Sr Software Developer - PESMOA

Join the HJF Team!

HJF is seeking a Sr Software Developer that will design, build, and maintain cloud-native applications and services, with an emphasis on scalable, secure, and cost-efficient architectures (Google Cloud platform experience preferred). This position will be functionally aligned under the Academic Support Operations - Development (ASO-DEV) branch, while providing direct support to the Digital Technology Innovation Center (DTIC) at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences (USUHS). This position is intended as a rapid prototype developer and technical advisor to design, build, and evaluate rapid Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) and proof-of-concepts, while advising leadership on technical feasibility and emerging technology adoption.

This position will be in support of the School of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, MD.

The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine (HJF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing military medicine. We serve military, medical, academic and government clients by administering, managing and supporting preeminent scientific programs that benefit members of the armed forces and civilians alike. Since its founding in 1983, HJF has served as a vital link between the military medical community and its federal and private partners. HJF's support and administrative capabilities allow military medical researchers and clinicians to maintain their scientific focus and accomplish their research goals.

• Rapidly design, develop, test, and deploy proof-of-concepts, MVPs, and functional prototypes to validate ideas and solve emerging challenges.
• Act as a technical advisor to DTIC leadership and stakeholders, translating abstract organizational needs into actionable, demonstrable technical solutions.
• Work with cloud-native services such as containers (Docker, Kubernetes/GKE), serverless compute (Cloud Functions, Cloud Run), managed databases (Cloud SQL, Firestore, BigQuery), and messaging/event systems (Pub/Sub).
• Implement infrastructure-as-code practices (Terraform, Deployment Manager, or similar) to manage cloud resources reliably and repeatably.
• Monitor application performance of active prototypes (Note: production maintenance and troubleshooting will be handed off to core IT/OCIO operations).
• Apply cloud security best practices, including IAM policies, secrets management, and data protection standards.
• Take on new development needs across DTIC as they arise.
• Integrate LLMs, machine learning, and RAG pipelines into production systems.
• Actively use AI coding assistants (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, or similar tools) to accelerate development, refactor code, and improve test coverage - while maintaining strong code review discipline.
• Evaluate and integrate emerging technologies, including AI/ML APIs and services (e.g., Vertex AI, Gemini API, or comparable LLM tooling) into rapid prototypes where appropriate.
• Contribute to the best internal practices for responsible and effective use of AI tools in the software development lifecycle, including prompt design, code review of AI-generated code, and data privacy considerations.
• Stay current on emerging AI-assisted development tools and proactively suggest workflow improvements to the team.
• Write clean, well-documented, testable code following team coding standards.
• Participate in code reviews, design discussions, and sprint planning as part of an Agile/Scrum team.
• Collaborate with product managers, designers, and other engineers to translate requirements into technical solutions.
• Debug and resolve defects across the application stack in a timely manner.
• Contribute to technical documentation and knowledge sharing within the team.
• May perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned or directed by the supervisor. This may include attendance of and participation in required training for role.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, or a related technical field required; equivalent vocational or technical training combined with demonstrated professional experience will be considered.
• Minimum of 6-8 years of progressively responsible professional software development experience required.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Proficiency in at least one modern programming language (such as Python, Go or Java).
• Full-stack development experience across front-end, APIs and data, with the judgment to choose the right tool for each problem.
• Experience building and deploying applications in a cloud environment.
• Experience integrating LLM or generative AI APIs, such as retrieval-augmented generation or tool-calling workflows.
• Comfort with AI-assisted development tools, plus good habits for reviewing and testing the code they produce.
• Ability to work independently as the lead technical resource on a small, multidisciplinary team.
• Clear communication with non-technical audiences, including leadership, scientists and clinicians.
• Experience with Google Cloud Platform (GCP) preferred.
• Experience supporting federal health, Department of War (DoW) or academic medical organizations preferred.
• This position may require U.S. Citizenship and the ability to obtain and maintain a T3/Secret Security Clearance.

Work Environment

• This position will take place primarily in an office setting.

Compensation

• The annual salary range for this position is $93,100 - $150,000. Actual salary will be determined based on experience, education, etc.

Benefits

• HJF offers a comprehensive suite of benefits focused on your health and well-being, from medical, dental, and vision coverage to health savings and retirement plans, and more.

Employment with HJF is contingent upon successful completion of a background check, which may include, but is not limited to, contacting your professional references, verification of previous employment, education and credentials, a criminal background check, and a department of motor vehicle (DMV) check if applicable. Any qualifications to be considered as equivalents, in lieu of stated minimums, require the prior approval of the Chief Human Resources Officer.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)

Any qualifications to be considered as equivalents, in lieu of stated minimums, require the prior approval of the Chief Human Resources Officer.