Lead Software Engineer

OCLC is seeking a Lead Software Engineer to join the WorldCat Engineering Data Access Team (DAT). This role provides hands-on technical leadership across the core platform and delivery pipelines that powers WorldCat data retrieval, record updates, authority lookups, and downstream integrations used globally by libraries and OCLC products., * Lead the design, development, and support of core data storage APIs and pipelines for supporting real-time updates and retrieval of bibliographic content

• Provide technical leadership and mentoring to a team of engineers by guiding architecture decisions, conducting regular code reviews to ensure adherence to industry best practices and standards, and fostering a collaborative, cross-functional culture.
• Translate product and technical requirements into scalable, fault-tolerant service implementations focusing on throughput, latency, and 24×7 reliability.
• Own and evolve core services, including WorldCat Access APIs, delivery workflows, partner/customer endpoints, and orchestration logic.
• Drive modernization efforts including containerization, observability improvements, service decomposition, and cloud-ready architecture patterns.
• Collaborate with product and engineering teams to ensure end-to-end performance, alignment, and consistency across the WorldCat ecosystem.
• Improve delivery reliability and automation, reducing manual intervention through enhanced tooling, monitoring, and proactive issue detection.
• Lead cross-team engineering initiatives for new features, performance enhancements, platform integrations, and capacity planning.
• Evaluate emerging technologies that strengthen long-term architecture, maintainability, and operational health in support of OCLC's mission

• Bachelor's degree in computer science or related discipline, or equivalent work experience.
• Minimum of 7 years of backend or distributed systems development experience.
• Expert-level proficiency in:

• Java, object-oriented design, distributed service patterns
• Spring Boot, Spring Framework
• Build tools, such as Maven or Gradle
• RESTful API design and implementation
• High-throughput, resilient service architecture

• Strong experience with Linux/Unix environments.
• Strong experience with CI/CD pipelines, automated testing frameworks, and Git.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills with proven ability to lead and mentor engineers.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Experience integrating AI tools, frameworks, and concepts into the software development process.

Highly Desired Skills:

• Experience using AI-assisted development tools (Copilot, Cursor AI, etc…)
• Hands-on experience with both relational and NoSQL databases (e.g., HBase, PostgreSQL, Cassandra, MongoDB).
• Experience with big-data concepts and frameworks such as Hadoop, HBase, Spark, and Snowflake
• Knowledge around ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) pipelines and architectures
• Strong familiarity with observability and monitoring platforms (New Relic, Grafana, Prometheus, etc…)
• Familiarity with containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), orchestration, and cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure).
• Experience maintaining applications according to documented open standards, including both industry-wide best practices (e.g., REST, microservices architecture) and specific internal compliance guidelines, ensuring consistency and interoperability.
• Practical experience with TDD (Test Driven Development) and Agile methodologies

Required Skills: Java, Object-Oriented Design, Spring Framework, RESTful APIs, Web Services, SQL databases (MySQL, Oracle), Linux/Unix, Version control (Git, SVN)

OCLC is consistently recognized as a best place to work by several independent programs. We recognize and reward people and results with a comprehensive Total Rewards package. This means competitive compensation that reflects your unique contributions-performance, experience, and skills-along with exceptional benefits, including best-in-class health coverage, retirement plans with generous company contributions, and a commitment to your overall well-being.

• We know the best ideas don't always happen at a desk. Take a walking meeting around our 100-acre campus or enjoy lunch on the patio. We're committed to your success-both personally and professionally. Hybrid work environment: For many roles, three days a week on-site, with occasional additional days based on business needs.

• Free use of our on-site fitness center, gym sports, group exercise classes, and game room

• Onsite catering and cafeteria subsidized by OCLC

• Health and wellness events

• Work environments with individual and team spaces and the latest technology tools

• Paid parental leave and adoption assistance

• Tuition reimbursement and Public Service Loan Forgiveness eligibility

• Company-subsidized pricing on local tickets and memberships

At OCLC, we build technology with a purpose: to connect libraries and make knowledge accessible worldwide, because we believe that what is known must be shared. Our teams work with complex global datasets, AI and machine learning, hybrid cloud solutions, and other technologies that connect people and organizations to the information they need. We value the power of unique perspectives and experiences to unlock innovation. At OCLC, your ideas matter, whether you have two years of experience or 20. You'll learn, create, and problem-solve with technologists, product developers, librarians, researchers, marketing pros, and support teams around the world.