Technical Lead (Java)

Technical Lead (Java) at Vanguard

Rate: $68/hr C2C either $58/hr on W2

Location: Malvern, PA

Interview Process: Internal Screen, Client Round

Must Complete a solutions screening prior to sending to the client. Onsite in PA only.

• Act as the lead developer and technical authority
• Create architecture designs and technical roadmaps
• Define and negotiate service/API contracts with partner teams
• Ensure solutions meet enterprise standards, security, and resiliency
• Review code and enforce quality and technical standards
• Be hands-on in development, especially during implementation phases

Core technical skills (priority order):

• Java (primary)
• AWS (ECS, Lambda, S3, Glue, etc.)
• Angular (UI)
• GraphQL (important but learnable)
• Python needed on the team, though not mandatory for every developer
• DynamoDB required; other databases TBD

Torc Job Type

Primary Timezone timeOverlap

Job Description

Role Overview

We are seeking a hands-on Tech Lead to act as the technical authority for one or more strategic initiatives.

The Tech

Lead will define architecture, service contracts, and technical roadmaps while providing strong engineering leadership across backend, cloud, and frontend concerns.

The short-term emphasis of this role is technical discovery, solution design, and planning, laying the foundation for successful downstream delivery and team scaling.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership & Architecture

• Serve as the lead developer and technical authority for the initiative(s)
• Design system architectures and define technical roadmaps
• Decompose ambiguous problem spaces into clear, actionable technical plans
• Define, document, and negotiate service and API contracts with partner teams
• Ensure solutions meet enterprise standards for security, resiliency, and maintainability
• Identify technical dependencies, risks, sequencing, and trade-offs

Hands-On Engineering

• Remain hands-on in development, particularly during implementation phases
• Review code and enforce engineering best practices and quality standards
• Support complex technical problem-solving across the stack

Collaboration & Planning

• Work closely with product, partner teams, and stakeholders to shape scope and priorities
• Help determine which initiative to start first based on technical readiness and risk
• Inform decisions on future team composition and required skillsets

Team & Delivery Model

• Work within a single cross-functional team supporting multiple initiatives (initially not in parallel)
• Support a flexible staffing model with engineers rotating in or out based on phase and needs
• Contribute to APIs that are primarily internal-facing, with some UI components potentially external-facing
• Influence when and how additional engineers are added as scope and priorities become clearer

Core Technical Skills (Priority Order)

Required

• Java (primary development language)
• AWS experience, including services such as:ECS, Lambda, S3, Glue
• DynamoDB (required)

Preferred / Learnable

• Angular (UI development)
• GraphQL (important but learnable)
• Familiarity with Python (needed on the team, but not mandatory for every developer)
• Experience with additional databases (to be determined)

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Strong technical depth with a solution-oriented mindset
• Proven experience providing technical leadership while remaining hands-on
• Strong background in resilient system and cloud-native design
• Ability to work effectively across: Backend services, Cloud infrastructure, Frontend/UI concerns
• Comfortable operating in environments with high ambiguity and evolving requirements

Job Responsibilities

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership & Architecture

• Serve as the lead developer and technical authority for the initiative(s)
• Design system architectures and define technical roadmaps
• Decompose ambiguous problem spaces into clear, actionable technical plans
• Define, document, and negotiate service and API contracts with partner teams
• Ensure solutions meet enterprise standards for security, resiliency, and maintainability
• Identify technical dependencies, risks, sequencing, and trade-offs

Hands-On Engineering

• Remain hands-on in development, particularly during implementation phases
• Review code and enforce engineering best practices and quality standards
• Support complex technical problem-solving across the stack

Collaboration & Planning

• Work closely with product, partner teams, and stakeholders to shape scope and priorities
• Help determine which initiative to start first based on technical readiness and risk
• Inform decisions on future team composition and required skillsets

Team & Delivery Model

• Work within a single cross-functional team supporting multiple initiatives (initially not in parallel)
• Support a flexible staffing model with engineers rotating in or out based on phase and needs
• Contribute to APIs that are primarily internal-facing, with some UI components potentially external-facing
• Influence when and how additional engineers are added as scope and priorities become clearer

Core Technical Skills (Priority Order)

Required

• Java (primary development language)
• AWS experience, including services such as:ECS, Lambda, S3, Glue
• DynamoDB (required)

Preferred / Learnable

• Angular (UI development)
• GraphQL (important but learnable)
• Familiarity with Python (needed on the team, but not mandatory for every developer)
• Experience with additional databases (to be determined)

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Strong technical depth with a solution-oriented mindset
• Proven experience providing technical leadership while remaining hands-on
• Strong background in resilient system and cloud-native design
• Ability to work effectively across: Backend services, Cloud infrastructure, Frontend/UI concerns
• Comfortable operating in environments with high ambiguity and evolving requirements