Lead Software Engineer

Overview

This is a remote role open for multiple markets across the United States.

Digital Transformation Journey

At First Citizens Bank we’re in the midst of a bold digital transformation—simplifying, consolidating, and modernizing the way we serve our customers. We’re evolving toward a foundational North Star Architecture that enables us to scale smarter, move faster, and deliver experiences that truly differentiate us in the market.

The Opportunity

This is not business-as-usual. We’re reimagining our digital banking platform from the ground up—rethinking how channels connect, how technology supports growth, and how teams collaborate to deliver with speed and purpose. Few get the chance to help shape something this foundational. This is your opportunity to be part of a once-in-a-career journey, building what’s next while staying grounded in the impact we create today. If you’re energized by transformation, passionate about software engineering, and ready to help lay the technical bedrock for a digital-first future—we want to talk to you.

Role Overview

We are looking for a hands‑on Lead Software Engineer to join our CIAM and Fraud delivery team, which provides technology solutions and integration services to support our Commercial and Personal and Business Banking Digital Platforms. The ideal candidate should have the necessary skills and experience to provide technical guidance, estimation of efforts, understanding and deciding upon the optimal technology solution to achieve the desired business needs, day to day application support, should be able to navigate differing levels of gray/unknowns, and have excellent communication skills with other IT management levels, individual contributors and business stakeholders. They must be able to move at a rapid rate of execution to deliver requests and take advantage of any opportunities as they present themselves and navigate through any resource constraints. They must have both the short‑and long‑term strategic view when deciding on the best technical approach. They must be able to develop code and effectively oversee distributed development team members.

Responsibilities & Qualifications

• Advanced experience with Microsoft Team Foundation Server (TFS), Gitlab or similar code repository system.
• Advanced experience with ServiceNow, Jira, or other IT service management and agile work tracking platforms.
• Strong experience designing, developing, deploying, and supporting enterprise applications and services using Java and Spring frameworks, including Spring Boot, Spring MVC/WebFlux, and Spring Security.
• Experience designing, documenting, developing, and supporting RESTful APIs, including OpenAPI/Swagger specifications, API versioning, API contracts, and idempotent transaction processing.
• Strong understanding of authentication and authorization technologies, including OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect (OIDC), JWT validation, and mutual TLS (mTLS).
• Experience implementing distributed system and service integration patterns utilizing technologies such as Apache Kafka, Redis, and Resilience4J, including circuit breakers, retries, and fault tolerance mechanisms.
• Strong knowledge of relational database technologies, including Oracle and PostgreSQL, with experience using SQL, JDBC, JPA/Hibernate, data modeling, and performance tuning.
• Experience implementing secure software development practices and safeguarding sensitive customer information, including encryption at rest, field-level encryption, secure transmission, and protection of Personally Identifiable Information (PII).
• Experience with CI/CD and DevSecOps practices, including automated testing, artifact management, release automation, and deployment pipelines utilizing GitLab, Artifactory, OpenShift, Kubernetes, or similar platforms.
• In-depth knowledge of Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) methodologies, including Agile and Waterfall.
• Proven ability to analyze complex technical issues, develop sustainable solutions, and collaborate effectively with technical and business stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor engineers, perform code reviews, and provide technical leadership across projects and initiatives.
• Experience with programming languages such as Java, Microsoft .NET (C#); ASP.NET Cobol; SQL Scripting and Powershell Scripting.
• Ability to be on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, on a rotating basis.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree and 6 years' experience OR High School Diploma or GED/Equiva