• Practical Scrum experience.

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Soft Skills

• Strong technical leadership and credibility.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Effective communication with both technical and business stakeholders.
• Ability to influence without formal authority.
• Strong coaching and mentoring skills.
• Pragmatic decision-making approach.
• Risk awareness and proactive problem identification.
• Collaborative and team-oriented mindset.
• Commitment to knowledge sharing and continuous improvement.

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Working Conditions

Language Requirements

• English: Professional working proficiency (required)
• Dutch: Nice to have
• French: Nice to have

Working Model

• Hybrid arrangement:
  • 50% on-site
  • 50% remote