Senior Software Engineer (Java)

CarTrawler
Full-timeFull-stackDublin, Ireland
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At a glance

Employment type
Full-time
Workplace
On-site
Category
Full-stack

Technologies & skills

Primary technologies

Secondary technologies

Other technical skills

What you'll be doing

As a Senior Software Engineer (Java) at CarTrawler in Dublin, you'll design and deliver scalable backend services and RESTful APIs for a global travel platform. You'll lead technical discussions, mentor engineers, and champion engineering excellence in a collaborative, cross-functional team.

  • Design, build and evolve scalable, high-quality Java services and RESTful APIs
  • Lead technical design discussions with architects and managers
  • Build integrations with payment providers, travel partners, and third-party technologies
  • Champion engineering excellence through code reviews, testing, observability, CI/CD, and best practices
  • Mentor and support engineers through coaching and knowledge sharing
  • Investigate and resolve complex production issues, improving system performance and reliability

Key requirements

Must-have

  • 6+ years developing enterprise applications with Java (Java 17+ preferred)
  • Experience with Spring Boot, Hibernate, and JPA
  • Strong understanding of software architecture and object-oriented design
  • Experience designing and delivering RESTful APIs
  • Experience integrating with third-party services using resilient patterns
  • Solid knowledge of SQL, relational databases, Git, Maven, and CI/CD
  • Experience in Agile software development environments
  • Ability to mentor engineers and influence technical decisions

Nice-to-have

  • Curiosity for emerging technologies, including AI-assisted engineering tools

Experience: 6+ years

Role signals

Technical focus
backend
Leadership
Mentoring
Architecture / system design
Indicated in the listing
Hands-on vs management
Hands-on

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Full job description

Tech that takes you places

We’re CarTrawler, the global travel tech company behind seamless connections between people, places and possibilities. From powering car rental to creating smarter ways to move, we make travel smoother for millions worldwide. Our culture is built on curiosity, collaboration and craic where every idea counts and every journey matters. Ready to make an impact? Let’s go places together.

CarTrawler’s Product & Technology team brings innovation to every journey. Together, our engineers, product managers, designers and analysts use creativity, data and AI innovation to solve challenges that make travel easier for everyone. From building seamless digital experiences to powering smarter automation behind the scenes, we’re shaping a future where technology and people work hand in hand.

Your Journey starts here!

Play a key role in building the technology that powers millions of travel experiences around the world. As a Senior Software Engineer (Java), you'll design and deliver scalable backend services that support our core platform, enabling seamless customer journeys, smarter business decisions and stronger partner integrations. Working as part of a collaborative, cross-functional engineering team, you'll combine technical expertise with leadership, mentoring others while driving engineering excellence. If you're passionate about solving complex challenges with modern Java technologies and enjoy shaping the future of high-performing software, we'd love to hear from you.

What you'll do as a Senior Software Engineer (Java)

  • Design, build and evolve scalable, high-quality Java services and RESTful APIs that power our core travel platform and customer experiences.

  • Lead technical design discussions, collaborating with Architects, Product Managers and Engineering Managers to deliver simple, scalable and maintainable solutions.

  • Build resilient integrations with payment providers, travel partners, data platforms and third-party technologies that expand our platform capabilities.

  • Champion engineering excellence through code reviews, testing, observability, CI/CD and operational best practices while promoting continuous improvement.

  • Mentor and support engineers through coaching, pairing and knowledge sharing, helping to grow technical capability across the team.

  • Investigate and resolve complex production issues, identifying opportunities to improve system performance, reliability and scalability while embracing AI-assisted development responsibly.

What you'll bring to the team

  • Extensive experience (6+ years) developing enterprise applications with Java (Java 17+ preferred), alongside Spring Boot, Hibernate and JPA.

  • Strong understanding of software architecture, object-oriented design principles and building scalable, distributed backend systems.

  • Proven experience designing and delivering RESTful APIs and integrating with third-party services using resilient integration patterns.

  • Solid knowledge of SQL, relational databases, Git, Maven and modern CI/CD practices within Agile software development environments.

  • A collaborative mindset with the ability to influence technical decisions, communicate effectively with cross-functional stakeholders and mentor fellow engineers.

  • Curiosity for emerging technologies, including AI-assisted engineering tools, with a pragmatic approach to delivering secure, high-quality software that creates business value.

Interview prep pack

Grounded in this listing. Use it to prepare examples before you apply.

Your interview focus

Based on this listing, the Senior Software Engineer (Java) role at CarTrawler focuses on designing and delivering scalable backend services, leading technical discussions, and mentoring engineers within a collaborative, cross-functional team.

  • Backend Java expertise·Medium
  • Technical leadership and mentoring·High
  • API and integration design·High
  • Engineering best practices·High

Only have 30 minutes?

Follow a focused preparation plan based on this job.

Start 30-minute prep

Your 30-minute plan

  1. Review Recent Java Projects

    0–8 min

    Select 1-2 recent projects where you designed scalable backend services with Java, Spring Boot, and Hibernate. Prepare concise summaries and key technical decisions.

  2. Refresh API and Integration Knowledge

    8–15 min

    Revisit your experience designing RESTful APIs and integrating with third-party services, focusing on resilience and reliability patterns.

  3. Reflect on Mentoring and Leadership

    15–20 min

    Identify specific examples where you mentored engineers, led code reviews, or influenced technical direction.

  4. Prepare for Engineering Excellence Questions

    20–25 min

    Review your practices around CI/CD, testing, observability, and incident response. Be ready to discuss continuous improvement initiatives.

  5. Draft Role-Specific Questions

    25–30 min

    Prepare thoughtful questions about the team, technical challenges, and growth opportunities to ask during the interview.

Likely questions

, 6 items

Priority reflects how strongly this topic is emphasised in the job listing, not whether it will be asked.

Talking points

, 5 items
  • Designing Scalable Java Services

    Be ready to discuss how you've architected and implemented robust, high-performance backend systems using Java and related frameworks.

  • RESTful API Development and Integration

    Prepare examples of designing APIs and integrating with third-party services, especially using resilient patterns for reliability.

  • Mentoring and Technical Leadership

    Showcase your experience mentoring engineers, leading code reviews, and influencing technical decisions in a team setting.

  • Engineering Excellence and CI/CD

    Demonstrate your commitment to code quality, testing, observability, and modern CI/CD practices in Agile environments.

  • Resolving Complex Production Issues

    Share stories where you diagnosed and resolved challenging production problems, improving system reliability and performance.

What to research

, 4 items
  • Java 17+, Spring Boot, Hibernate, and JPA

    Review your experience with modern Java versions and related frameworks, focusing on enterprise application development.

  • RESTful API Design and Integration Patterns

    Prepare to discuss your approach to designing APIs and integrating with third-party services using resilient patterns.

  • Mentoring and Technical Leadership

    Reflect on your experience mentoring engineers, leading code reviews, and influencing technical decisions.

  • CI/CD and Agile Best Practices

    Be ready to explain your use of CI/CD pipelines, code quality tools, and Agile methodologies in delivering high-quality software.

Questions to ask

, 6 items
  1. How does the engineering team at CarTrawler approach technical design decisions and architecture reviews?

    Why ask this? To understand the level of collaboration and influence you may have in shaping solutions.

  2. What are the main technical challenges currently facing the core travel platform?

    Why ask this? To gauge the complexity and scope of problems you would help solve.

  3. How is mentoring and knowledge sharing structured within the engineering team?

    Why ask this? To assess opportunities for leadership and professional growth.

  4. What tools and practices are in place for observability, monitoring, and incident response?

    Why ask this? To understand the maturity of operational practices and your potential impact.

  5. How does the team evaluate and adopt emerging technologies, such as AI-assisted development tools?

    Why ask this? To learn about the company's openness to innovation and your role in driving it.

  6. What does success look like for a Senior Software Engineer in the first six months?

    Why ask this? To clarify expectations and priorities for the role.

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Apply NowApply before: 21 Sep 2026