Senior Back-end Java Developer

Overview of role:

WestJet is seeking a senior back-end Software Developer reporting to our Digital Technology office. This individual can demonstrate a high standard of excellence, enjoy challenges, and drive results. The incumbent must be highly motivated and demonstrate the ability to work in an agile environment.

This new member will provide technical expertise and will support/ lead the development team in creating high-quality software solutions by designing and developing web-based Java applications and lead the development team and business stakeholders to develop appropriate object-oriented software systems that meet WestJet’s business, technical and quality requirements. Moreover, the senior software developer will embrace coaching and mentoring colleagues.

Key deliverables include:

Provide technical expertise for WestJet’s product features and environments

Actively participate and provide technical expertise for the creation, implementation and ongoing evolution of WestJet’s design and development methodologies, coding standards and style guidelines

Actively participate and provide technical expertise for the evaluation and selection of new software development tools and frameworks

Actively participate and share technical expertise through workshops, presentations, and training that provide skill and knowledge development for the entire team

Provide technical expertise and coaching to developers and external consultants

Plan, lead and track the technical aspects of software development sustainment streams and capital projects

Lead the development team in working with business stakeholders to define and prepare functional and design specifications of new features/products

Provide accurate estimates for development effort, complexity and risk for software development sustainment streams and capital projects

Design and develop automated unit and integration tests for front end code that define and validate feature/product requirements

Design and develop robust, extensible, high-quality code that meet business, technical and quality requirements

Lead the development team in working with quality assurance partners to assess the impact of code changes, to ensure the validation of requirements and to provide timely troubleshooting and fixes to software defects

Lead the development team in working with operational partners to ensure the supportability of new features/products and to provide timely technical support and fixes to production applications

Provide technical expertise and approval for the review and analysis of front-end and back-end code as well as all automated tests

Provide technical expertise in how to manage code and resolve conflicts with other development initiatives

Document system components, related interfaces and ensure complete and accurate release notes

Experience and qualifications:

Recognized diploma or bachelor’s degree (Technical/Business/Science)

Minimum of 7+ years of experience on software development teams

Minimum of 2+ years in an airline industry role (Sabre, Amadeus, etc)

5+ years enterprise environment experience is an asset.

Java 21 experience, Spring Boot 3.x, microservices, Kubernetes/OpenShift/AKS, cloud-native architecture or Java 17 experience with a demonstrated ability to modernize applications.

Exposure to Java 25 and newer JVM features is an asset.

Knowledge and expertise in the following disciplines preferred:

AI development experience or open-minded to embrace

Application development using Java 17 or 21 or 25

Java frameworks such as Spring Boot

SOAP and RESTful web services using JSON and XML

Cloud environments such as Azure, AWS

Object-oriented software design, design patterns, security awareness and development best practices

DevOps and agile development methods such as Lean, Scrum, Kanban and XP

Development on Windows, Linux and/or MacOS (MacOS preferred)

IDE software such as IntelliJ

GIT version control systems

Unit testing framework such as Junit and Mockito

Building automation tool like Gradle

Web development using CSS, HTML and JavaScript

JavaScript libraries such as VueJS, React, Angular and NodeJS

Knowledge of Azure DevOps tools and services for CI/CD pipelines

Familiarity with Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) and containerization technologies

Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills

Excellent planning and organizational skills

Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills

Strong communication skills with the ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams

Analytical mindset and ability to approach complex problems systematically

Ability to adapt to changing priorities and work in a fast-paced environment

Strong attention to detail and commitment to delivering high-quality solutions