Staff Software Engineer 6 - Java Platform Team

Netflix is hiring for the Java Platform Team which focuses on building a fully managed, curated "Paved Path" for Java development, centered around a Spring Boot based application framework. The team supports different Java workloads including sidecars, lightweight containers, and batch/stream processing jobs with strict resource constraints, providing shared libraries that integrate Netflix platform primitives such as configuration, observability, discovery, and networking.

• Expertise with modern Java (versions 17, 21 or later), including standard libraries, concurrency, and API design.
• Knowledge of JVM internals and performance tuning (memory model, garbage collection, class loading, startup time).
• Experience designing libraries with minimal dependencies, classpath isolation, and binary compatibility.
• Strong understanding of distributed systems fundamentals including gRPC, HTTP, service mesh, metrics, and configuration systems.
• Automation mindset for building developer tooling such as testing frameworks, compatibility checks, linters, and CLIs.
• Staff-level experience designing and owning shared libraries or platform components used across multiple teams.
• Proven technical leadership in large-scale and complex engineering efforts.
• Ability to manage end-to-end ownership from problem discovery through design, rollout, and iteration.
• User-focused approach to designing tools based on team needs.

Nice to have:

• Familiarity with Spring internals and Spring Boot integration.
• Experience with JVM startup optimization techniques (class data sharing, jlink, ahead-of-time compilation).
• Experience building or operating containerized Java services with tight resource constraints.
• Experience developing Gradle plugins or build tooling.

Architecture and Library Design:

• Define the architecture of lightweight Java libraries and design APIs for core platform primitives.
• Ensure components run standalone, inside Spring Boot applications, and in sidecars or lightweight containers without logic duplication.
• Set and defend budgets for memory footprint, startup time, and disk use.
• Build benchmarking and regression checks to maintain performance budgets.
• Design integration and regression tests for high-confidence library updates.

Interface and Compatibility Management:

• Own interface stability with long-term support commitments.
• Manage versioning, compatibility, side-by-side version strategies, and migration costs of breaking changes.

Collaboration and Alignment:

• Work with the Java Platform Team and partner teams (Compute, Service Mesh) to align on gRPC, metrics, and configuration standards.
• Ensure lightweight libraries and Spring Boot framework share components and improve framework suitability.

Customer Guidance and Mentorship:

• Assist engineering teams and product managers in adopting the right Java platform components.
• Identify underserved use cases and develop solutions.
• Mentor engineers, review designs, and document decisions to set technical direction.
• Contribute to building and leading the Warsaw hub engineering team.

Netflix provides accommodations for disabilities or other reasons during the hiring process upon request. The company is an equal-opportunity employer and celebrates diversity, not discriminating on the basis of race, religion, color, ancestry, national origin, caste, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic makeup, marital status, or military service.