Technical Manager / Lead – Java Backend Engineering

Overview:

About Prodapt

Prodapt is the largest specialized player in the Connectedness industry. As an AI-first strategic technology partner, we serve telecom and tech companies that are building networks and shaping the digital experiences of tomorrow. With over 6,000 associates across 30+ countries and backed by the 130-year legacy of the Jhaver Group, Prodapt combines heritage with innovation to deliver excellence in engineering and transformation programs.

Role Summary (Panama Only)

We are seeking a hands-on Senior Technical Manager / Technical Lead with strong backend engineering expertise to lead and guide a team of developers building high-scale, event-driven enterprise applications.
This role demands a leader who can roll up their sleeves to code, troubleshoot, design, and optimize while also mentoring engineers and ensuring technical excellence across the platform.

Responsibilities:

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership & Hands-On Engineering

• Act as a technical anchor for the team – actively participate in coding, debugging, and reviewing critical components.
• Design and build microservices and event-driven architectures using Spring Boot, Kafka, GraphQL, and REST APIs.
• Provide technical guidance on architecture, design patterns, and scalable solutions.
• Lead complex production issue triage and root cause analysis, supporting developers in resolving technical bottlenecks.
• Drive adoption of clean code, modular design, and CI/CD practices across all services.

System Design & Delivery

• Architect, develop, and optimize backend systems integrating with PostgreSQL, Redis, and cloud services (AWS ECS, S3, API Gateway).
• Collaborate with product and platform teams to design APIs and data models supporting high throughput and low latency.
• Define performance benchmarks, ensure high availability, reliability, and observability of deployed services.
• Implement unit testing, performance testing, and fault tolerance mechanisms.

Team Management & Mentorship

• Lead and mentor a team of Java developers, conducting peer reviews, design sessions, and knowledge-sharing workshops.
• Build a strong technical culture emphasizing continuous learning and ownership.
• Balance people management with direct technical contribution (30-40% hands-on).

Agile Delivery & Collaboration

• Own sprint planning, backlog grooming, and delivery of milestones.
• Collaborate with QA, DevOps, and Product teams to ensure end-to-end delivery.
• Track and report KPIs such as code quality, defect density, and release velocity.

Innovation & Continuous Improvement

• Evaluate emerging frameworks and tools that enhance productivity and performance.
• Identify opportunities for automation, observability, and cost optimization in the cloud environment.

Requirements:

Required Skills & Experience

• 10+ years of experience in software engineering with at least 3+ years in a technical leadership / management role.
• Strong hands-on expertise in:
• - Java / Spring Boot / Microservices
• Event-driven architecture using Kafka or RabbitMQ
• Database design (PostgreSQL, MySQL)
• API development (REST, GraphQL)
• Cloud-native deployment (AWS ECS / Docker / Kubernetes)
• Proven experience troubleshooting complex production issues and performance bottlenecks.
• Familiar with CI/CD pipelines, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Argo, or equivalent.
• Experience leading distributed teams and managing full-lifecycle project delivery.
• Excellent problem-solving, communication, and stakeholder management skills.

Preferred Skills

• Exposure to e-commerce, logistics, or B2B transaction platforms.
• Experience integrating backend systems with Salesforce, Data Cloud, or external APIs.
• Working knowledge of observability stacks (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK)