Lead Software Engineer - Backend, ITC

Who You’ll Work With As a Lead Software Engineer you will report to an Engineering Manager and collaborate closely with a Principal Engineer, Product Manager and cross functional teams along with guiding and mentoring a team of engineers to deliver scalable solutions that meet business objectives.

What You’ll Work On As a Lead Software Engineer, you’ll think strategically, act tactically, and collaborate across teams to bring clarity to complex technical challenges. You’ll be a key driver of Nike’s backend engineering efforts, empowering teams to build rock-solid systems and services to manage critical inventory operations for Nike’s omnichannel ecosystem.

As a Lead Software Engineer, you’ll guide technical decisions, architect systems, and inspire teams to deliver world-class backend solutions leveraging Java, Spring Boot, and AWS.

• Architect Scalable Solutions: Define technical strategies and design highly scalable backend systems and microservices using Java, Spring Boot, and cloud technologies on Amazon Web Services (AWS).
• Technical Leadership in a highly collaborative, multi-discipline development team environment. Guide and mentor engineering teams to deliver high-quality software solutions, advocating for best practices in coding, testing, and continuous delivery.
• API Design: Spearhead the design of robust and well-documented RESTful APIs to enable seamless integrations across inventory platforms.
• Cloud-Native Deployment: Oversee deployment of services on AWS, ensuring optimal use of cloud resources (e.g., Lambda, ECS, DynamoDB, RDS, CloudFormation).
• Performance Optimization: Continuously evaluate system performance, identify bottlenecks, and implement improvements to support large-scale inventory operations.
• Cross-Team Collaboration: Partner with Product Managers, Architects, and other Engineering leaders to define technical roadmaps, prioritize deliverables, and align with business goals.
• Security and Reliability: Ensure solutions adhere to industry best practices for security, availability, and reliability, while adapting to evolving business needs.
• Observability and Monitoring: Design, implement, and operate end‑to‑end observability solutions (metrics, logs, and distributed tracing) using platforms such as Splunk, SignalFx, and Grafana to ensure system health and performance.
• Continuous Improvement: Stay ahead of emerging technologies, advocate modernization, and foster an environment of learning and growth within the team.
• AI Adoption: Lead AI and intelligent automation initiatives by identifying high‑impact use cases, shaping adoption strategy, evaluating feasibility, and guiding teams in delivering AI capabilities at scale.

Who We Are Looking For

• Education & Experience: bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science, Software Engineering, or equivalent.
• 7 to 10 years of professional experience delivering backend software solutions.
• At least 2+ years of experience in a technical leadership role; overseeing engineering teams and driving technical decisions.
• Technical Expertise: Deep expertise in Java, Spring Boot, backend systems architecture, HLD and LLD.
• Proven track record deploying and maintaining applications on AWS, with strong familiarity in services like Lambda, EC2, ECS, DynamoDB, RDS, API Gateway, and CloudFormation.
• Extensive experience building RESTful APIs and designing scalable microservices.
• Strong command over CI/CD practices, containerization (Docker/Kubernetes), and DevOps tools (e.g., Jenkins, GitHub Actions).
• Understanding of distributed systems, event-driven architecture and messaging platforms (Kafka, RabbitMQ, or similar).
• Exposure to Supply Chain domain areas like inventory management, order management, logistics management, warehouse management.
• Exposure towards Co-pilot or Cursor development is an advantage.

Leadership Skills

• Technical Leadership in a highly collaborative, multi-discipline development team environment.
• Exceptional ability to mentor and guide junior and mid-level engineers.
• Experience leading agile teams, defining technical roadmaps, and maintaining alignment with business stakeholders.
• Adept at communicating technical ideas clearly and succinctly to both technical and non-technical audiences.