Principal Software Engineer - Java/Cloud (Onsite Position)

We are looking for a Principal Engineer with deep expertise in building high-throughput, low-latency, and highly available distributed systems. In this role, you will lead the technical vision, architectural patterns, and execution for critical backend services using Java, Spring Boot, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) or similar experience in other cloud platforms like Azure / AWS.

Beyond core architecture, you will serve as a technical beacon—hands-on with profiling and troubleshooting complex JVM/Kubernetes environments, driving resilience and security best practices, and mentoring engineering teams to foster a culture of technical excellence.

This role is not remote with zero exceptions. Headquarters is Springfield MO

Key Responsibilities

Technical Architecture & Design

• Design and execute end-to-end distributed backend architectures using Microservices, Event-Driven Architecture (EDA), and orchestration/choreography patterns.
• Build resilient, fault-tolerant applications using resilience patterns (Circuit Breaker, Bulkhead, Retry, Rate Limiting).
• Architect systems optimized for high throughput and low latency, maintaining strict SLA/SLO requirements.
• Enforce robust security practices across API design, authentication/authorization (OAuth2/OIDC), zero-trust networking, and data encryption at rest and in transit.

Cloud Platform, Infrastructure & DevOps

• Design, build, and maintain containerized workloads running on  (GKE)
• Manage API landscapes using Apigee API Management.
• Leverage cloud-native data and storage solutions including Google Cloud Spanner, Memory store (Valkey/Redis), and Google Cloud Storage (GCS).
• Drive Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) and deployment automation using Terraform,
• Helm, and modern CI/CD pipelines.
• Architect end-to-end Observability strategies (distributed tracing, structured logging, metrics dashboards, and alerting) across microservices.

Performance Tuning & Troubleshooting

• Lead complex debugging and diagnostic efforts across distributed microservice topologies.
• Deep-dive into JVM performance, garbage collection (GC) tuning, and runtime profiling (e.g., thread dumps, heap dumps, memory leak analysis).
• Troubleshoot Kubernetes runtime issues (ingress routing, pod lifecycles, network policies, resource contention).

Leadership & Mindset

• Champion a "can-learn, can-do” attitude—proactively adopting new technologies, proving out POCs, and tackling unsolved engineering challenges.
• Mentor, coach, and elevate junior and mid-level developers through code reviews, architectural design sessions, and technical workshops.
• Partner with product management, platform teams, and security teams
   

Required Qualifications & Skills

Technical Expertise

• Languages & Frameworks: Master-level proficiency in Java and the Spring / Spring Boot ecosystem (Spring Security, Spring Data, Spring Cloud).
• Distributed Systems & Microservices: Thorough understanding of microservices patterns (Saga, CQRS, Event-Driven, Orchestration vs. Choreography) and security protocols.
• Resilience Engineering: Experience configuring resilience frameworks (e.g., Resilience4j, Istio service mesh patterns).
• Google Cloud Platform (GCP): Strong hands-on experience with GKE, Apigee, Spanner, Memorystore (Valkey), and GCS.
• Kubernetes & Cloud Native: Deep practical knowledge of Kubernetes internals, architecture, networking, and cluster troubleshooting.
• Infrastructure & Automation: Skilled in Terraform, Helm, and CI/CD pipeline construction.
• Diagnostics: Proven ability to profile the JVM, read flame graphs/heap dumps, and analyze thread behavior under heavy load.

Soft Skills & Soft Assets

• Strong ownership mindset with a track record of driving projects from concept to production.
• Demonstrated history of mentoring engineers and setting high code quality standards.
• Excellent communication skills to articulate complex architectural decisions to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Nice to Have

• Experience with build automation tools like Gradle.
• GCP Professional Cloud Architect or Developer certifications.
• Hands-on experience with Service Mesh implementations (Istio/Anthos Service Mesh).

O’Reilly Auto Parts has a proven track record of growth and stability. O’Reilly is full of successful career stories and believes in a strong promote-from-within philosophy, encouraging you to grow your car