Overview
REI Systems’ mission is to deliver reliable, innovative technology solutions that advance Federal clients' missions and exceed their expectations. Our technologists and consultants are passionate about solving complex challenges that impact millions of lives. We take a Mindful Modernization® approach in delivering our services, including application modernization, grants management, case management systems, government data analytics, and advisory services. This approach, the REI Way, ensures mission impact by aligning our clients' strategic objectives with measurable outcomes through people, processes, and technology. We offer the same commitment to our employees by providing professional development, meaningful projects, and flexibility to spend time with family and friends. We believe employees are at their best when fulfilled in both their professional careers and their personal lives. Learn more at www.REIsystems.com. Employees voted REI Systems a Washington Post Top Workplace in 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025!
Responsibilities
Position Overview
REI Systems is seeking an experienced Java Architect to provide technical architecture, solution design, and hands-on engineering leadership for mission-critical applications supporting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The ideal candidate will bring deep expertise in Java, Spring Boot, microservices, RESTful APIs, AWS cloud services, and modern application architecture. This individual will be responsible for designing secure, scalable, resilient, and high-performing enterprise applications while guiding development teams through modernization initiatives, cloud adoption, system integration, and continuous delivery.
This position requires a strong technical leader who can balance enterprise architecture strategy with hands-on development, collaborate with FDA stakeholders, and ensure solutions meet federal security, compliance, performance, and operational requirements.
Key Responsibilities
Solution Architecture & Technical Leadership
- Lead the architecture, design, and development of enterprise Java applications supporting FDA mission-critical systems.
- Define application architecture, technical standards, integration patterns, and development best practices.
- Design scalable, modular, maintainable solutions using Java, Spring Boot, Spring Framework, and microservices architecture.
- Provide hands-on technical leadership through architecture reviews, design sessions, code reviews, and proof-of-concept development.
- Translate business and functional requirements into technical architecture, solution designs, and implementation roadmaps.
- Develop architecture diagrams, technical design documents, API specifications, and system integration documentation.
- Evaluate legacy systems and recommend modernization strategies, including application refactoring, cloud migration, and API enablement.
- Identify and resolve complex architectural challenges involving performance, scalability, availability, security, and interoperability.
- Mentor Java developers and technical leads, promoting engineering excellence and consistent development practices.
Java Development & Microservices
- Architect and develop enterprise applications using Java 11/17/21, Spring Boot, Spring MVC, Spring Security, and Spring Data JPA.
- Design and implement RESTful APIs and microservices for distributed enterprise applications.
- Apply design patterns, object-oriented programming principles, SOLID principles, and clean architecture practices.
- Implement service-to-service communication, asynchronous processing, exception handling, and transaction management.
- Design secure API integrations using OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, JWT, and API gateway patterns.
- Work with Hibernate/JPA, JDBC, and ORM frameworks for database-driven applications.
- Support event-driven architecture and messaging integrations using technologies such as Apache Kafka, RabbitMQ, or AWS messaging services, where applicable.
- Establish automated unit, integration, and API testing standards using JUnit, Mockito, and related frameworks.
AWS Cloud Architecture & Modernization
- Design, deploy, and optimize cloud-native and cloud-enabled applications within AWS environments.
- Provide architectural guidance for AWS services such as EC2, ECS, EKS, Lambda, S3, RDS, API Gateway, IAM, CloudWatch, and CloudFormation.
- Architect containerized applications using Docker and Kubernetes.
- Support application modernization, cloud migration, and infrastructure automation initiatives.
- Design highly available, fault-tolerant, secure, and cost-effective cloud solutions.
- Collaborate with cloud infrastructure and DevOps engineers on deployment strategies, monitoring, scaling, and disaster recovery.
- Apply AWS security, networking, identity management, and cloud architecture best practices.
Database Architecture & Integration
- Design and optimize database integrations involving Oracle, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, and other relational databases.
- Develop and review complex SQL queries, stored procedures, and PL/SQL components as applicable.
- Provide guidance on database performance optimization, indexing, connection pooling, and data access patterns.
- Design data integration solutions between enterprise applications, legacy platforms, and external systems.
- Support data integrity, transaction management, and secure data exchange across distributed applications.
DevSecOps, CI/CD & Application Security
- Collaborate with DevSecOps teams to establish automated build, testing, deployment, and release processes.
- Support CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or comparable enterprise tools.
- Apply infrastructure-as-code practices using Terraform, AWS CloudFormation, or similar technologies.
- Integrate automated code quality, dependency scanning, vulnerability detection, and security testing into development workflows.
- Promote secure coding standards and address vulnerabilities identified through SAST, DAST, and software composition analysis.
- Implement appropriate logging, monitoring, audit trails, and application observability.
- Ensure architecture and development practices align with applicable federal security requirements, including NIST guidelines, FISMA, FedRAMP, and FDA-specific standards.
Agile Delivery & Stakeholder Collaboration
- Collaborate with FDA technical stakeholders, product owners, business analysts, project managers, and development teams.
- Participate in Agile ceremonies, including sprint planning, backlog refinement, architecture discussions, and release planning.
- Work closely with QA engineers, database administrators, cloud engineers, and DevSecOps teams to ensure successful solution delivery.
- Provide technical estimates, identify architectural risks, and recommend mitigation strategies.
- Support technical troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, production issue resolution, and continuous application improvement.
- Communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and nontechnical stakeholders.
Qualifications
- 10+ years of software engineering experience, with significant hands-on Java application development experience.
- 5+ years of experience in technical architecture, solution design, or technical leadership for enterprise applications.
- Strong hands-on expertise in Java, Spring Boot, Spring Framework, Spring Security, and RESTful web services.
- Demonstrated experience designing and implementing microservices and distributed enterprise applications.
- Strong knowledge of object-oriented design, software design patterns, SOLID principles, and enterprise application architecture.
- Experience designing, developing, or modernizing applications hosted on AWS.
- Hands-on experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and containerized application deployments.
- Experience with relational databases, particularly Oracle and PostgreSQL, including SQL optimization and data integration.
- Experience with CI/CD pipelines, Git-based version control, Maven or Gradle, and automated development workflows.
- Knowledge of API security, authentication, authorization, and secure software development practices.
- Experience troubleshooting complex application issues, performance bottlenecks, and integration challenges.
- Demonstrated ability to lead technical discussions, review architectural designs, and mentor software engineers.
- Experience working in Agile/Scrum development environments.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience interacting with technical leadership and business stakeholders.
- Ability to obtain and maintain the background investigation or Public Trust clearance required for the FDA program.
Preferred Qualifications
- Prior experience supporting FDA, HHS, or other federal civilian government IT programs.
- Experience modernizing legacy Java applications and migrating enterprise workloads to AWS.
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate or Professional certification.
- Oracle, PostgreSQL, and PL/SQL development experience.
- Experience with Apache Kafka, RabbitMQ, or event-driven architecture.
- Familiarity with Angular, React, TypeScript, or other modern frontend frameworks.
- Experience with enterprise API management, API Gateway, and integration platforms.
- Experience with Terraform, Ansible, Kubernetes, and GitOps-based deployment approaches.
- Familiarity with SonarQube, Fortify, Checkmarx, or comparable security and code quality tools.
- Experience with application monitoring and observability using CloudWatch, Splunk, ELK, Prometheus, or Grafana.
- Knowledge of Section 508 accessibility requirements and federal application security standards.
- Experience with system modernization, cloud-native transformation, and enterprise integration initiatives.
- Exposure to AI-enabled applications, AI/ML service integration, or intelligent workflow automation is a plus.
Technical Environment
Programming Languages: Java 11/17/21, SQL, PL/SQL, JavaScript, TypeScript
Backend Frameworks: Spring Boot, Spring MVC, Spring Security, Spring Data JPA, Hibernate, RESTful APIs
Cloud Technologies: AWS EC2, ECS, EKS, Lambda, S3, RDS, API Gateway, IAM, CloudWatch
Architecture: Microservices, SOA, Distributed Systems, REST APIs, Event-Driven Architecture, Cloud-Native Applications
Databases: Oracle, PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server
DevSecOps & CI/CD: Git, Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Maven, Gradle, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, Ansible
Testing & Quality: JUnit, Mockito, Postman, Swagger/OpenAPI, SonarQube
Security: OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, JWT, NIST, FISMA, FedRAMP, OWASP
Methodologies: Agile, Scrum, DevSecOps, Secure SDLC
The technologies listed represent the relevant architecture and engineering ecosystem. Specific tools and versions may vary by FDA project and application.
What Success Looks Like
The successful Java Architect will:
- Deliver secure, scalable, and maintainable Java-based enterprise solutions.
- Establish consistent architecture and engineering standards across development teams.
- Accelerate application modernization and cloud adoption while reducing technical debt.
- Improve application reliability, performance, security, and maintainability.
- Collaborate effectively with FDA stakeholders and REI technical leadership to deliver mission-focused solutions.
- Provide strong hands-on technical guidance while supporting timely, high-quality software delivery.
Educational Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Operations Management, or related field.
Clearance: Eligible to obtain a public trust clearance.
Location: Hybrid (2 days per week or as needed in the REI Sterling Office)
Washington, DC Metro Area - regular on-site presence at FDA facilities required, in support of account leadership and delivery oversight.
EEO Statement: REI Systems is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In our workplace, we seek, we welcome, and respect diversity in all of its forms.
