Job Overview

Citi is hiring a Core Java Backend Lead - Vice President for its technology organization in Pune, Maharashtra. This is a full-time hybrid opportunity for a senior software engineering professional with 10+ years of relevant application development experience and strong hands-on coding expertise. The role combines advanced backend engineering, technical leadership, application architecture, production delivery, and team guidance.

The position supports technology platforms associated with XVA and Cross Asset Margin, which are important to risk management within capital markets. The engineering teams build and enhance strategic systems used to calculate and optimize margin requirements for financial products and support stakeholders across trading, sales, risk management, financial control, and operations. The successful candidate will work on complex, distributed systems where scalability, reliability, security, governance, and engineering quality are important.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, enhancement, testing, and implementation of complex backend applications using Java and enterprise engineering practices.
• Provide technical direction to developers and analysts and help teams follow consistent architecture, coding, testing, debugging, and deployment standards.
• Review application designs and ensure implementations align with broader enterprise architecture principles.
• Drive development of distributed and highly scalable systems while addressing performance, reliability, maintainability, and operational concerns.
• Guide the adoption of efficient development workflows, reusable engineering patterns, and reliable product release practices.
• Take ownership of production release planning and execution, including coordination of technical activities and quality expectations.
• Review software modifications and help maintain strong engineering and application quality standards.
• Mentor mid-level developers and analysts, provide technical advice, and allocate work when required.
• Examine existing systems and processes to identify technical risks, redundancies, and opportunities for improvement.
• Assess complex technology and business problems and develop practical solutions using sound engineering judgment.
• Work with technology teams, management, and other stakeholders to deliver projects in accordance with development and governance standards.
• Keep current with software engineering trends and evaluate approaches that can improve application delivery.
• Act as a technical escalation point for high-impact application and engineering problems.
• Support risk management, regulatory compliance, secure engineering, and responsible technology practices.

Required Skills

Strong hands-on Core Java development experience is essential. Candidates should have advanced knowledge of Java and Spring and be comfortable working with complex application architectures. Experience designing distributed systems and applying enterprise-level design patterns is also important for this position.

The role requires practical knowledge of Kafka, distributed caching or distributed systems technologies such as Apache Ignite, and relational databases including Oracle. Strong experience with microservices architecture and API-first development is expected. Candidates should understand how to design and implement REST, WebSocket, and gRPC interfaces for modern backend applications.

Cloud-native engineering experience is required, particularly with technologies such as Docker, Kubernetes, or OpenShift. Candidates should be able to understand application deployment in containerized environments and contribute to reliable enterprise application platforms.

Required Technologies

• Java
• Spring
• Spring-based application development
• Apache Kafka
• Apache Ignite
• Oracle
• Microservices
• REST APIs
• WebSocket
• gRPC
• Docker
• Kubernetes
• OpenShift
• Distributed Systems
• Distributed Cache
• Enterprise Architecture
• Design Patterns

Preferred Skills

Experience with NoSQL databases such as MongoDB is preferred. Python knowledge is also useful for supporting application development, automation, analysis, or complementary engineering activities.

UI technology knowledge can be an additional advantage for candidates working across application boundaries. Experience in financial services is particularly relevant, especially knowledge of margin, CVA, XVA, regulatory stress testing, risk concepts, and quantitative risk models.

Candidates who have worked with VaR and SIMM models and collaborated with quantitative teams may have an advantage because the position supports systems related to capital markets risk and margin technology.

Education

A completed Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, or an equivalent discipline is required. A Master’s degree is preferred according to the supplied job description.

Experience

Applicants should have at least 10 years of relevant experience in application development with substantial hands-on coding exposure. The role is intended for an experienced technical professional who can contribute directly to complex software development while also providing technical leadership and guidance to other engineers.

Experience designing complex distributed systems, implementing enterprise architectures, developing microservices, and delivering production-grade backend applications will be particularly relevant. Candidates should be comfortable working independently while also collaborating with development teams and senior stakeholders.

Soft Skills

Strong analytical and problem-solving ability is important because the role involves complex technical and business challenges. Clear written and verbal communication is required for explaining architecture decisions, coordinating engineering activities, and working with stakeholders.

The ideal candidate should be organized, able to manage multiple priorities, comfortable making technical decisions, and capable of working effectively both independently and within a team. Leadership through technical mentoring, collaboration, and knowledge sharing is also important.

Benefits of Working in this Role

This role provides an opportunity to work on sophisticated backend engineering problems in a financial technology environment. Professionals can gain exposure to distributed systems, microservices, event-driven architecture, cloud-native development, enterprise architecture, and capital markets technology.

The position also offers the opportunity to combine hands-on software development with technical leadership. Working on systems related to margin and risk management can provide valuable exposure to complex financial technology use cases while strengthening expertise in scalable and resilient application engineering.

Work Mode

This is a full-time hybrid role. The position is based in Pune, Maharashtra, India.

Location

The job location is Pune, Maharashtra, India. Candidates should be prepared to work according to the hybrid working arrangement associated with the position.

Who Should Apply

This opportunity is suitable for experienced Java developers, backend engineers, Java technical leads, application architects, microservices engineers, and senior software professionals with 10+ years of relevant experience.

Professionals with strong Java and Spring expertise, distributed systems knowledge, Kafka experience, Oracle database skills, and hands-on microservices development should consider this role. Candidates with additional exposure to Kubernetes, Docker, OpenShift, REST, WebSocket, gRPC, Apache Ignite, MongoDB, Python, or UI technologies can strengthen their profile.

Experienced professionals from banking, capital markets, financial services, or other large-scale enterprise technology environments may find the domain particularly relevant. Knowledge of XVA, CVA, margin, VaR, SIMM, and risk calculations is preferred but should only be highlighted when supported by actual professional experience.

Career Growth

A Vice President-level engineering position can provide an opportunity to deepen expertise in enterprise backend architecture, distributed systems, cloud-native development, and technical leadership. The combination of hands-on coding, architecture ownership, production responsibility, mentoring, and financial technology exposure can support future progression toward senior architecture, principal engineering, platform leadership, or broader technology leadership roles.

Application Advice

Tailor your resume to emphasize hands-on Java development, Spring, microservices, distributed systems, Kafka, Oracle, and enterprise application architecture. Include specific examples of systems you designed or improved, especially where you addressed scalability, performance, reliability, production stability, or complex integration requirements.

Highlight practical experience with Docker, Kubernetes, OpenShift, REST, WebSocket, gRPC, and distributed caching. If you have worked with Apache Ignite, MongoDB, Python, or UI technologies, mention the relevant projects clearly. Candidates with financial services experience should describe genuine exposure to margin, XVA, CVA, VaR, SIMM, regulatory stress testing, or collaboration with quantitative teams.

Also demonstrate technical leadership through architecture reviews, code reviews, mentoring, release ownership, risk identification, and delivery improvements. Use measurable outcomes where possible and ensure all skills listed on the resume accurately reflect your professional experience.