Java R&D Team Lead

Summary

Guardsquare is looking for a hands-on R&D Team Lead to join our Munich office and lead one of our Java engineering teams.

In this role, you will lead a small team of approximately 3 to 4 Java Software Engineers while remaining an active individual contributor. Given the size of the team, this is a highly technical leadership position: alongside coaching the team and taking ownership of its delivery, you will continue to contribute directly to the design, development and evolution of our software.

The ideal candidate has a strong background in Java software engineering and an interest in software security. You enjoy solving complex technical problems, working with sophisticated codebases and translating ideas into robust and maintainable solutions. At the same time, you are ready to take ownership of a small team, provide technical direction and help other engineers perform at their best.

Your key responsibilities will be:

Hands-on engineering

As Team Lead, you’ll remain close to the technology and contribute directly to the engineering work alongside your team. This is not a typical Java development role: you’ll work on technically complex problems at the intersection of Java, compiler technology, and application security.

• Design and evolve Java-based security products, working with bytecode and compiler technology.
• Research advanced code hardening, optimization, and obfuscation techniques.
• Solve complex engineering challenges to protect mobile applications against reverse engineering.
• Maintain a complex codebase while upholding high coding standards and best practices.
• Debug technical issues and support customers with in-depth integration challenges.
• Drive architectural decisions and stay ahead of trends in Java and mobile security.

Team leadership

• Ensure timely, high-quality delivery of team results.
• Lead daily development: prioritize tasks, distribute work, and remove blockers.
• Mentor and coach team members on technical and career growth.
• Set performance goals, provide feedback, and conduct appraisals.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, continuous learning, and excellence.
• Drive process improvements and innovation while representing Guardsquare's R&D values and culture.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience), with at least 5 years of professional Java software engineering experience and previous experience leading or mentoring software engineers, ideally in a Team Lead or similar role. 
• Excellent Java programming skills and strong software engineering fundamentals.
• Experience with or a strong interest in software and mobile application security.
• Experience with low-level programming, compiler technology, code analysis and/or optimization techniques is an asset.
• A pragmatic, hands-on and no-nonsense attitude with a drive to continuously raise the bar.
• Excellent English communication skills.
• Understanding of the value of in-person leadership and collaboration in our Munich office within a hybrid working environment.

Useful skills

• Experience with Android application development and the Android ecosystem.
• Knowledge of Android build tools such as Gradle and ProGuard.
• Experience with reverse engineering and commonly used tools such as JADX, apktool or similar.
• Knowledge of Android bytecode, application internals or code analysis.
• Previous experience working on developer tools, security products or static analysis solutions.

What Guardsquare offers you

• A full-time position with a competitive salary package.
• A role that combines hands-on software engineering with team leadership, allowing you to remain close to the technology while developing as an engineering leader.
• The opportunity to work on technically challenging problems within software and mobile application security.
• The tools and flexibility to develop yourself successfully.
• An international environment where you will interact with motivated and open colleagues from different backgrounds.
• A workplace where you can share and implement your ideas.
• A hybrid work policy supporting a healthy work-life balance while maintaining strong in-person collaboration within the Munich team.

At Guardsquare, we take pride in being a diverse and multicultural company with team members representing numerous nationalities. We value different perspectives and opinions throughout the business, which has contributed to our position as a market leader in mobile application security.

You will be part of a dynamic R&D organization that strives for excellence and focuses on continuous learning and improvement. We encourage and empower our colleagues to share their opinions, actively collaborate, and continue to learn and grow.

Do you want to combine hands-on engineering with leading and developing a talented team? Join us!

About Guardsquare

Guardsquare offers the most complete approach to mobile application security on the market, delivering the highest level of protection with ease. Guardsquare integrates seamlessly across the full development cycle, from mobile app security testing and code hardening to real-time threat detection and API security.

More than 1,000 customers worldwide across all major industries rely on Guardsquare to help them identify security risks and protect their mobile applications and SDKs against reverse engineering and tampering in the ever-evolving threat landscape.

Guardsquare is based in Leuven, Belgium, with offices in Ghent, Boston and Munich.