Software Development Team Lead

Job description

**About FreeBalance** FreeBalance is a purpose-led global technology company empowering governments to achieve transparent, accountable, and effective public financial management through its proprietary FreeBalance Accountability Suite™, a comprehensive Government Resource Planning (GRP) solution designed exclusively for the public sector. With over 40 years of experience supporting governments worldwide, FreeBalance drives digital transformation across the entire budget cycle—from policy-based budgeting and accounting to human resource management, performance measurement, treasury, and revenue management—all within a scalable, unified platform that supports fiscal transparency, citizen engagement, and data-driven decision-making. As a Software Development Team Lead, you will lead a collaborative product development team responsible for designing, delivering, and maintaining robust, scalable, and high-performing back-end solutions and e-services across the FreeBalance Accountability Suite™. You will play a key role in shaping the architectural direction of our applications, ensuring that complex government business processes are translated into secure, efficient, and reliable digital solutions. **Position Summary** As a Software Development Team Lead, you will serve as both a technical and team leader responsible for the architecture, design, development, and optimization of enterprise-scale web-based application solutions. You will guide a high-performing engineering team, manage sprint planning and milestones, and work closely with Functional Analysts, QA, and Front-End Developers to deliver stable and highly responsive applications. This role requires deep expertise in Java, Spring, Hibernate, and enterprise ERP product architectures. You will lead technical planning, architectural development, and modifications to application specifications, ensuring compatibility and integration across interdependent technologies to maintain a unified product ecosystem.The ideal candidate combines expert-level back-end engineering skills with a passion for leadership, team mentorship, and continuous innovation. You will establish coding standards, drive engineering excellence, and contribute directly to the strategic evolution of FreeBalance's product platform. ### Main Responsibilities: - Participate in all phases of full life-cycle development of the project including requirements analysis, software design, software implementation, testing, deployment, training and user guide preparation; - Employ best practices and a standardized IT methodology during the Analysis, Requirements and Detail Design phases; - Execute and lead the preparation of all required technical documents, reports, plans and outputs as required by our customers; - Design & develop IT Software (covering integrated process, applications, data, infrastructure, security & other technologies) to resolve business requirements; - Responsible for technical planning, architectural development & modifications to specifications of all the application; - Maintain the software application designs applicability and congruence to the business requirements; - Assess the compatibility and integration of products/services proposed as standards in order to ensure an integrated architecture across interdependent technologies; - Other duties as assigned. ### Key Responsibilities **Back-End Architecture & Development** ● Design, develop, and maintain modern, scalable, and secure software solutions (covering integrated processes, applications, data, infrastructure, and security) using Java, Spring, and Hibernate. ● Lead the implementation of architecture decisions, coding standards, and technical design approaches for portal and e-services. ● Ensure applications are optimized for performance, scalability, data integrity, and enterprise-grade security. ● Responsible for technical planning, architectural development, and ongoing modifications to core application specifications. ● Maintain the software application designs' applicability and congruence to changing business and technical requirements. **Technical Leadership & Team Management** ● Lead, mentor, and coach a team of software developers, fostering a collaborative environment and promoting engineering excellence. ● Manage sprint planning, resource allocation, and project timelines, coordinating closely with project managers and stakeholders to ensure on-time delivery. ● Conduct thorough code reviews, provide technical guidance, and champion continuous knowledge sharing within the team. ● Evaluate emerging standards, tools, and technologies to improve development efficiency, maintainability, and system reliability. **Application Integration & Data Management** ● Oversee the design and implementation of RESTful APIs, web services, and integrations with database systems. ● Assess the compatibility and integration of proposed services to ensure a cohesive architecture across interdependent technologies. ● Collaborate with front-end developers to define robust API contracts and ensure seamless full-stack application functionality. **Cross-Team Collaboration** ● Work closely with Functional Analysts, QA, and Front-End teams to deliver core product enhancements and new functionality. ● Execute, delegate, and sign off on technical documents, reports, plans, and outputs required by customers. ● Communicate complex architectural and technical concepts effectively to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. **Continuous Improvement** ● Recommend improvements to back-end frameworks, internal development processes, and engineering methodologies. ● Drive quality assurance practices, automated testing adoption, and performance profiling across the development lifecycle. ● Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on system maintainability, performance, and customer satisfaction. ### Team Lead Experience & Qualifications (Required) **Education & Experience** ● University graduate in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related computing technology discipline. ● Minimum 10+ years of progressive experience in Java design and development for enterprise-scale web-based applications. ● 2+ years of experience in a technical leadership, team lead, or formal software engineering mentorship role. ● Proven experience as a Software Architect or Tech Lead with deep knowledge of complex, scalable, web-based applications. Java Technical Expertise **Advanced expertise in:** ● Java / J2EE core technologies ● Spring Framework (Boot, Core, Data, Security) ● Hibernate ORM solutions ● Relational databases, transactional management, and query optimization ● Core application integration patterns and and web service architectures **Software Engineering Practices** ● Strong understanding of SOLID principles, enterprise design patterns (singleton, facade, factory), and architectural principles (layered, hexagonal, and Domain-Driven Design). ● Proficiency with Git, advanced branching workflows, and dependency management tools (Maven, Gradle). ● Experience with automated unit/integration testing (JUnit, Mockito), debugging, and back-end performance profiling tools. ● Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, containerization, and modern software delivery practices. **Interpersonal & Leadership** ● Strong leadership, interpersonal, and conflict-resolution skills with a proven track record of managing team dynamics. ● Ability to lead architectural discussions, guide technical planning, and influence strategic engineering decisions. ● Excellent analytical and problem-solving capabilities with high attention to detail. **Other** ● Excellent written and verbal English communication skills. ● Ability to work independently, guide a team, and manage multiple shifting priorities simultaneously. ● Ability to travel occasionally, as required. ### Preferred Experience ● Previous experience in the public sector or working with government systems. ● Experience developing enterprise software, ERP, GRP, IFMIS, or other large-scale financial business applications. ● Experience with microservices architectures, cloud-native application environments, and containerized deployments (Docker, Kubernetes). ● Familiarity with Agile/Scrum development methodologies. ● Familiarity and hands-on experience with relevant AI tools and technologies. ● Experience contributing to core product modernization initiatives and platform evolution ### Why This Role Matters FreeBalance solutions support governments around the world in achieving transparency, accountability, and effective management of public resources. The reliability, security, and performance of these solutions directly influence how public sector organizations manage budgets, finances, human resources, procurement, and performance reporting. As a Software Development Team Lead, you will play a critical role in shaping the architectural backbone and core functionality of our products. By leading a dedicated engineering team and maintaining high technical standards, your work will directly ensure that powerful, secure, and compliant capabilities are delivered seamlessly, contributing to customer satisfaction and the continued global evolution of FreeBalance's digital government platform. We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. FreeBalance is an inclusive employer dedicated to building a diverse workforce to increase the representation of the designated groups based on each country’s legislation. We encourage applications from all qualified candidates and will accommodate applicants’ needs under the respective labour law throughout all stages of the recruitment process. We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.