What are the responsibilities and job description for the Lead Application Developer position at The University of Iowa?
The University of Iowa is seeking a Lead Application Developer within FM Technology and Data.
This position is eligible for remote work within Iowa that may require limited work onsite at times and will require a work arrangement form to be completed upon the start of your employment. Per policy, work arrangements will be reviewed annually, and must comply with the remote work program and related policies and employee travel policy when working at a remote location.
Duties to Include:
- The Lead Application Developer will architect, develop, and optimize cloud-based enterprise solutions that power critical campus operations.
- This role will drive the full software development lifecycle, leveraging AWS cloud technologies, CI/CD pipelines, and DevOps best practices to enhance scalability, security, and efficiency.
- As a technical leader, the Lead Application Developer will guide teams in system architecture, security best practices, infrastructure automation (IaC), and seamless system integrations.
- They will collaborate closely with Facilities Management (FM) business units, developers, and end users to capture requirements, design scalable solutions, and ensure successful deployment and adoption.
- Will lead full-stack development, cloud infrastructure automation, API design, and implement data-driven solutions to support strategic decision-making.
- Additionally, will evaluate emerging technologies, streamline workflows, and champion innovation-driven transformation within Facilities Management IT.
- This position serves as a strategic technology advisor to the Associate Director, FM Technology and Data, driving initiatives and offering decision-support through effective collaboration and communication.
- This position will oversee the full lifecycle of software solutions used within Facilities Management, coordinating closely with stakeholders, Developers, and users to capture end-user requirements, test functionalities, and ensure successful deployment and adoption.
Location: Remote
Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm
For a full job description, please send an e-mail to the contact listed below.
About the University of Iowa:
Joining the University of Iowa means becoming a vital part of the Hawkeye community, where your work directly impacts education, research, and student success.
Enjoy exceptional health coverage, university-paid life insurance, robust retirement plans, and generous leave policies. Benefit from 24/7 support services, well-being resources, and access to UI Health Care specialists. Grow professionally with advanced training, leadership development, and tuition assistance.
Iowa City offers a great quality of life with world-class performances at Hancher Auditorium, Big Ten athletics, top-ranked public schools, and outdoor recreation.
Join us in making a difference at a leading Big Ten university and premier public research institution.
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Technology, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Professional experience (typically 7–10 years) in full-stack development with a focus on cloud-native architecture and enterprise applications.
- Expertise in AWS cloud technologies, including EC2, S3, RDS, Lambda, API Gateway, IAM, ECS, ECR and EKS.
- Expertise in modern programming languages, such as JavaScript (Node.js), Python, Java, or TypeScript, for both backend and frontend development.
- Expertise with microservices architecture and containerization using Docker and orchestration tools.
- Expertise with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools, including Terraform or CloudFormation, for automating cloud resource provisioning.
- Proven expertise in CI/CD pipelines and DevOps best practices using GitLab CI to ensure automated deployments, high reliability, and scalability.
- Hands-on experience with modern frontend frameworks, such as React, Angular, or Vue.js, and backend APIs using REST or GraphQL.
- Expertise with database management skills, including SQL (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MS SQL Server, Oracle, Redshift) and NoSQL databases (DynamoDB, MongoDB).
- Experience implementing cloud security best practices, including IAM policies, encryption, monitoring, and compliance frameworks, ensuring secure and scalable application development.
- Excellent problem-solving, communication, and leadership skills, with the ability to mentor team members and collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders.
- Professional experience working effectively with individuals from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives.
Desired Qualifications
- Relevant cloud certifications, such as AWS Solutions Architect.
- Experience with distributed computing frameworks, such as Apache Spark, AWS EMR, or Athena, for big data processing and analytics.
- Familiarity with serverless computing and event-driven architectures, using AWS Lambda, Step Functions, SNS, and SQS.
- Experience with test automation frameworks, such as Playwright integrated into CI/CD pipelines.
- Knowledge of cloud monitoring, logging, and observability tools, such as Prometheus, Grafana, ELK Stack, AWS CloudWatch, and Splunk.
- Experience with mobile application development, using React Native, to enhance field operations and workforce agility.
- Expertise in disaster recovery and business continuity planning, backup strategies, and cloud resilience architectures.
- Experience optimizing cloud costs, including FinOps principles, reserved instances planning, and automated scaling strategies.
- Familiarity with Facilities Management IT solutions, including operational platforms and integration of enterprise software with cloud-based applications.
Position and Application Details:
In order to be considered for an interview, applicants must upload the following documents and mark them as a “Relevant File” to the submission:
- Resume
- Cover Letter
Job openings are posted for a minimum of 14 calendar days and may be removed from posting and filled any time after the original posting period has ended.
Successful candidates will be required to self-disclose any conviction history and will be subject to a criminal background check. Up to 5 professional references will be requested at a later step in the recruitment process.
For additional questions, please contact Brooke McMurl at brooke-mcmurl@uiowa.edu or 319-467-0719.
