Application Developer - AI – Information Services

RAND Corporation; Boston, Pittsburgh, Washington, Santa Monica (MA, Allegheny County, District of Columbia, CA); Hybrid; USD 117,700 - 179,700; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Paid time off

Life and disability insurance

Sabbatical pay

Job summary

RAND Corporation is seeking an Application Developer in Boston, MA. The role involves designing, developing, and supporting AI-enhanced applications using the Microsoft .NET/SQL technical stack on Azure. Candidates should have 5+ years of experience in .NET applications and strong analytical abilities.

The ideal applicant will demonstrate excellent problem-solving skills and a commitment to quality, with experience in Agile environments. Competitive salary range is $117,700 - $179,700, plus benefits including health insurance and paid time off.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience developing .NET-based applications.
• Strong experience developing web-based applications and APIs.
• SQL database development skills including design and complex queries.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop custom AI-enhanced applications.
• Analyze requirements and develop complex solutions under tight budget.
• Documentation production for requirements and technical processes.

Skills

C#

ASP.NET

SQL Server

Web Services

JavaScript

JSON

XML

HTML

CSS

Agile/Scrum

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Microsoft Azure

Jira

Python

Job description

The Application Developer is a member of the Application Delivery team in RAND’s Information Services department. The Applications Delivery team is responsible for managing a broad portfolio of custom developed and commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) applications that are used throughout the RAND enterprise.

The Application Developer is responsible for the design, development, and support of custom AI-enhanced applications focused on the Microsoft .NET/SQL technical stack and hosted in the cloud-based Microsoft Azure platform.

This role works closely with internal customers, researchers, and project team members (QA, project management, operations, information security) to analyze requirements and develop complex solutions under tight budget and time constraints.

• The ideal candidate maintains a positive attitude and is a team player with a desire to impact change. The candidate has very strong analytical and technical skills along with demonstrated ability to get things done in a customer-driven, fast-paced collaborative team environment. We highly value candidates who demonstrate strong enthusiasm and an aptitude for rapid learning, with direct experience in the specified technologies considered beneficial.

Minimum Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience developing .NET-based applications with a variety of technologies such as C#, ASP.NET, SQL Server, Web Services, JavaScript, JSON, XML, HTML, CSS etc.…
• Strong development skills in all major application tiers.
• Strong experience developing web-based applications and APIs.
• SQL database development skills – database design, complex queries, large data sets, performance tuning/optimization.
• Experience with modern JavaScript frameworks and technologies.
• Familiar with best practices in application architecture, cloud-based computing, coding standards, design patterns, security, QA.
• Proven ability to document requirements and produce technical documentation such as process diagrams, process flows, data models, and system architecture diagrams.
• Experience working in an Agile/Scrum/Lean development environment and tracking tasks in Jira or similar systems.
• Ability to adapt to changing business priorities.
• Excellent problem solving and debugging skills.
• Commitment to quality (unit and automated testing) and attention to detail
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal. Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively with a wide variety of technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Passionate about software and technology. Stays current on industry trends, technologies, and best practices.

Desired Qualifications

• Strong preference for a generalist / full stack developer that can contribute to all areas - requirements analysis, rapid prototyping, user interface, API, database, builds, deployments, server configuration.
• Experience designing and developing Microsoft Azure cloud-native applications leveraging PaaS offerings such as App Service Plans, Functions, SQL Database, Search, Data Factory, Data Lake, Synapse, Fabric, etc.
• Strong knowledge of artificial intelligence concepts, architectures, and techniques (machine learning, generative AI, tuning, large language models (LLM), retrieval augmented generation (RAG), etc.)
• Experience implementing and integrating AI-driven solutions utilizing Python, LangChain, OpenAI REST APIs, Hugging Face, Jupyter Notebooks, or similar technologies.
• Experience architecting complex software solutions.
• Experience leading or managing small projects.

Education Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, a related field or equivalent work experience.

Experience

• Minimum 5 years of experience as a software developer.

Coding and Writing Samples Required

• Applicants will be required to provide code and writing samples.

Security Clearance

• This position requires the ability to obtain and maintain a DoD security clearance.

Location

• The ideal candidate will be located near a major RAND office location in Santa Monica, Pittsburgh, Washington D.C., or Boston.
• Remote candidates will be considered.

Salary Range

$117,700 - $179,700

RAND considers a variety of factors when formulating an offer, including but not limited to, the specific role and associated responsibilities; a candidate’s work experience, education/training, skills, expertise; and internal equity. The salary range includes base pay plus RAND’s sabbatic pay (which provides additional compensation above base pay when vacation is taken). In addition, RAND provides strong benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, paid time‑off and more.