Principal Developer (AI Safety) Remote From Anywhere In CO

TERM LIMITED POSITION: 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. This video explains the many benefits of working at the State of Colorado on a term-limited basis.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please review your application to ensure completion. For the most equitable applicant experience, OIT's hiring team considers only the contents of your application to review your qualifications. Please do not include any attachments (such as resume or cover letter) with your application as these items are not used by OIT's hiring team. The AI Safety Principal Developer will build the technical infrastructure we need to operationalize responsible AI. In this full-stack role, you will lead technical design, application build and release processes, and cross-functional engagement while ensuring accessibility, security, and high quality across all digital products. This role has responsibilities across the full Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), from business requirements through operational support, with a primary focus on development activities. If vendor teams are brought on to assist with some builds, the Principal Developer is also expected to provide technical leadership. The majority of the AI Safety Principal Developer's time will be focused on developing and supporting the Responsible AI Layer (RAIL). RAIL will be the State of Colorado's large language model (LLM) technical guardrails platform that enables more secure, effective deployment of LLM-based applications. The platform will: Streamline automatic masking of protected data before inference Run a battery of AI safety and bias tests to assess whether adequate controls are in place Enable domain experts to create and run on an automated schedule, application-specific benchmarks to regularly evaluate accuracy and reliability Be directly integrated with custom LLM applications Be used to also test and monitor Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) LLM applications, even if not through direct integrations In addition, the AI Safety Principal Developer will own other technical responsibilities for the AI team including: Automating a user access provisioning pipeline for enterprise AI tools Implementing a self-service tool to streamline pre-procurement risk reviews of AI products Working closely with OIT's Engineering Practice Lead to create and maintain shared technical resources that practitioners can use without starting from scratch, such as skills for AI code tools and model architectures for common AI use cases. Working closely with OIT's cloud and platform teams (AWS, GCP, Snowflake) to leverage existing shared platforms and diffuse AI implementation expertise across OIT's technical teams.

Essential Functions: Translate vision and strategy into sustainable initiatives that produce measurable improvements in the State's maturity regarding responsible AI deployments. Work with the service designer, governance and evaluation manager, and other key stakeholders to design and build enterprise AI infrastructure that accelerates the ability for agency pods and OIT internal teams to pilot, test, and deploy AI-enabled products. This is full-stack development for in-house applications and configuration management for Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) applications in accordance with standards and best practices. Includes coordinating update releases and system changes, contributing to break/fix solutions, and updating technical documentation and configuration details throughout the application lifecycle. Includes ensuring compliance with digital accessibility regulations and requirements by building accessible digital products. Diffuse best practices for embedding AI functionality into products across OIT's engineering workforce, including vendors. Provide technical assistance to colleagues exploring how to effectively leverage AI within their functions. This role is dynamic; as the AI landscape evolves, specific responsibilities may shift to meet the changing needs of the State. This individual contributor position offers high autonomy and high accountability. This role sits within a purposefully "small but mighty" AI team with a unique goal: to diffuse AI competency across all of OIT so that, within 3-5 years, AI becomes "normal" technology and a standalone AI team is no longer needed. You will be a trusted thought partner to executive leadership, helping cultivate the culture, practices, and infrastructure to ensure AI delivers real value for Coloradans.