Programmer - API, GCP

NYS DOL/Department of Labor•State Offices Harriman Campus Building 12 Albany, NY

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Expert Programmer will support the UI Job Assist Tool (JAT), an initiative to develop and integrate secure APIs and Model Context Protocol (MCP) services between the core Unemployment Insurance (UI) system of record and an AI-enabled Job Assist Tool. The position provides technical leadership for backend development, API architecture, vendor integration, security, data integrity, performance, and knowledge transfer. The role involves designing and reviewing Java microservices and APIs, developing REST endpoints and business-logic validations, and coordinating integration among the core UI system, REST APIs, MCP services, and the AI tool. The programmer will review vendor specifications and designs, collaborate with business, vendor, security, infrastructure, and cloud engineering teams, and help establish development standards. The position also includes designing safeguards for AI-generated data, addressing technical risks, supporting load testing for approximately 1,500 concurrent users, maintaining documentation, and mentoring State staff.

Requirements

At least 96 months of experience in enterprise backend software development and API architecture using Java and microservices, including REST API design and implementation.
At least 36 months of experience in a technical leadership or architecture role on enterprise systems, including code review, technical standards, and cross-functional or vendor coordination.
At least 24 months of experience integrating enterprise applications with AI-enabled services or AI platforms, including validating data exchanged between AI services and systems of record.
At least 12 months of experience designing, implementing, or validating MCP servers, clients, tools, or integrations.
At least 24 months of experience with GCP cloud-native architectures and services, including one or more of GKE, Pub/Sub, IAM, VPC Service Controls, or secure egress patterns.
At least 24 months of experience delivering solutions in high-compliance environments such as IRS Publication 1075, CJIS, HIPAA, or comparable regulated environments.
At least 24 months of experience designing data-integrity, write-back validation, or API security controls for transactional enterprise systems.

Responsibilities

Build core REST endpoints, construct and optimize database queries in collaboration with the Data Architect, and implement business-logic validations.
Design and review Java-based microservices and APIs that support integration between the core UI system and the AI Job Assist Tool.
Review, critique, and recommend approval of vendor API specifications, data schemas, and integration designs before ITS development begins.
Serve as a technical liaison among the vendor AI team, NYSDOL business subject-matter experts, and ITS security and infrastructure teams.
Collaborate on coding standards and branching strategies, and conduct critical code reviews for security, performance, and maintainability.
Design end-to-end integration among REST APIs, the MCP server, and the core UI system of record.
Collaborate with GCP Cloud Engineering on secure egress proxies, VPC Service Controls, GKE, Pub/Sub, IAM, and related cloud-native architecture.
Design validation frameworks to prevent corrupt or unapproved AI-generated data from being written back to the UI system.
Anticipate and mitigate API instability, dependency, and database-change risks, and develop technical workarounds as needed.
Develop and execute load-testing strategies for approximately 1,500 concurrent users and document-heavy workloads.
Support integration of AI capabilities and MCP services with enterprise Java and microservice solutions.
Create and maintain technical documentation, provide knowledge transfer, and mentor State staff.