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Principal Java Software Engineer Jobs in Philadelphia, PA

Java Engineer

Philadelphia, PA

$52.25 - $71.75/hr

Work with the latest and greatest software development tools and true software engineering mindset ... Java Engineer Location: Philadelphia, PA Type: Direct Hire Client located with offices in ...

Java Software Engineer - Advanced Location: Delaware Tech Center, DE Duration: Contract - 6 months Pay Range: $57.97/hr-59.91/hr (W2) Job ID: 372903 About BCforward BCforward is a leading global IT ...

JAVA Developer

Philadelphia, PA · On-site

$48.75 - $63/hr

They are seeking a JAVA Software Developer to develop and integrate technology for onboard trainers, primarily focused on Machinery Control Systems and software lifecycle support. Responsibilities ...

Java Software Engineering experience for 8+ Years Strong Object Oriented Programming (Java) Experience Experience with JEE Stacks (eg. Weblogic, Websphere, JBoss, etc) Experience with Database ...

Sr Software Engineer - Java

King Of Prussia, PA · On-site

$124K - $163K/yr

Job Title Sr Software Engineer - Java About your role: Fiserv is a global leader in payments and financial technology, and our product development teams are at the heart of transforming how the world ...

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Principal Java Software Engineer information

See Philadelphia, PA salary details

$83.8K

$151K

$203.3K

How much do principal java software engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Jun 21, 2026, the average yearly pay for principal java software engineer in Philadelphia, PA is $151,040.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $129,700.00 and $166,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the Principal Java Software Engineer position, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Principal Java Software Engineer, you need advanced proficiency in Java, strong knowledge of system architecture and design patterns, and extensive experience in large-scale application development, usually supported by a degree in computer science or equivalent experience. Familiarity with frameworks like Spring, cloud technologies (AWS or Azure), CI/CD tools, and relevant certifications such as Oracle Certified Professional – Java SE are typically required. Exceptional leadership, mentoring, communication, and problem-solving skills help you guide teams and work collaboratively across departments. These combined technical and interpersonal skills enable you to drive complex projects, set technical direction, and deliver robust software solutions efficiently.

What is a Principal Java Software Engineer job?

A Principal Java Software Engineer is a senior-level technical expert responsible for designing, developing, and optimizing complex Java-based applications. They provide technical leadership, mentor junior engineers, and drive best practices in coding, architecture, and system scalability. This role often involves collaborating with cross-functional teams to ensure high-quality software delivery while aligning with business objectives. Additionally, they evaluate new technologies, improve system performance, and contribute to strategic decision-making within the engineering team.

What are the typical responsibilities of a Principal Java Software Engineer within a development team?

A Principal Java Software Engineer is generally responsible for leading the technical design and implementation of major software projects, making architectural decisions, and ensuring best coding practices throughout the team. They mentor junior engineers, conduct code reviews, and often coordinate with product managers, QA, and DevOps to facilitate seamless project delivery. Beyond hands-on coding, they provide strategic guidance, troubleshoot complex technical problems, and help shape the long-term technology roadmap. This role typically involves balancing individual contribution with leadership and collaboration across multiple teams.

What are popular job titles related to Principal Java Software Engineer jobs in Philadelphia, PA? For Principal Java Software Engineer jobs in Philadelphia, PA, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Principal Java Software Engineer jobs in Philadelphia, PA look for? The top searched job categories for Principal Java Software Engineer jobs in Philadelphia, PA are:
Infographic showing various Principal Java Software Engineer job openings in Philadelphia, PA as of June 2026, with employment types broken down into 75% Full Time, 18% Part Time, and 7% Contract. Highlights an 87% Physical, 5% Hybrid, and 8% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $151,040 per year, or $72.6 per hour.
Principal Software Engineer - Java/Spring Boot/AWS/Junit

Principal Software Engineer - Java/Spring Boot/AWS/Junit

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

Philadelphia, PA • On-site

Full-time

Posted 13 days ago


Job description

CompanyFederal Reserve Bank of BostonFederal Reserve Financial Services (FRFS) delivers a suite of payments services to financial institutions via FedLine Solutions, FedNowSM, Fedwire, National Settlement Service (NSS), FedCash, FedACH (Automated Clearing House), and Check Services. We are currently leading a strategic effort to transform FRFS to a national, enterprise-focused organization. Through our evolved structure, we will meet the needs of the marketplace for new products and services more quickly, seek to provide a more robust and unified customer experience across our financial service offerings, and create new career growth opportunities for FRFS staff.
The Federal Reserve has developed a new interbank 24x7x365 real-time gross settlement (RTGS) service with integrated clearing functionality, called the FedNow Service. This service enables financial institutions to provide their customers with the ability to send and receive payments any time, any day, and have full access to those funds within seconds. This position is a unique opportunity to be part of this mission-critical Federal Reserve initiative that is transforming the payments landscape in the United States.
Top level technical expert in one or more highly specialized areas of applications systems analysis and programming. Responsible for software design, coding, testing, debugging, and documentation. Has full technical knowledge of all phases of applications systems analysis and development. Provides technical leadership on complex projects. Interacts with internal project teams and work groups regularly. Level of work required is considered highly advanced and staff must be able to work under minimal supervision. This job does not have any direct reports. You have an appetite to learn, and a passion for technology, innovation, and developing new skills on evolving technologies.

What will be expected of you-

  • Serves as a Principal Software Engineer: to design, develop and implement new complex solutions in accordance with FedNow and Fed Standards
  • Ensures that the quality of software developed, maintained and enhanced in-house and installed into production is sufficient to prevent the occurrence of catastrophic defects that cause the customer significant problems, missed deadlines, or interruption to the production environment
  • Develops software solutions in Java, Spring, Terraform, NoSQL and RDS in the Cloud
  • Develop end to end Infrastructure-as-Code solutions in Cloud
  • Provides input into strategic and tactical planning of software solutions and software development lifecycle changes
  • In addition to being able to engineer across numerous areas of technology, you'll serve as subject matter expert in one or more areas
  • Trains and consults cross functionally within the organization on troubleshooting/resolving highly complex and/or highly time critical problems
  • Demonstrates skill dexterity; seeking to continuously adapt and employ new technical skills alongside proven staples
  • Ensure compliance with Fed policies, procedures and standards

Logistics& Requirements-

  • Deep expertise in Java and proficient knowledge of programming languages (JavaScript, XML, JSON, HTML, CSS etc. Python a bonus). Experience with modern Java features like generics,streamsand lambdas.

  • Experience using JUnit 5+ to write integration and unittests anduseits lifecycle interfaces and annotationsto handle related setup and teardown tasks.Understanding of how to useJUnit's extension and lifecycle annotations and interfaces to create tools that enhance its default functionality andmonitortest plan execution results.

  • Experience with Apache Maven or Gradle to handle tasks such as compilation, dependency management, testing,packagingand deployment. Knowledgeof Apache Maven's build lifecyclesphases, experience with custom plugin development and how tomap a custom plugin's goals to Maven lifecycle phases

  • Proficient in MockitoandAssertJas well asintegration testing with @SpringBootTest.

  • Understanding of object-oriented design principles (ex: SOLID) to create maintainable, extensible code and knowledge of design patterns, inheritance hierarchies, polymorphism, composition over inheritance, effective interface design,encapsulationand immutability.

  • Comprehensive knowledge of Spring Boot's core fundamentals, includingauto-configuration, starter dependencies, anditsopinionated approach to application setup thateliminatesmuch of the boilerplate configurationrequiredin traditional Spring applications. Understandingofdependency injection, the IoC container, bean lifecycle managementas well asproficiencyin using annotations like @Component, @Service, @Repository, and @Autowired.

  • Experience with AWS services, and integrating them into an application

  • Expertisein building RESTful APIswith Spring Boot, including knowledge of @RestController, @RequestMapping, request/response handling, content negotiation, and exception handling.

  • Understand data access patterns using Spring Data JPA, including repository interfaces, custom queries, anddeclarative / programmatictransaction management.

  • Proficient knowledge of database development (SQL, Oracle, DB2)

  • Ideally you'll have experience with leading edge Cloud technologies, such as Kafka, in-memory and NoSQL databases, messaging platforms, memcache etc).

  • Proficient knowledge of cloud security for application development and delivery

  • Ideally, Infrastructure as Code (IAC); Terraform

Nice to Have-

  • Experience with API Development and consumption and microservices architecture

  • Familiaritywith database migration tools like Flyway or Liquibase.

  • Experience usingSpring Securityto handle security concerns in Spring Boot apps.

  • UnderstandingSpring Boot's variousapplication properties configurations (profiles, YAML vs properties files) and externalized configuration management.

  • Knowledge of monitoring and observability through Spring Boot Actuator, including custom health checks and metrics.

  • Proficiencyworking withXML Schema Definition (XSD)schemasand XSLT (Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations)templates,includingXML schema design principles, validation techniques, Java-XML binding via JAXB, namespace management,XSLT processing models, template creation,XPath expressions, and transformation patterns for converting XML to various output formats.

  • Proficientwith unit testing, integration testing between system components, performance testing toidentifybottlenecks,soak testing for long-term stability verificationandAPI testing.

  • Strong interpersonal, teamwork and negotiation skills

  • Strong problem solving and critical thinking skills

Salary

The salary range for this position is $173,400.00 - $216,700.00 - $260,000.00. The Boston Fed believes in salary transparency. The final salary and offer will be determined by the applicant's background, skills, internal equity, and alignment with market data. Whether you're developing into the job or are a more seasoned candidate, we aim to pay competitively. The position and job description posted is for a Principal Software Engineer however, candidates will be placed in an appropriate level within the Software Engineer job family based on the extent of their experience. If you reside outside of the 1st District, you may be hired by your local Federal Reserve District and compensation will follow hiring District's range and policy.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston is committed to provide equal employment opportunities to all persons without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, genetic information, disability, or military service.

All employees assigned to this position will be subject to FBI fingerprint/ criminal background and Patriot Act/ Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) watch list checks at least once every five years.

For this job, any offer of employment is contingent upon successfully passing a two-phase security screening. The first phase consists of the satisfactory completion of a physical examination (including a drug screening), reference checks, and a security investigation consisting of credit and criminal history checks.

The second phase, which might not be complete until after you begin working at the Reserve Bank, is an additional risk-based security screening determined by the risk rating of the position. Depending upon the sensitivity of the position, this phase may include, and is not limited to, work and residency eligibility verification, and personal interviews with the candidate, references, and prior employers.

All applicants must have resided in the United States for at least three (3) years

Full Time / Part TimeFull timeRegular / TemporaryRegularJob Exempt (Yes / No)YesJob CategoryInformation Technology Family GroupWork ShiftFirst (United States of America)

The Federal Reserve Banks are committed to equal employment opportunity for employees and job applicants in compliance with applicable law and to an environment where employees are valued for their differences.

Always verify and apply to jobs on Federal Reserve System Careers (https://rb.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/FRS) or through verified Federal Reserve Bank social media channels.

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