senior Java engineer

We are looking for a senior Java engineer to join the Logistics team at Protolabs, where our mission is to provide a single, reliable platform for shipping that the rest of the business builds on.

The team is responsible for global shipments and logistics, carrier management, rates, tracking, customs, and enabling our manufacturing partners to ship on our behalf - capabilities that today are spread across multiple services & tools built independently by different teams. We're consolidating these into a coherent domain, designing new services and integrations while gradually replacing the patchwork, and building foundations that hold up as Protolabs continues to scale globally.

Tech environment

For this role: Java microservices with Spring Boot; REST/async APIs; PostgreSQL; Redis; Docker/Kubernetes; CI/CD with GitHub Actions; observability and logging.

RabbitMQ & KNative for eventing

What'll you do:

Ship business value fast: design, implement and release thin slices that reduce manual work, improve on‑time shipments, increase logistical visibility, and shorten cycle times.

Build and integrate Java-based microservices and APIs: expose secure, well documented endpoints and integrate with eventing systems

Make pragmatic architectural calls: design data contracts and integration approaches that balance speed with long‑ term maintainability

Establish foundations: set up CI/CD, automated tests, observability and SLOs to ensure reliability from day one.

Streamline operations: automate exception handling and reconciliations, retire legacy scripts/tools, and remove bottlenecks across the order‑ to‑ ship flow.

Collaborate and influence: work closely with stakeholders and contribute and participate in our Backend Guild

Own end‑to‑end delivery: discovery, design, build, deploy, monitor, iterate - and handle production issues to keep value flowing.

What It takes:

8+ years of experience building web applications and backend services, with at least 3 years of experience in using Sprint Boot in a (micro)services environment

Proficiency in Java for designing, developing, testing, and monitoring production systems

Experience with relational databases (like PostgreSQL)

Familiarity with Docker, Kubernetes, and CI/CD environments

Experience working in an agile team, with excellent communication and collaboration skills