Operations Developer

REI Systems’ mission is to deliver reliable, innovative technology solutions that advance Federal clients' missions and exceed their expectations. Our technologists and consultants are passionate about solving complex challenges that impact millions of lives. We take a Mindful Modernization® approach in delivering our services, including application modernization, grants management, case management systems, government data analytics, and advisory services. This approach, the REI Way, ensures mission impact by aligning our clients' strategic objectives with measurable outcomes through people, processes, and technology.

We offer the same commitment to our employees by providing professional development, meaningful projects, and flexibility to spend time with family and friends. We believe employees are at their best when fulfilled in both their professional careers and their personal lives. Learn more at www.REIsystems.com.

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Overview

At REI Systems, we deliver innovative technology solutions that help federal agencies achieve their missions and improve the lives of millions of people. Through our Mindful Modernization® approach, we combine technical expertise, agile delivery, and emerging technologies to modernize mission-critical government systems.

REI Systems is seeking a highly motivated and technically skilled Operations Developer to support enterprise applications and mission-critical systems for the FDA.

The ideal candidate will have strong hands-on experience with Java, Oracle Database, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Oracle WebLogic Application Server, along with a solid understanding of enterprise application architecture, production operations, troubleshooting, and application maintenance.

This role focuses on maintaining, supporting, troubleshooting, enhancing, and optimizing existing enterprise applications to ensure operational stability, reliability, performance, and continuous improvement.

The Operations Developer will collaborate with application development teams, database administrators, system administrators, architects, quality assurance teams, and federal stakeholders to resolve complex technical issues, implement application enhancements, and support ongoing modernization initiatives.

This is an application operations and development position, not a traditional DevOps engineering role.

Responsibilities

Application Operations & Production Support

• Provide day-to-day operational and technical support for enterprise applications supporting FDA business and regulatory operations.
• Monitor application health, availability, performance, and operational stability across development, testing, staging, and production environments.
• Investigate, troubleshoot, and resolve application incidents, production defects, performance degradation, and system integration issues.
• Perform root cause analysis (RCA) for recurring application failures and implement sustainable technical solutions.
• Analyze application logs, server logs, database errors, and system behavior to identify and resolve technical issues.
• Support incident management, problem management, change management, and application maintenance activities.
• Collaborate with development and infrastructure teams to resolve application-level issues and minimize service disruptions.
• Support application releases, production deployments, patches, upgrades, and post-deployment validation.
• Develop and maintain operational documentation, troubleshooting guides, and standard operating procedures (SOPs).
• Participate in production support rotations and after-hours maintenance activities as required by the project.

Java Application Development & Troubleshooting

• Develop, maintain, debug, and enhance enterprise applications using Java and Java EE technologies.
• Troubleshoot Java application errors, exceptions, memory issues, connectivity failures, and performance bottlenecks.
• Analyze existing application code to identify defects and implement corrective fixes.
• Develop and maintain RESTful APIs, backend services, and application integration components.
• Support Java-based applications deployed on Oracle WebLogic Application Server.
• Troubleshoot application configuration, deployment, authentication, session management, and connectivity issues.
• Perform code reviews, unit testing, debugging, and technical validation of application fixes.
• Collaborate with development teams to implement enhancements that improve application reliability, maintainability, and performance.
• Apply secure coding practices and follow established federal application development standards.

Oracle Database Support & Optimization

• Support enterprise applications utilizing Oracle relational databases.
• Develop, troubleshoot, and optimize SQL queries, PL/SQL procedures, functions, packages, and database operations.
• Investigate database connectivity issues, query failures, data inconsistencies, and application-related database errors.
• Analyze SQL execution plans and identify opportunities for query and application performance optimization.
• Work closely with Oracle DBAs to troubleshoot database performance, locking, transaction, and connection pool issues.
• Support database-related application changes, data validation, and production issue resolution.
• Assist with data analysis, troubleshooting scripts, and operational reporting as needed.
• Ensure application database interactions follow established security, integrity, and performance standards.

Oracle WebLogic Application Server

• Support and troubleshoot enterprise Java applications hosted on Oracle WebLogic Application Server.
• Assist with application deployment, configuration, monitoring, and troubleshooting within WebLogic environments.
• Investigate application server errors, JVM issues, thread utilization, connection pools, and deployment failures.
• Analyze WebLogic server logs and application logs to identify and resolve operational problems.
• Support WebLogic application configurations, JDBC data sources, and integrations with Oracle databases.
• Collaborate with middleware and infrastructure teams on application server upgrades, patching, and environment maintenance.
• Assist in resolving application availability, scalability, and performance issues.

AWS Cloud Application Support

• Support Java-based enterprise applications hosted in AWS environments.
• Troubleshoot application issues related to AWS infrastructure, connectivity, configurations, and cloud services.
• Work with AWS services such as EC2, S3, CloudWatch, RDS, IAM, and related application hosting components, as applicable.
• Utilize Amazon CloudWatch and other monitoring tools to investigate application logs, performance issues, and operational incidents.
• Collaborate with cloud infrastructure teams to resolve application deployment, networking, security, and connectivity issues.
• Support application configurations and operational activities across AWS-hosted environments.
• Assist with cloud application performance optimization, operational reliability, and security compliance.
• Contribute to application modernization and cloud migration efforts as needed.

Operational Improvements & Collaboration

• Identify recurring operational issues and recommend improvements to application performance, stability, and maintainability.
• Develop scripts and utilities to streamline routine application support, troubleshooting, and maintenance activities.
• Collaborate with Agile development teams, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, architects, and technical leads.
• Participate in technical discussions, sprint planning, defect triage, and application support meetings.
• Maintain accurate technical documentation, incident records, and knowledge-sharing materials.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives focused on reducing production incidents and improving application reliability.
• Leverage approved AI-assisted development and troubleshooting tools, where appropriate, to improve operational efficiency, documentation, debugging, and code quality.
• Follow FDA and HHS security, privacy, accessibility, and compliance requirements, as applicable.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional experience in enterprise application development, application operations, or production application support.
• Strong hands-on development and troubleshooting experience with Java and enterprise Java applications.
• Strong experience with Oracle Database, including SQL, PL/SQL, database connectivity, and query troubleshooting.
• Hands-on experience supporting applications deployed on Oracle WebLogic Application Server.
• Practical experience supporting enterprise applications in AWS cloud environments.
• Experience troubleshooting production application issues, analyzing logs, and performing root cause analysis.
• Experience debugging Java applications and resolving application performance and integration issues.
• Understanding of REST APIs, web services, and enterprise application integrations.
• Experience working with Linux/Unix operating systems and performing basic command-line troubleshooting.
• Familiarity with application deployment, configuration management, and release support processes.
• Experience with source control tools such as Git.
• Understanding of application monitoring, incident management, and production support processes.
• Familiarity with Agile/Scrum software development methodologies.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced, mission-critical environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous experience supporting FDA, HHS, or other federal government applications.
• Experience supporting large-scale, legacy, or modernized enterprise Java applications.
• Experience with Java frameworks such as Spring, Spring Boot, or Hibernate.
• Experience with Oracle WebLogic administration concepts, including managed servers, domains, JDBC data sources, and JVM troubleshooting.
• Familiarity with AWS services such as EC2, S3, CloudWatch, RDS, and IAM.
• Experience with Oracle SQL performance tuning, execution plans, and PL/SQL optimization.
• Experience using application monitoring and logging tools such as Splunk, Dynatrace, AppDynamics, or similar solutions.
• Experience with Shell scripting, Bash, or Python for application support and operational automation.
• Familiarity with ITIL-based incident, problem, and change management processes.
• Understanding of application security, access controls, vulnerability remediation, and federal cybersecurity requirements.
• Familiarity with FISMA, NIST security guidelines, and federal application compliance requirements.
• Experience supporting application modernization, cloud migration, or legacy system enhancement initiatives.
• Experience with AI-assisted code analysis, troubleshooting, and development tools in approved enterprise environments.

Core Technical Skills

Programming: Java, Java EE, SQL, PL/SQL

Database: Oracle Database, SQL Query Optimization, Stored Procedures, Database Connectivity

Application Server: Oracle WebLogic

Cloud: AWS (EC2, S3, CloudWatch, RDS, IAM)

Operating Systems: Linux/Unix

Application Integration: REST APIs, Web Services, JDBC

Development Tools: Git, Maven, IDEs, Debugging Tools

Monitoring & Troubleshooting: Application Logs, WebLogic Logs, CloudWatch, Splunk or equivalent tools

Methodologies: Agile/Scrum, SDLC, Incident Management, Root Cause Analysis

• This role supports mission-critical FDA enterprise applications operating in a 24x7x365 environment.
• Operations staff are expected to participate in production support rotations, including after-hours, evening, and weekend coverage as operational needs require. Candidates must demonstrate the flexibility and availability to respond to production incidents outside of standard business hours when necessary.
• Experience in Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) principles and practices is a plus, though not required. Regardless of background, all candidates must be adaptable, dependable, and willing to work a flexible schedule to meet the demands of a mission-critical production support environment.

What Success Looks Like

The successful Operations Developer will:

• Maintain reliable and stable operations of FDA enterprise applications.
• Quickly diagnose and resolve Java, Oracle Database, AWS, and WebLogic application issues.
• Deliver effective code-level fixes and application enhancements.
• Reduce recurring production incidents through proactive troubleshooting and root cause analysis.
• Improve application performance, reliability, and maintainability.
• Collaborate effectively with technical teams and government stakeholders.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement and modernization of FDA application environments.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Statement

REI Systems is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In our workplace, we seek, welcome, and respect diversity in all its forms.

Educational Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Software Engineering, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent relevant experience.

Clearance: Eligible to obtain a public trust clearance.

Location: Hybrid (2 days per week or as needed in the REI Sterling Office)

EEO Statement: REI Systems is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In our workplace, we seek, we welcome, and respect diversity in all of its forms.