Cloud Developer

Vanderbilt University•Nashville, TN

About The Position

The Cloud Developer performs infrastructure and development work supporting Vanderbilt’s digital scholarship, cloud-based research computing, and generative AI initiatives. Working with technologists across the Heard Libraries and other campus units, the role designs, builds, and maintains scalable cloud infrastructure that makes research data accessible and supports digital scholarship platforms and large library archives. The position combines hands-on technical development with project management and student mentorship, serving as a “Principal Engineer” in experiential learning programs and helping students deliver computational solutions. The role is part of the Digital Lab at the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries. The Lab develops faculty- and student-driven digital projects, transforms library collections into computational assets, and builds software using generative AI. A core focus is the AWS-sponsored Vanderbilt Cloud Innovation Lab, which provides hands-on software development experiences for student fellows. The Cloud Developer designs and maintains primarily AWS-based infrastructure; implements generative AI and machine-learning pipelines; manages digital project lifecycles and faculty-driven R&D work; coordinates technical requirements with campus partners; recruits and mentors student fellows and research assistants; and supports grant applications with technical expertise and infrastructure cost information. The role also explores emerging technologies and implements experimental innovations.

Requirements

An undergraduate degree in computer science, cloud computing, data science, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent professional experience and industry certifications.
Two to four years of relevant experience.
Proven experience provisioning and managing cloud environments; AWS experience, including EC2, S3, Lambda, and IAM, is preferred within this requirement.
Proficiency in programming languages used for data processing and cloud back ends, such as Python or Node.js.
Familiarity with deploying generative AI models, vector databases, or orchestration frameworks, as well as handling distributed data storage.
Experience with version control such as Git, CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure as code.
Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to translate complex technical requirements for non-technical faculty or students.
Demonstrated ability to manage multiple small-to-medium digital projects simultaneously in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

Nice To Haves

Postgraduate degree.
AWS Certified Solutions Architect, SysOps Administrator, or Developer certification.
Experience with modern web frameworks and frontend development.
Experience mentoring novice developers.

Responsibilities

Design, deploy, and maintain secure, scalable cloud infrastructure, primarily using AWS, for digital scholarship platforms and large library archives.
Implement and scale generative AI pipelines and machine-learning models for automated metadata enrichment and text extraction.
Ensure projects use modern, sustainable, well-documented technical stacks that integrate with broader university infrastructure.
Manage assigned digital projects from start to finish, tracking timelines, deliverables, and resource allocation across partner units.
Serve as an agile project manager for faculty-driven research and development initiatives, communicating progress transparently and consistently.
Coordinate technical requirements and scope with Research IT, ACCRE, the Data Science Institute, and other campus partners.
Recruit, interview, and hire undergraduate and graduate student fellows and research assistants.
Embed students in professional software development workflows, conduct code reviews, and provide technical mentorship.
Guide student teams through deployment challenges while balancing structured learning with hands-on software delivery.
Coordinate with Digital Lab leadership to include staff technical expertise and infrastructure costs in external grant applications.
Explore and implement experimental innovations using emerging technologies.