Senior Java Backend Engineer

About the Role

We are looking for a passionate Senior Engineer to join our Entertainment Division and help build engaging, scalable digital experiences.

In this role, you willlead and drive technical innovation to contribute across the stack—working on both backend services and frontend interfaces—while collaborating closely with cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality products. You'll play an important role in shaping technical solutions, improving development practices, and embracing AI-assisted engineering to boost productivity and innovation—while ensuring thoughtful human oversight.

What You'll Do

• Build and enhance scalable web applications across backend and frontend layers
• Lead and Collaborate with product managers, designers, and engineers to translate ideas into reliable solutions
• Develop, maintain, and optimize APIs and user-facing applications
• Review code, share feedback, and contribute to a culture of engineering excellence
• Troubleshoot issues proactively and ensure system reliability and performance
• Leverage AI tools in day-to-day development to improve productivity, automate repetitive tasks, and enhance code quality
• Ensure a human-in-the-loop approach by validating, reviewing, and refining AI-generated outputs to maintain high engineering standards
• Continuously learn and apply modern technologies and evolving AI capabilities
• Develop AI capable features for modern gen B2C applications.

What We're Looking For

Core Experience

• 6–9 years of experience in backend software development
• Strong proficiency in Java (Spring Boot) and modern backend frameworks
• In depth understanding of database relationships and object storage
• Able to lead a team of engineers towards technical delivery and solutions.
• Strong ownership mindset and troubleshooting skills.
• Basic knowledge of frontend system and complete technical workflow

Technical Strengths

• Solid understanding of software design principles and architecture patterns
• Ability to design scalable, high traffic withstanding, maintainable, and efficient systems
• Hands-on experience using AI tools (e.g. Claude, Codex or similar) to support coding, debugging, testing, or design workflows
• Demonstrated ability to use AI responsibly to improve productivity and product quality while applying critical thinking and human validation

Collaboration & Communication

• Experience working in global or distributed teams
• Strong communication skills with the ability to explain technical concepts clearly

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Engineering or a related field
• Prior working experience in product-based organisations on B2C software products

Nice to Have

• Exposure to cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and containerization
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices
• Experience with databases, system performance optimizations, and web security
• Interest or experience in building or using AI-powered developer workflows or agents
• Background in entertainment, media, or e-commerce platforms

Rakuten is committed to cultivating and preserving a culture of inclusion and connectedness. We are able to grow and learn better together with a diverse team and inclusive workforce. The collective sum of the individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, innovation, self-expression, and talent that our employees invest in their work represents not only part of our culture, but our reputation and Rakuten's achievement as well. In recruiting for our team, we welcome the unique contributions that you can bring in terms of their education, opinions, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran's status, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and beliefs.