Senior Developer

Job Description:

Department: IT Operations — AI, Automation & Tech Ops

Location: New York (Hybrid)

Reports To: Engineering Manager — AI, Automation & Tech Ops

ROLE OVERVIEW

The AI/Automation Development Lead is the hands-on technical leader for a small, high-output development team building AI-native applications and agentic automation systems. This is a coding-first role: you will write production code daily, lead by example in the codebase, and set the technical standard for a growing engineering function.

The defining characteristic of this role is that AI is not a feature you bolt on — it is how you build. You develop with Claude Code or equivalent AI-assisted tools as your default workflow. You design and implement agentic AI systems — autonomous agents, skills, tool-use patterns, and multi-step automation workflows — as core deliverables, not side projects. The stack (Flask/Python, React, Azure, MySQL) is the toolbox; agentic AI development is the craft.

You will take architectural direction and scoped requirements from the Engineering Manager, then own the technical execution: building, shipping, reviewing code, and driving the team to deliver. Approximately 60–70% of your time is hands-on development; 30–40% is technical leadership, code review, and team coordination.

HANDS-ON DEVELOPMENT — AI & AGENTIC SYSTEMS

Design and build agentic AI solutions as a primary focus: autonomous agents, skills, tool-use patterns, and multi-step automation workflows using LLM platforms (Claude, OpenAI, Copilot)

Develop AI-powered applications that integrate agentic capabilities into enterprise workflows — replacing manual processes with intelligent automation

Build full-stack applications using Flask/Python backends and React frontends, deploying to Azure Container Apps

Develop with Claude Code or equivalent AI-assisted tools as your default workflow — AI-assisted development is the baseline expectation, not a nice-to-have

Design and maintain MySQL database schemas, write performant SQL, and build ETL pipelines for enterprise data workflows

Implement end-to-end solutions incorporating data pipelines, automation workflows, and AI capabilities across multiple active codebases

Work within established CI/CD pipelines in Azure DevOps, enforce branch protection policies, and own Git workflow discipline across the development team

TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP & TEAM DEVELOPMENT

Provide technical direction and hands-on code review for a combined team of onshore and offshore developers

Establish and enforce development standards: branching strategy, PR-based workflows, test coverage expectations, and deployment procedures

Drive adoption of AI-assisted development practices across the team as a practical approach to accelerating delivery

Conduct regular code reviews and pair programming sessions to raise the team’s technical bar

Facilitate knowledge sharing and cross-training across time zones to reduce single-point-of-failure risks

Participate in hiring and onboarding as the engineering function grows

EXECUTION & DELIVERY

Take architectural direction and scoped requirements from the Engineering Manager and drive them through to production-ready code

Own delivery timelines for development workstreams, balancing speed with sustainability — the ability to say “yes, and here’s what it’ll take” is valued over unconditional commitment

Build solutions that work within established governance frameworks (Legal, Security, CIO approval chains) without treating compliance as an obstacle

Ensure applications meet compliance requirements (ICF/JSOX, data privacy regulations) by design through code quality and testing discipline

Participate in discovery sessions and requirements gathering alongside the Engineering Manager for complex projects

REQUIREMENTS

Technical Expertise

5+ years of full-stack development experience with Python/Flask and React or equivalent modern frameworks

Practical experience designing and building agentic AI workflows — autonomous agents, skills, tool-use patterns, and multi-step automation using LLM platforms (Claude, OpenAI, or equivalent)

Proficiency with AI-assisted development tools (Claude Code, Cursor, or similar) as a daily working practice, not occasional experimentation

Strong experience with Azure cloud services, particularly Azure Container Apps, Key Vault, and containerized deployments

Expert-level SQL and hands-on experience with relational database administration, schema design, and performance optimization (MySQL preferred, Postgres or equivalent acceptable)

Solid Git workflow management: branch protection policies, PR-based promotion flows, merge conflict resolution, and the discipline to enforce them across a team

Working knowledge of CI/CD deployment workflows in Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions — you won’t own pipeline development, but you need to work fluently within them

Experience with ETL pipeline development using Azure Data Factory or equivalent platforms

API development and integration experience (REST, webhooks, OAuth/SCIM flows)

Leadership & Collaboration

Experience leading or mentoring a small development team, including distributed/offshore team members

Strong code review discipline and ability to raise the technical bar for others

Comfort working within structured governance and approval processes

Clear communication skills — able to explain technical decisions to non-technical stakeholders and translate engineering constraints into plain language

Experience with Agile/Scrum practices and comfort with iterative delivery

Mindset

Engineering fundamentals first: you write clean, maintainable code and expect the same from your team, whether the code was AI-assisted or hand-written

Ownership mentality — you see a broken pipeline, a drifting schema, or a missed test, and you fix it or flag it, not route around it

Genuine curiosity about emerging AI capabilities and a drive to put them into production, not just experiment

Comfort with ambiguity in a team that is scaling and defining its processes as it grows

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Experience with enterprise IAM systems (Okta, SCIM provisioning, Entra ID)

Familiarity with containerized application deployment and Docker

Azure or cloud platform certifications (Azure Developer Associate, Azure DevOps Engineer, or equivalent)

AI platform certifications (OpenAI, Copilot, AWS AI/ML)

Experience with data modeling techniques (Star Schema, dimensional modeling) and enterprise analytics

Track record delivering compliance-sensitive applications in regulated or enterprise environments

Knowledge of DevOps and DataOps practices, infrastructure-as-code, and configuration management

EDUCATION

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, or related field, or equivalent professional experience.

WHAT WE OFFER

AI-Native Development: Build agentic AI systems, intelligent automation, and AI-powered applications as your primary work — not as a side initiative

High-Impact Engineering: Ship applications that directly drive efficiency and cost savings across a global organization

Modern Stack: Work with AI-assisted development tools, Azure cloud infrastructure, and emerging AI platforms daily

Growth Trajectory: Join during a scaling phase with clear opportunities to take on more scope as the engineering group matures

Technical Depth: Operate across the full stack — frontend, backend, data, infrastructure, and AI integration — not siloed into one layer

Governance That Makes Sense: Work in an environment where compliance and security are built into the workflow, not bolted on as blockers

Additional Information:

The annual salary range for this position is $139,289-165,000. Placement within the salary range is based on a variety of factors, including relevant experience, knowledge, skills, and other factors permitted by law.

Benefit