09/27/2026 updated
40 % partially available
Java Backend Engineer | Spring Boot, REST APIs & Technical Leadership
Braga, Portugal
Only remote
Postgraduate in Project Management (PMI Practices), SENACAbout me
Java backend engineer for remote projects: Spring Boot, REST APIs, bug fixes, tests and refactoring. 15+ years in software engineering. Open to discussing a suitable weekly commitment based on project scope and delivery timeline. Portuguese and C2 English.
Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)Spring BootBackend
I develop and maintain backend services, APIs and business applications, with 15+ years of experience across automotive, payments and enterprise systems.
Services for remote projects
• Diagnose and fix backend defects, with regression tests.
• Build or extend REST APIs and third-party integrations.
• Refactor legacy code and improve automated test coverage.
• Provide code reviews and scheduled maintenance with an agreed scope.
Core stack
Java, Spring Boot, Jakarta EE and Quarkus; SQL, MySQL and JPA/Hibernate; REST APIs and messaging with Kafka, ActiveMQ and IBM MQ. I also have hands-on experience with Angular, PHP, Ruby/Rails, C#/.NET and TOTVS Protheus integrations.
Engineering practices
Unit and integration testing, TDD, SOLID, code reviews, Git, Jenkins and GitHub Actions. I focus on clear requirements, maintainable changes and reliable delivery.
Alongside hands-on development, my experience includes architecture, technical hiring, mentoring and team development. Project history below gives the context and outcomes.
Based in Braga, Portugal. Open to discussing a suitable weekly commitment based on project scope and delivery timeline. Portuguese native and English C2.
Experience
Professional experience10+ years
Freelancer since2026
Languages
EnglishFluentPortugueseNative speakerSpanishBasic knowledge
Project history
May 2024–Present: Technical Lead. Provide technical guidance across 6–10 product teams working on systems used by 20,000+ business users worldwide. Shape team composition, evaluate performance, contribute to compensation decisions and support career development. Guide architecture, legacy-system modernisation, integrations, CI/CD and observability with engineers and product stakeholders.
2019–April 2024: Software Engineer / Scrum Master. Built Java and Angular enterprise applications with Quarkus, Payara, MicroProfile and Jakarta EE. Developed REST services and messaging integrations using Kafka, ActiveMQ and IBM MQ. Maintained Jenkins and GitHub Actions pipelines and applied automated testing, TDD and code reviews. Supported Scrum delivery and continuous improvement.
Contributed to technical interviewing and hiring from my first year at CTW.
Designed, developed and supported payment integrations connecting e-commerce platforms with Cielo, BIN, Rede, Getnet and internal enterprise systems.
Provided solution architecture and technical coordination from data modelling and REST/SOA integration through releases and production support.
Built Java 8 / Spring Boot services and Angular 6 applications with Spring MVC, Spring Data, JPA/Hibernate and MySQL. Applied testing, database migrations and code-quality practices using JUnit, Flyway, SonarQube, SoapUI and Azure.
Combined people management, software delivery and hands-on development, working with the team to improve the main services platform and prepare it for future modernisation.
• Established a structured hiring process with the team, supporting consistent candidate evaluation and recruitment decisions.
• Supported team composition, performance evaluation, compensation decisions and individual career planning.
• Led a team effort to address technical debt and outstanding feature needs, establishing a path for modernisation and product evolution.
• Managed projects from requirements and economic-functional feasibility through implementation.
• Worked with the team to deliver a revenue-generating product; developed a reusable PHP framework that reduced average source-code production time by 40%.
• Implemented TOTVS Protheus modules and integrations, improving accounting, financial and tax data reliability.
• Helped improve execution through Kanban and Scrum.
Technical environment: ADVPL, Ruby/Rails, PHP, C#/.NET, JavaScript, MySQL and SQL Server.