Java Developer @ Itsme

The goal of this role is very clear: it's all about diving deep into an existing Java environment. This is not a greenfield project where you're starting from scratch, this is a true brownfield setup. The codebase already exists, it's running in production, and now it's about taking over the maintenance and optimization of that system from an external team.

As a developer, you’ll be expected to really get under the hood of this monolithic application: understand how it works, what its logic is, and how it connects to the rest of the infrastructure. Around 80% of your time will be focused on maintaining the existing application, resolving bugs, supporting the run, and gradually improving performance. You won’t be responsible for building new features from the ground up, but you will be crucial in keeping the engine running smoothly.

The security of the application has already been thoroughly audited and validated, so this isn’t a high-pressure security role. The challenge lies more in stability, clarity, and maintainability. Together with the architecture team, you’ll also contribute to the long-term goal of breaking down the large monolith into modular, manageable components.

One key aspect of this role is reverse engineering, together with the team, you ’ll be looking at existing code to understand what it does and how, then translating that understanding into clear, logical components. Over time, this will allow the team to extract parts of the code and start modularizing the entire system.

So in essence, this is a role for someone who takes ownership over the “invisible engine” behind the app, the backend that powers everything and makes sure it all runs efficiently. You’re the person making sure that when users interact with the app, everything just works, seamlessly and reliably.

Tasks and responsibilities

• CI/CD Ownership: One of the first and most important tasks in this role is to really understand the full run and build environment. That means getting familiar with how software is built, tested, deployed, and maintained across CI/CD pipelines. The long-term goal is to bring full ownership of these processes in-house, so the internal team can confidently manage, troubleshoot, and evolve the platform independently.
• Reverse Engineering: The backend is written in Java and it's been running reliably for a long time, but much of it is still considered a monolith. The documentation isn’t always complete, so you'll be reading through existing legacy code to fully understand what it does, how it's structured, and how it's connected to other systems. This insight is crucial to prepare for the next phases of optimization and modularization.
• Refactoring & Maintenance: About 80% of your time will go into refactoring, maintenance and gradually breaking down the monolith into more modular components. You won't be building a brand-new system from scratch, but you'll play a key role in making the current system faster, cleaner, and more future-ready.
• Operational Responsibility: You’ll also take on real operational responsibility. That means managing the ongoing run of the system—handling deployments, fixing bugs, maintaining performance, and supporting the production environment. You won’t just be writing code—you’ll be making sure the platform runs like a well-oiled machine.
• Internal Support & Knowledge Sharing: A big part of your role will also be to share knowledge and support other teams. By providing clear insight into the codebase and architecture, you’ll help teams around you work more efficiently and make better-informed decisions. Your understanding of how everything fits together will make you a go-to person in the backend domain.