Senior Cloud / AI Developer

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Senior Cloud / AI Developer based in the United States. This is a senior software engineering role focused on building secure, scalable, cloud-native applications with AI-enabled capabilities. You will design and develop Java-based services on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) supporting image capture, processing, storage, retrieval, and distribution. The role combines backend engineering, cloud architecture, API development, AI integration, and production operations. You will work closely with DevOps, QA, product, and security teams in a collaborative, cross-functional environment. Your work will directly contribute to reliable digital services while meeting demanding performance, security, and compliance standards. The position also offers opportunities to influence engineering practices, architecture, automation, and operational excellence. This is a fully remote U.S.-based opportunity with limited travel and meaningful technical ownership. Design, develop, maintain, and operate Java-based backend applications using modern software engineering and cloud-native practices. Build cloud-native solutions on GCP using serverless and/or container-based architectures to support image capture, ingestion, processing, storage, retrieval, and distribution workflows. Design and maintain secure, scalable RESTful APIs for internal services and external partners, including authentication, authorization, versioning, documentation, and backward compatibility. Integrate AI-enabled capabilities into applications and contribute to the evaluation, monitoring, and continuous improvement of AI-driven functionality. Implement secure engineering practices, including least-privilege access, service accounts, secrets management, encryption, auditing, and compliant data handling. Develop and maintain CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure-as-code in partnership with DevOps teams to enable consistent, repeatable deployments. Establish observability across applications through effective logging, metrics, tracing, alerting, monitoring, and operational documentation. Troubleshoot complex cloud application issues, perform root-cause analysis, resolve defects, optimize performance, and support production environments. Collaborate with engineering, QA, DevOps, product management, and security stakeholders throughout the software development lifecycle. Participate in architecture and design reviews, code reviews, technical discussions, and documentation efforts while contributing to shared engineering standards and best practices. Support continuous improvement through Agile methodologies, SDLC practices, change management, configuration management, and application lifecycle management. Requirements: 8+ years of relevant technology or software development experience, with substantial professional experience building backend services and APIs in Java. Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline from an accredited institution; candidates without a relevant four-year degree may qualify with an additional four years of relevant experience. Hands-on experience designing, deploying, and operating applications on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) using serverless and/or container-based approaches. Strong experience designing and implementing RESTful APIs, including secure authentication and authorization patterns and integrations with internal and external services. Practical experience integrating AI capabilities into software applications, along with familiarity with basic AI evaluation and monitoring concepts. Strong understanding of cloud security principles, including least privilege, service accounts, secrets management, encryption in transit and at rest, and audit logging. Familiarity with CI/CD, infrastructure-as-code, Git-based development workflows, and automated software delivery practices. Strong troubleshooting and production-support capabilit