3+ years of professional software development experience
Hands-on experience with Django applications including models, views, and ORM queries
Proficient in writing and tuning PostgreSQL SQL
Strong debugging skills with unfamiliar codebases
Fluent with Git branching and repository management
Demonstrated ability to learn independently through personal projects or open-source contributions
Good judgment regarding production changes and risk management
Responsibilities
Fix bugs and deliver enhancements for NLM's Django applications
Identify and resolve performance issues and improve monitoring
Write and safely tune PostgreSQL queries and migrations
Enhance code, tests, and documentation beyond immediate tasks
Support multiple NLM projects and quickly learn new codebases
Make front-end changes in Angular, Vue, or React as needed
Collaborate effectively within a mixed federal and contractor team
Benefits
Hybrid work environment with on-site requirements
Opportunity to work on impactful projects for the National Library of Medicine
Engagement with a small, collaborative team
Potential for professional growth and skill enhancement
Involvement in a mission-driven organization focused on biomedical data
Full Job Description
Job Title: Python/Django Developer Company:Quotient, INC. (A VTG Company) Location: Hybrid Bethesda, MD 3-5 days per week Contingency: Public Trust Security Clearance (Ability to obtain and Maintain) Position Type: Full-Time Employee Type: FTE
Position Summary We are recruiting a mid-level Python/Django developer for the National Library of Medicine (NLM). The developer will work on production Django and PostgreSQL applications, including MeSH, where reliability and performance matter. You will be embedded in a small team of federal staff and contractors, moving between projects as priorities shift. The ideal candidate is a self-directed, rising developer who learns established codebases quickly, improves fast, and takes calculated risks with care for production. The role requires working on-site in Bethesda, MD 3-5 days per week and obtaining a Public Trust background investigation.Day-to-Day Duties and Responsibilities
Application support: fix bugs, deliver enhancements and handle production issues in NLM's Django applications.
Performance and reliability: find and fix slow queries, inefficient code and fragile areas; improve tests and monitoring so problems surface early.
Database work: write and tune PostgreSQL queries, migrations and data changes safely.
Leave it better: improve code, tests and documentation beyond the ticket when it reduces risk or future effort.
Cross-project support: pick up work on other NLM projects and learn new codebases quickly.
Front end as needed: make changes in Angular, Vue or React when a feature requires it.
Team collaboration: work within the federal and contractor team's processes, communicate risk clearly, and back ideas with evidence.
Minimum Qualifications
Able to work on-site in Bethesda, MD 3-5 days per week.
Able to obtain a Public Trust background investigation.
3+ years of professional software development experience.
Hands-on experience building and maintaining real Django applications, including models, views, ORM queries, migrations and tests.
Comfortable writing PostgreSQL SQL, reading query plans and making schema changes safely.
Solid object-oriented design and common design patterns; ability to write code that processes complex, nested data structures.
Strong debugging skills; can trace a problem through an unfamiliar codebase to its cause.
Fluent with Git branching, rebasing and squashing in a shared repository.
Evidence of learning beyond the job, such as personal projects, a home lab, or open-source work.
Good judgment about production changes, including testing, review, and rollback plans.
Works well on a mixed federal and contractor team and explains tradeoffs plainly.
Preferred Qualifications
Front end experience with Angular, Vue or React; TypeScript and JavaScript; Node, Express and npm.
Functional and event-driven programming (promises, streaming, reactive programming).
Experience with search and document stores such as Elasticsearch and MongoDB.
Experience with data pipelines, ETL and handling varied file formats.
PostgreSQL performance tuning (indexing, query optimization, large datasets).
Testing and CI practice (pytest, coverage, automated pipelines).
REST API design and maintenance.
Linux, shell scripting, Docker and basic deployment.
AWS or a comparable cloud platform.
NumPy, Keras or other data-science libraries.
Familiarity with Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), other medical terminologies, linked data, controlled vocabularies, or library and biomedical data.
Federal or government work, or long-lived production systems.
A public GitHub profile, technical blog or project portfolio.
