Microsoft .NET developer / Engineer

Ascend Performance Materials; Chennai District; On-site; INR 1,500,000 - 2,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Ascend Performance Materials is seeking a Microsoft .NET Developer/Engineer for on-site work at the Chennai GSS. The role spans developing custom .NET applications, supporting third-party/vendor solutions, and integrating AI features across the application portfolio.

You will collaborate with IT and business stakeholders in Houston and other Ascend sites, design scalable solutions, and deliver reliable, well-documented code. On-site Chennai exposure is expected.

Qualifications

• 3–5+ years hands-on .NET development (C#, ASP.NET Core/MVC, .NET Framework/.NET 6+)
• Experience supporting or extending third-party/vendor applications
• Hands-on AI features using Azure OpenAI/Cognitive Services, ML.NET, or similar
• Experience integrating applications via REST/SOAP APIs or middleware
• Strong SQL Server skills and familiarity with Azure DevOps for CI/CD
• Clear, professional written documentation habits

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain custom .NET applications
• Support, configure, patch, and upgrade third-party/vendor apps
• Build integrations between internal and external applications (SAP, OneStream, Power BI)
• Design AI-enabled features using Azure AI tools
• Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps)
• Write clean, tested, maintainable code with secure practices
• Troubleshoot production issues across custom and vendor apps
• Document architecture, integration points, and AI model design
• Collaborate with IT and business stakeholders to translate requirements into designs
• Monitor emerging AI capabilities in Microsoft ecosystem and apply where valuable

Skills

.NET development

AI features

Azure DevOps

REST APIs

SQL Server

Tools

SAP

OneStream

Power BI

Azure services

Job description

Position Title: Microsoft .NET Developer / Engineer (Application Development, 3rd-Party App Support & AI)

Engagement Type: Full-time, Ascend Global Shared Service (GSS) role, hired directly through Ascend HR

Location: Ascend Global Shared Service (GSS), Chennai, India fully on-site/local role

Reports To: Ascend IT (Application Development/AIT team lead), partnering with IT and business stakeholders based in Houston, TX and other Ascend sites

Business Units Supported: Chemicals, Nylon & Engineering Plastic (enterprise-wide application portfolio)

Travel: None — zero travel required for this role

Overview

Ascend Performance Materials is a global specialty materials manufacturer with IT users and operations across multiple regions, including the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Ascend IT needs a versatile .NET developer/engineer who can move across three areas that are often separate jobs: building and maintaining custom .NET applications, supporting and extending the third-party/vendor applications already in Ascend's IT portfolio, and building AI-enabled features into both. This is not a pure greenfield development role — a significant part of the work is keeping existing vendor applications running, configured, and integrated, while progressively introducing AI capabilities (Azure OpenAI, Cognitive Services, ML.NET, or Copilot-style extensions) where they add real value.

This is a hands-on build-and-support role covering all three areas — not a development-only or support-only position. Day-to-day partnership sits primarily with Houston-based IT and business stakeholders, with occasional exposure to users and vendor relationships at Ascend's other global sites.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain custom .NET applications (C#, ASP.NET Core/MVC, modern .NET) supporting Ascend's business processes.
• Support, configure, customize, patch, and upgrade third-party/vendor applications used across Ascend IT, coordinating directly with vendors when needed.
• Build integrations between internal .NET applications, third-party applications, and enterprise platforms (SAP, OneStream, Microsoft Fabric/Power BI, Azure services) using REST/SOAP APIs, message queues, or middleware.
• Design and implement AI-enabled features using Azure OpenAI, Azure Cognitive Services, ML.NET, or Copilot-style extensions — automating workflows, enhancing user experience, or surfacing intelligent insights.
• Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps) for reliable, repeatable application deployment.
• Write clean, tested, maintainable code following secure coding practices, including unit tests and peer code review.
• Troubleshoot production issues across both custom and third-party applications, including AI-feature reliability and cost/performance.
• Document application architecture, integration points, vendor-app configurations, and AI model/prompt design for long‑term support by the internal AIT team.
• Partner with IT and business stakeholders to gather requirements — often ambiguous or not yet fully defined — and translate them into technical designs.
• Track emerging AI capabilities in the Microsoft ecosystem (Copilot Studio, Semantic Kernel, Azure AI Foundry) and evaluate where they apply to Ascend's application portfolio.

Required Qualifications — Must Have

• 3–5+ years of hands‑on .NET development experience (C#, ASP.NET Core/MVC, .NET Framework/.NET 6+).
• Experience supporting, configuring, or extending third-party/vendor applications — not exclusively greenfield development.
• Hands‑on experience building AI-enabled features using Azure OpenAI/Cognitive Services, ML.NET, or a comparable Microsoft AI stack.
• Experience integrating applications via REST/SOAP APIs, web services, or middleware.
• Strong SQL Server skills.
• Experience with Azure DevOps for CI/CD.
• Clear, professional written documentation habits.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Copilot Studio, Semantic Kernel, or Azure AI Foundry.
• Experience integrating with SAP or OneStream.
• Experience with Power Platform (Power Apps/Power Automate).
• Familiarity with containerization (Docker) or microservices architecture.