CoBEES (Colorado Benefits Eligibility and Enrollment Systems) (website)
Website CoBEES (Colorado Benefits Eligibility and Enrollment Systems)
CoBEES is seeking a skilled Back-End Developer to help maintain and modernize core services of the CoBEES platform, which includes mission-critical systems like CBMS and PEAK. The contractor will build APIs, connect legacy and modern infrastructure, and improve performance and security across the stack.
Ideal candidates will have strong experience with AWS, API development (REST and SOAP), and working in high-stakes, enterprise-grade systems. The contractor will collaborate closely with the Technical Lead, product teams, and vendor partners to reduce technical debt and improve back-end services.
Key Responsibilities
- API development: Design, build, and maintain RESTful and SOAP APIs that power the PEAK/CBMS ecosystem
- Third-party integrations: Integrate with third-party tools and state systems via API gateways and secure data protocols
- AWS services: Develop and maintain systems that interact with AWS services including RDS, Lambda, API Gateway, Cognito, and others
- Data management: Manage and query data in Oracle and RDS environments
- Code quality: Write scalable, maintainable, and secure code aligned with best practices and architectural direction
- Engineering practices: Participate in code reviews, architecture discussions, and DevSecOps pipelines
- Vendor and IT collaboration: Collaborate with vendor teams and state IT staff to improve back-end services and reduce technical debt
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams including product managers, designers, engineers, subject-matter experts, program leadership, and county stakeholders
- Participate in agile ceremonies (sprint planning, standups, reviews, retrospectives) and contribute to a matrixed product organization
- Document work, decisions, and artifacts in state-owned tools and repositories so that knowledge transfers cleanly to permanent staff and successor teams
Working Arrangement
- Contractor will be available for scheduled meetings during Mountain Time business hours of 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM; otherwise, contractor sets their own schedule to deliver against agreed milestones.
- Sprint cadence: two-week sprints aligned with the broader CoBEES delivery rhythm
- All work products (designs, prototypes, code, research, documentation) are owned by the State and delivered to State-owned tooling and repositories on a continuous basis
Qualifications
Required Qualifications
- 6+ years of back-end development experience with modern languages (e.g., Node.js, Java, Python)
- Deep experience working with AWS services, especially API Gateway, Lambda, RDS, and IAM
- Experience designing and integrating REST and SOAP APIs
- Strong database experience (writing complex SQL queries, tuning performance) with Oracle and/or PostgreSQL
- Experience working within Agile frameworks and using Jira, Confluence, or similar tools for collaboration
- Comfortable with CI/CD pipelines, DevOps tools, and infrastructure automation (CloudFormation, Terraform)
- Demonstrated ability to operate effectively in environments with ambiguity, evolving requirements, and multiple stakeholders
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex topics for both technical and non-technical audiences
- Experience working in agile, cross-functional teams
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in government technology, civic tech, or public-sector software delivery
- Experience with human services programs (Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, CCCAP, or similar benefits programs)
- Experience supporting major platform builds, system migrations, or organizational transformation efforts
- Experience with MuleSoft or other enterprise service buses (ESBs)
- Familiarity with AWS Cognito, JWT, and identity federation
- Familiarity with legacy-to-modern system transformation
Key Competencies
- Comfortable operating with ambiguity and incomplete information
- Pragmatic and outcome-focused; able to balance speed, quality, and sustainability
- Excellent stakeholder management skills; able to influence without formal authority
- Systems-thinking mindset — able to see patterns across teams and address root causes
- Commitment to user-centered design and equitable outcomes for the people Colorado's benefits programs serve