Budget Application, Automation, and Artificial Intelligence Support Specialist

We are seeking a skilled Budget Application, Automation, and Artificial Intelligence Support Specialist to provide programmatic support to the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Specialty Care Program Office under the IHT 2.0 contract vehicle. In this role, you will design, develop, and maintain web-based and client-server applications that streamline budget operations and introduce automation and AI-driven efficiencies across VHA specialty care programs with an opportunity to work closely with users to define requirements, develop specifications, and apply your programming and analysis skills to support the development and maintenance of data/process models and related work plans/projects. Your vital work will directly support the Department of Veterans Affairs' mission to deliver high-quality, data-informed healthcare services to our nation's Veterans. The ideal candidate is a detail-oriented, solutions-driven, and VA-experienced application developer who thrives in a collaborative federal healthcare environment, can translate complex user requirements into reliable software, and is comfortable working across multiple concurrent project workstreams with minimal supervision.

Design, develop, and modify web-based applications, client-server applications, and OS scripts to automate budget and programmatic workflows within the VHA Specialty Care Program Office.

Perform application development and database programming using Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS) and SQL, ensuring data integrity, performance, and alignment with VA enterprise architecture standards.

Implement and integrate Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) software solutions into existing VA system architectures, coordinating with stakeholders to ensure seamless adoption and minimal operational disruption.

Lead and support the full software development lifecycle — including planning, requirements analysis, specification writing, coding, testing, debugging, and production implementation — in accordance with an approved Systems Development Methodology (SDM).

Document test conditions, develop test data sets, execute program testing, and analyze results to identify defects and validate that solutions meet functional and technical requirements; support users during acceptance testing phases.

Research and evaluate emerging technologies — including automation tools and artificial intelligence/machine learning frameworks — to recommend and prototype enhancements that improve budget application performance, reporting capabilities, and process efficiency across VHA program operations.

Minimum of 8 years of hands-on experience in application development and programming, including web-based applications, client-server solutions, and scripted process automation.