Java Backend Engineering Lead - remote

About Qualifyze, 

Founded in 2019, Qualifyze is a leading company in supply chain compliance management in the Life Sciences industry, trusted by over 1,500 pharmaceutical and healthcare companies globally. Our digital suite of solutions connects manufacturers, suppliers, and a global network of more than 250 auditors and quality experts.

With a track record of over 4,500 audits across 85+ countries and the largest and most accurate supplier network and data analytics tools, Qualifyze stands as the all-in-one partner for quality compliance and supply chain risk mitigation in the Life Sciences sector.

Role Overview:

We are looking for Backend engineering Lead who will be responsible for the overall backend ecosystem across the organization, combining people leadership with ownership of backend architecture, standards, and delivery quality.

This role ensures that backend development and architecture is consistent, scalable, and aligned with product, while growing backend engineers and enabling teams to deliver effectively.

The Backend Lead operates in close alignment with the Head of Engineering and Chapter Leads, ensuring all key decisions and initiatives follow the broader engineering vision.

Main responsibilities:

1. Backend Ownership & Strategy

• Define and drive the backend vision across teams (architecture, design systems, tooling, standards).

• Ensure consistency in how backend applications are built and maintained.

• Own cross-team backend topics.

• Make and enforce key technical decisions when alignment is needed.

2. Team Leadership & Capability Building

• Lead and support backend engineers, ensuring efficient and impactful delivery of initiatives while driving team engagement, efficiency, and growth.

• Raise the bar of backend engineering through running regular 1:1s and performance check-ins, coaching, and clear development support.

• Identify skill gaps and drive training, and mentoring initiatives to close skill gaps, improve team capability, and continuously strengthen ways of working. 

• Own and drive key people processes for the team (in alignment with Tech Leadership), including hiring, onboarding, offboarding, performance reviews, and compensation cycles, ensuring consistency and quality of execution.

• Build a strong backend community (guilds, knowledge sharing, standards).

• Own awareness of department KPIs/goals and drive recommendations for continuous improvement in team performance and execution.

3. Delivery & Quality Accountability

• Ensure backend delivery is predictable, scalable, and high quality across teams.

• Identify and resolve systemic delivery or quality issues.

• Support teams to avoid risky complex backend initiatives.

4. Cross-Functional Leadership

• Align backend work with frontend/data/platform constraints and opportunities.

• Act as the main escalation point for backend-related decisions.

5. Hands-on Technical Leadership

• Stay close to the codebase through selective PR reviews and architectural guidance.

• Contribute to critical or high-risk backend areas when needed.

• Guide teams on best practices (testing, performance, accessibility, maintainability).

Main requirements:

• Strong experience with Java stack (SpringBoot, Liquidbase, etc.).

• Proven experience leading backend initiatives across multiple teams.

• Experience defining architecture and driving adoption at scale.

• Experience mentoring senior engineers and influencing technical direction.

• Solid understanding of Java and Postgres performance, database modeling and risk analysis.

• Experience working with cross-functional stakeholders.

💰 Salary 

At Qualifyze, our salary ranges are transparent internally, and we aim to follow a similar approach externally. For this role, we’re happy to share a reference point within the band: the expected salary range is around 85.000€ - 90.000€. Final compensation will depend on experience and performance during the process, with some flexibility within the range.

What do we offer?

• 💰Competitive, annually reviewed compensation package

• 🌴Country vacation package that increases with your tenure

• 🏋🏽‍♀️Country specific benefits offering incl. private health care, fitness and meal allowances

• 🚀Annual personal development budget to increase your impact

• 🌎Hybrid working mode, plus up to 3 months of the year work from anywhere.

• 💻All the best kit and tools to work effectively

• 🎉Annual in person all company event and celebration in Europe

• 👫Working with an exceptional team, doing some of the best work of your career

Use of AI in Our Recruitment Process:

We believe in a human-led hiring process. All applications are reviewed manually by our Talent Acquisition team, and neither Talent Acquisition nor Hiring Managers use AI to screen, filter, rank, assess, or make decisions about candidates, including during interviews and assessments. During interviews, AI may be used only to support note-taking and transcription. 

All hiring decisions are made by people!

Diversity & Inclusion at Qualifyze: 

At Qualifyze we actively support the power of diversity, uniting complementary talents and perspectives to address new challenges. Our collective strengths help us to find innovative solutions and turn difficulties into opportunities. We will encourage you to bring your authentic self to work, fostering an inclusive environment where everyone belongs and feels heard.

We are an equal opportunity employer and we welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, disability, or age.  Our hiring practices are rooted in fairness and respect, and we strive to create a culture where everyone feels valued and empowered.