[Hiring] Principal Developer (AI Safety) @State of Colorado

Role Description

This position is term-limited with an anticipated end date of approximately three (3) years from the date of hire, with a strong probability of a 2-year extension. This position is eligible for State employee benefits and may be extended as the situation warrants.

The AI Safety Principal Developer will build the technical infrastructure needed to operationalize responsible AI. In this full-stack role, you will:

• Lead technical design, application build and release processes, and cross-functional engagement.
• Ensure accessibility, security, and high quality across all digital products.
• Focus on development activities across the full Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC).
• Provide technical leadership if vendor teams are brought on to assist with some builds.

The majority of the AI Safety Principal Developer’s time will be focused on developing and supporting the Responsible AI Layer (RAIL), which will:

• Streamline automatic masking of protected data before inference.
• Run AI safety and bias tests to assess controls.
• Enable domain experts to create and run application-specific benchmarks.
• Integrate with custom LLM applications.
• Test and monitor Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) LLM applications.

Other technical responsibilities include:

• Automating a user access provisioning pipeline for enterprise AI tools.
• Implementing a self-service tool for pre-procurement risk reviews of AI products.
• Working closely with OIT’s Engineering Practice Lead to create shared technical resources.
• Collaborating with OIT’s cloud and platform teams (AWS, GCP, Snowflake).

Essential Functions:

• Translate vision and strategy into sustainable initiatives for responsible AI deployments.
• Design and build enterprise AI infrastructure with key stakeholders.
• Coordinate update releases and system changes, contributing to break/fix solutions.
• Ensure compliance with digital accessibility regulations.
• Diffuse best practices for embedding AI functionality across OIT’s engineering workforce.
• Provide technical assistance to colleagues leveraging AI.

This role is dynamic; responsibilities may shift as the AI landscape evolves. This individual contributor position offers high autonomy and accountability.

Qualifications

• At least one (1) year of experience working with generative AI models.
• Minimum of seven (7) years of experience as a hands-on software developer.
• Cloud-based full-stack experience.
• Experience applying digital accessibility regulations and standards (e.g., WCAG 2.1).

Requirements

• Additional appropriate education will substitute for required experience on a year-for-year basis.
• Training or Certification related to the work will be credited towards substitution.
• If a degree is required, additional experience will substitute for the required education on a year-for-year basis.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience operationalizing AI functionality in products.
• Familiarity with public sector technology landscapes.
• Experience working across multidisciplinary teams.
• Demonstrated ability to navigate organizational obstacles.
• Compelling communication skills tailored to various audiences.
• Experience managing work, code, and CI/CD pipelines in Azure DevOps.
• Experience developing in AWS environments.

Conditions of Employment

• OIT employees must comply with screening procedures at state agency locations.
• A pre-employment background check will be conducted.
• This position may require travel within the specified geographic area.

Supplemental Information

If this posting indicates “remote from anywhere in CO,” periodic reporting to the primary state work location is required. Candidates from out of state will be considered but must relocate to Colorado on the first day of their new position.

The State of Colorado strives to create a workplace that values and respects all Coloradans through a commitment to equal opportunity and non-discriminatory practices.

The Governor's Office of Information Technology is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals and will assist individuals with disabilities with reasonable accommodation requests.

This posting may be used to fill multiple vacancies based upon business need.

The Governor's Office of Information Technology does NOT offer sponsored Visas for employment purposes.