Backend Engineering Lead

Backend Engineering Lead Hybrid – Dallas, TX Contract-to-Hire Our national retail client is seeking a Backend Engineering Lead to guide and elevate the backend team, supporting and enhancing their mobile platforms. This role is central to ensuring a seamless and high-performing mobile experience, bridging technology, merchandising, and operations to deliver best-in-class functionality for customers. You’ll collaborate closely with mobile, product, and infrastructure teams to set technical direction, drive innovation, and establish strong engineering standards across a growing mobile ecosystem. Responsibilities • Lead and mentor a team of six backend engineers, fostering a culture of collaboration, technical excellence, and accountability. • Contribute directly to backend development efforts—building, optimizing, and maintaining the APIs and services that power mobile experiences. • Define and uphold engineering best practices, coding standards, and scalable architecture patterns. • Drive the design and implementation of GraphQL APIs to improve flexibility, performance, and data delivery across mobile and backend systems. • Collaborate with Mobile Leads and Product stakeholders to translate business goals into technical tasks, design efficient GraphQL schemas, and guide the team through implementation. • Document architecture decisions, API contracts, and development workflows in Confluence, ensuring alignment and maintainability. • Partner with infrastructure and vendor teams to streamline deployment and release processes, supporting a reliable CI/CD pipeline. • Continuously improve backend performance by optimizing data flows, reducing network traffic, and enhancing the efficiency of integrations across multiple systems and databases. Technical Environment • Languages & Frameworks: Java, Spring Boot, Maven, Gradle • API Frameworks: GraphQL (schema design, API development, performance tuning) • Cloud Platform: Microsoft Azure (Function Apps, Key Vault) • Architecture Focus: Experience layer design, multi-database integration, business logic optimization, and API scalability • Tools: Confluence, Git-based source control, CI/CD pipelines Qualifications • 3–4+ years of experience leading or mentoring backend engineering teams. • Strong expertise in Java, Spring Boot, and modern build tools (Maven, Gradle), with the ability to define architecture and coding standards. • Hands-on experience designing and implementing GraphQL APIs, including schema design, resolver development, and performance optimization. • Proven success in building and maintaining experience layers that integrate multiple data sources while maintaining efficient, secure, and scalable backend logic. • Practical experience deploying and managing applications on Microsoft Azure, particularly using Function Apps and Key Vault. • Excellent communication and documentation skills, with the ability to translate complex technical topics to cross-functional teams. • Experience in Agile or Kanban environments, with a collaborative and mentorship-focused leadership style.