Ready to lead the development of high-performance, functional, and scalable backend systems?
Are you an expert in Scala, Java, and functional programming (Cats, Cats Effect), passionate about building type-safe microservices, and eager to work with modern distributed architectures? Then our client, a leading global technology-driven company, wants to hear from you.
We’re looking for a Lead Scala & Java Developer to join their engineering team. This is a 6-month contract role in Amsterdam, Netherlands, with the potential to extend or transition into a permanent position. Offering a rate of €450–€500/day, this is an excellent opportunity to lead large-scale microservice architecture and functional programming initiatives at enterprise level.
As Lead Scala & Java Developer, you’ll design, build, and optimize backend services using Scala and Java 8/17, leveraging the Cats library, Cats Effect, and modern microservice patterns. You’ll play a key role in developing resilient, event-driven systems while collaborating closely with DevOps, frontend, and QA teams to deliver enterprise-grade solutions.
Develop and maintain scalable microservices using Scala (Cats, Cats Effect) and Java (8 & 17).
Implement purely functional, type-safe, and concurrent systems.
Build RESTful and gRPC-based services with robust inter-service communication.
Design event-driven architectures using Kafka, Pulsar, or RabbitMQ.
Ensure fault tolerance with API gateways, service discovery, and circuit breakers.
Optimize performance with observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK).
Write clean, testable code with ScalaTest, MUnit, JUnit, and property-based testing.
Mentor developers and lead knowledge-sharing sessions.
Strong background in Scala and functional programming (Cats, Cats Effect, FS2, Doobie, ZIO is a plus).
Excellent knowledge of Java 8 & 17, including Streams, CompletableFuture, Records, Sealed Classes, Virtual Threads.
Experienced in microservices architecture and distributed systems with high concurrency.
Familiar with frameworks like http4s, Akka, Play Framework, Spring Boot, Micronaut, or Quarkus.
Solid database experience (SQL/NoSQL) and data streaming platforms (Kafka, Pulsar).
Strong knowledge of cloud, Kubernetes, Docker, and CI/CD pipelines.
Passionate about functional programming, immutability, and clean code.
Great communicator with leadership skills and a proactive mindset.
Rate: €500–€550/day
6-month contract with extension or permanent option after a few months
Based in Amsterdam, Netherlands (on-site/hybrid flexibility may apply)
Opportunity to lead advanced FP and microservice initiatives in a global company
Cutting-edge tech stack with Scala, Cats, Kafka, Kubernetes, and more
Career progression in a high-impact, technical leadership role
Sperton is a global recruitment and consulting firm with offices across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. We help companies find and manage top talent across borders, delivering fast, compliant, and flexible recruitment, consultant hiring, and global mobility services.
📩 Sound like the next step in your engineering career?
Apply now and lead the way in functional programming and microservice architecture!