Digital Systems Developer

Pay Rate: $35.23 - $42.95 based on experience
Full-Time: 37.5 hours per week

JOB SUMMARY: The Digital Systems Developer supports Van Buren County’s Digital Information Department and the Digital Innovation Collaborative Exchange (DICE), a regional initiative modernizing local government services through automation, data systems, GIS, and AI. Working within a small, high-impact technical team, this position is responsible for ensuring the production reliability, quality, and security of county-owned digital infrastructure, including compliance-critical systems handling federal grant data affecting residents across Southwest Michigan. The position works alongside a PhD-level mathematician, a GIS specialist, and a digital communications lead to build and maintain systems with direct community impact.

PRINCIPLE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
The following duties are normal for this position. These are not to be construed as exclusive or all-inclusive. Other duties may be required and assigned.

• Design and maintain automated test suites (unit, integration, and end-to-end) to ensure reliability of compliance-critical systems.
• Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines to support repeatable, reliable deployments and testing workflows.
• Establish monitoring, logging, and alerting systems to detect issues before they affect program operations.
• Review applications for edge cases, failure modes, and data integrity risks prior to deployment.
• Contribute to application development under the direction of the Digital Solutions Specialist, including database design and SQL query work.
• Support API integrations with external government systems, including SAM.gov debarment checks and HUD reporting platforms.
• Help ensure systems meet federal data security requirements for programs handling HUD and MSHDA grant data.
• Document systems, configurations, and technical processes to support long-term maintainability and audit readiness.
• Communicate and coordinate with program staff, county departments, and external partners to translate compliance requirements into working technical systems.

QUALIFICATIONS / EXPERIENCE:

• Strong fundamentals in relational database design and SQL—this is the technical baseline for the role.
• Application development experience in at least one modern language (Python strongly preferred; JavaScript/web fundamentals helpful).
• Familiarity with testing frameworks and the discipline to write tests as part of development.
• Understanding of version control and CI/CD development workflows.
• Comfort working with APIs and external data integrations.
• Strong written communication and documentation habits.
• Interest in or experience using AI-assisted development tools and AI-integrated systems.
• Preferred: Exposure to DevOps practices including deployment pipelines, infrastructure reliability, monitoring, and logging.
• Preferred: Experience with workflow automation platforms (n8n, Power Automate, Zapier, or similar) and/or data visualization tools (Power BI or similar).
• Preferred: Familiarity with government, nonprofit, or compliance-sensitive environments, including federal grant programs (HUD CDBG, MSHDA, or similar).
• Preferred: Experience or interest in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) on open source platforms (QGIS, MapLibre, PostGIS, or similar).
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Science, or related field preferred. Equivalent demonstrated experience will be considered.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS:
Employment is dependent on background check, criminal history, and drug screen. Applicant must complete County application form.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Direct Reports: None

Delegation of Work: Not applicable

Supervision Given: Not applicable

Reports To: This position reports to the Director of Digital Information.

WORK LOCATION AND PHYSICAL DEMANDS:
This position works in a typical office environment using standard office equipment such as telephone, computer, copier, etc. No hazardous or significantly unpleasant conditions (such as in a typical office).