Lead Java Engineer - AI Native

Responsibilities

• Design, develop and maintain scalable Java applications using Spring Boot and microservices architecture, owning features end-to-end with a high degree of autonomy
• Build and deploy Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers that expose Java services, databases or internal tools to LLM-based agents, enabling agents to act on live enterprise data and systems
• Architect end-to-end agentic SDLC pipelines including automated specification drafting, AI-driven code generation, intelligent test creation, CI/CD integration and deployment validation orchestrated by AI agents
• Integrate agentic pipelines with enterprise tools and platforms such as Jira, Confluence, GitHub, ServiceNow and observability stacks via MCP connectors or REST/event-driven APIs
• Apply AI coding assistants and frontier LLMs across the full development lifecycle daily and critically evaluate AI outputs for correctness, security and edge cases before committing
• Bring an AI-first mindset to automate repetitive engineering tasks, measure outcomes rather than activity and identify AI-leverage opportunities within the delivery area
• Contribute to the team's shared library of prompt templates, reusable agent patterns and MCP connectors
• Conduct code and architecture reviews and mentor Junior and Mid-level engineers in Java best practices and AI-native engineering methods
• Maintain strong automated test coverage across unit, integration, contract and AI-generated tests along with healthy CI/CD pipeline practices
• Track frontier developments such as new model releases, emerging agent frameworks and new MCP connectors and bring relevant changes back to the team within weeks

Requirements

• 8–12 years of professional Java development experience with clear ownership of complex production systems
• Expertise in Spring Boot, Spring Cloud and Spring Data along with Spring Security and microservices design patterns
• Understanding of distributed systems, event-driven architecture and domain-driven design (DDD) plus CQRS/ES
• Proficiency in cloud-native engineering on AWS, GCP or Azure including IaC, serverless patterns and managed services
• Background in leading technical teams across architecture governance, coding standards and mentoring
• Daily hands-on proficiency in AI coding assistants such as GitHub Copilot, Cursor and Claude Code and frontier LLMs including Claude, GPT-4o and Gemini, with capability to coach a team of 8-15 engineers in AI-native practices
• Hands-on expertise in designing, building and deploying MCP server ecosystems at project or account scale including security controls, versioning and observability
• Capability to architect and operate end-to-end agentic SDLC pipelines integrated with enterprise tools via MCP and APIs in production environments
• Skills in evaluating and selecting AI agent orchestration frameworks such as LangGraph, CrewAI and AutoGen or Spring AI Agents for production use with documented rationale and trade-offs
• Showcase of improving a team's AI maturity supported by adoption metrics or productivity evidence
• Demonstrated learning agility at team scale with evidence of driving meaningful changes to engineering practices in the last 12 months due to evolving frontier models and tools
• English proficiency at Upper-Intermediate level or above (B2+)

Nice to have

We offer/Benefits

• Opportunity to work on technical challenges that may impact across geographies
• Vast opportunities for self-development: online university, knowledge sharing opportunities globally, learning opportunities through external certifications
• Opportunity to share your ideas on international platforms
• Sponsored Tech Talks & Hackathons
• Unlimited access to LinkedIn learning solutions
• Possibility to relocate to any EPAM office for short and long-term projects
• Focused individual development
• Benefit package:
• Health benefits
• Retirement benefits
• Paid time off
• Flexible benefits
• Forums to explore beyond work passion (CSR, photography, painting, sports, etc.)