Job Description & Details
This is a heavy-duty infrastructure and application hybrid role where you won't just be calling APIs, you'll actually own the entire enterprise email pipeline. If you don't know the nuances of managing sender reputation, dealing with aggressive ISP throttling, or debugging SPF/DKIM/DMARC alignment issues at scale, this gig will eat you alive. But if you're a senior Java engineer who loves low-level mail mechanics paired with modern cloud architecture, this is a rare chance to build a bulletproof messaging system from scratch.
What You'll Actually Be Doing
You'll spend your days acting as the definitive subject matter expert for all things email delivery while still slinging production-grade Java code. Half your time will be spent designing asynchronous Spring Boot services to handle massive batches of transactional and enrollment emails without choking the system. The other half involves deep-dive troubleshooting with AWS SES configuration sets, handling complex bounce/complaint feedback loops, and configuring custom MAIL FROM domains that won't land your traffic in corporate spam folders.
The Core Tech Stack
You need absolute mastery over Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) and underlying AWS components like SNS, SQS, S3, and IAM. On the code side, deep Java and Spring Boot expertise is non-negotiable for building resilient, event-driven REST APIs. Beyond the code, your real value here is your intimate knowledge of DNS records, MX routing, CNAME configurations, and reputation warm-up strategies that keep deliverability rates high across major mailbox providers.
Interview Expectations
Expect the hiring team to ask you to walk through a scenario where a critical marketing campaign suddenly drops to a 40% inbox placement rate due to a spike in soft bounces and an altered sender reputation. They want to see if you can methodically diagnose DNS alignment, check your DMARC reporting, and isolate whether the bottleneck is throttling or bad recipient lists. They'll also test your concurrency knowledge in Java to see how you handle asynchronous, fault-tolerant processing for millions of outbound payloads without blocking threads.
Application Advice
Skip the generic resume summary and put your exact metrics right at the top—highlight the scale of the email volumes you've managed in the past and the specific AWS certifications you hold. Make sure keywords like Amazon SES, DMARC, SPF, Spring Boot, and asynchronous messaging are explicitly written into your work history so you easily clear the initial ATS parsing.