IT Software Engineer 4 | Emerging Technology / AI

Location: Chicago, IL preferred; Peoria, IL; Irving, TX; Broomfield, CO; or Remote
Work Arrangement: Hybrid or Remote
Schedule: Monday-Friday, 1st Shift
Contract Length: 12 months, with extension or conversion to FTE possible
Compensation: $84-$91/hr W2 + medical, dental, vision, PTO, and 401(k) match
Travel: Up to 25% as needed

Position Overview

We are seeking a senior, hands-on IT Software Engineer 4 to join an Emerging Technology team focused on evaluating, prototyping, and applying new technologies to real-world business problems.

This is a unique opportunity for an experienced software engineer who enjoys experimenting with Generative AI, LLMs, RAG, agentic workflows, cloud technologies, APIs, and other emerging technologies. The team works on smaller proof-of-concept and pilot initiatives to determine how new technologies can be practically incorporated into enterprise systems and architecture.

This is not a purely architectural or management position. The ideal candidate will remain highly technical and hands-on while also providing technical leadership and mentoring other engineers.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the architecture, design, development, testing, and integration of modern software solutions, prototypes, and proof-of-concept initiatives.
• Evaluate and prototype emerging technologies including Generative AI, LLMs, RAG, agentic workflows, automation, and cloud-native technologies.
• Build and experiment with software solutions using Python and other modern programming languages.
• Identify practical ways to incorporate AI into software products, development workflows, and enterprise technology environments.
• Translate business needs and technical requirements into scalable software designs, solution patterns, and implementation plans.
• Design and integrate APIs, distributed applications, cloud services, and reusable software capabilities.
• Utilize modern engineering practices including automated testing, CI/CD, DevOps, observability, and infrastructure automation.
• Mentor engineers, provide technical direction, and facilitate architecture and design reviews.
• Lead technical work while remaining hands-on with development, troubleshooting, and experimentation.
• Collaborate with product managers, architects, data scientists, cybersecurity, infrastructure, UX, and business stakeholders.
• Establish success criteria and evaluation methods for proofs of concept and emerging technology initiatives.
• Identify technical risks, integration requirements, security considerations, and operational constraints.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, IT, or another technology-related discipline with 8+ years of relevant experience, or 10+ years of relevant experience without a degree.
• Strong hands-on software engineering experience across the full SDLC.
• Experience designing, developing, testing, integrating, and deploying complex software solutions.
• Strong proficiency with Python and/or modern languages such as Java, JavaScript/TypeScript, C#, or Go.
• Experience with APIs, cloud-native applications, distributed systems, software integration, and modern architecture patterns.
• Experience with CI/CD, DevOps, automated testing, and production software practices.
• Demonstrated technical leadership and experience mentoring or providing technical direction to other engineers.
• Strong problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, particularly within ambiguous or rapidly evolving technical environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Hands-on experience with Generative AI, LLMs, RAG, agentic AI/workflows, vector databases, or prompt-based applications.
• Experience incorporating AI into software products or using AI throughout the software development lifecycle.
• Experience taking emerging technologies from proof of concept through pilot, production hardening, and adoption.
• Experience with cloud platforms, Kubernetes, containers, serverless architectures, microservices, and event-driven systems.
• Experience with responsible AI, model evaluation, guardrails, data privacy, cybersecurity, and AI governance.
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code and observability platforms.
• Cloud, AI/ML, or software architecture certifications are beneficial but not required.

What We're Looking For

The strongest candidate will combine hands-on software engineering, practical AI experience, and technical leadership. You should genuinely enjoy learning new technologies, rapidly building proofs of concept, evaluating what works and what doesn't, and determining how emerging technology can solve meaningful business problems.

This role is particularly well suited for an engineer who enjoys building and experimenting, rather than someone who has moved entirely into people management or high-level architecture.

Chicago is the preferred location, with the local team generally collaborating in-office 2-3 days per week. Fully remote candidates may be considered for the right background but should be comfortable with occasional travel for team workshops.

#LI-DO1