Position Title: EMSA3 Microservice Developer (Event-Driven Architecture)
Location: Remote – Utah Preferred
Position End Date: 12/31/26
Salary: $125,000 plus benefits
Overview:
The CDC Foundation is seeking an EMSA3 Application Developer to support modernization of Utah’s Electronic Message Staging Area (EMSA) system. This role won’t just be writing API’s; you will be orchestrating complex data flows using Apache Kafka and Amazon Kinesis. The ideal candidate thrives on decoupling services, ensuring data consistency across distributed boundaries, and building resilient systems that can handle massive scale.
Qualifications:
· Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field required
· Deep understanding of RESTful API’s, GraphQL, and service mesh technologies
· Experiencing in full stack environment (Spring Boot, React, Maven, Java SDK)
· Strong PostgreSQL database design and optimization skills
· Experience with Git version control
· Familiarity with Agile methodologies
· Ability to build scalable, high-performance systems
· 3+ years of hands-on experience with Apache Kafka (Producers, Consumers, Kafka Connect) and Amazon Kinesis (Data streams, Firehose)
Responsibilities:
· Design and develop high-performance microservices using Java SDK and GraphQL
· Refactor and modernize the existing EMSA technology stack to improve stability, scalability, and maintainability
· Increase system throughput to support higher volumes of electronic reporting during outbreak conditions
· Expand EMSA functionality to support non-laboratory data, including clinical and case-based information
· Develop and maintain efficient GraphQL APIs to support system interoperability
· Design, optimize, and maintain PostgreSQL database structures for high-performance data processing
· Collaborate with informatics, epidemiology, and public health stakeholders using Agile development methodologies
· Contribute to documentation, testing, and release activities to ensure readiness for deployment
Special Notes:
This role is involved in a dynamic public health program. As such, roles and responsibilities are subject to change as situations evolve. Roles and responsibilities listed above may be expanded upon or updated to match priorities and needs, once written approval is received by both the CDC Foundation and Utah Department of Health and Human Services in order to best support the State of Utah in their public health programming.
This position is currently a Hybrid position. CDC Foundation retains the right to make adjustments to this as required.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, mental or physical disabilities, veteran status, and all other characteristics protected by law. We comply with all applicable laws including E.O. 11246 and the Vietnam Era Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 governing employment practices and do not discriminate on the basis of any unlawful criteria in accordance with 41 C.F.R. §§ 60-300.5(a)(12) and 60-741.5(a)(7). As a federal government contractor, we take affirmative action on behalf of protected veterans.
The CDC Foundation is a smoke-free environment.
Relocation expenses are not included.
About the CDC Foundation
The CDC Foundation helps the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) save and improve lives by unleashing the power of collaboration between CDC, philanthropies, corporations, organizations and individuals to protect the health, safety and security of America and the world. The CDC Foundation is the go-to nonprofit authorized by Congress to mobilize philanthropic partners and private-sector resources to support CDC’s critical health protection mission. Since 1995, the CDC Foundation has raised over $1.2 billion and launched more than 1,200 programs impacting a variety of health threats from chronic disease conditions including cardiovascular disease and cancer, to infectious diseases like rotavirus and HIV, to emergency responses, including COVID-19 and Ebola. The CDC Foundation managed hundreds of programs in the United States and in more than 140 countries last year. Learn more at www.cdcfoundation.org.