Freelance Java Developer Startup Jobs in Houston, TX

About the Role

We are seeking a motivated AI Applications Developer to design, build, and deploy AI-powered software that delivers tangible value to users. You will work across product, data science, and frontend/backend engineering to turn ideas into scalable, production-ready AI features and apps. You’ll own the full lifecycle from concept and architecture to implementation, testing, and operations, with a focus on reliability, performance, and ethical AI practices.

Key Responsibilities

- Design and implement AI-powered features and applications, including chatbots, assistants, search/retrieval, summarization, recommendations, vision-based features, or other ML-driven capabilities.

- Build robust backend services and APIs to expose AI functionality; ensure low latency, high throughput, and scalable architecture.

- Integrate AI models and pipelines with frontend products; collaborate with UI/UX to deliver intuitive AI-enhanced experiences.

- Develop and maintain data pipelines, feature stores, and data preprocessing steps; ensure data quality, privacy, and security.

- Evaluate models for performance, fairness, bias, latency, and reliability; implement monitoring, A/B testing, and rollback strategies.

- Implement MLOps practices: versioning, CI/CD for ML, containerization (e.g., Docker), orchestration (e.g., Kubernetes), and automated testing.

- Monitor applications post-release; instrument logging, metrics, tracing, and alerting; manage incident response and reliability targets.

- Write clean, well-documented code; create and maintain API docs, architecture diagrams, and developer guides.

- Collaborate with Product, Design, Data Science, and Security teams to translate requirements into concrete technical plans.

- Ensure compliance with privacy, security, and ethical guidelines; implement bias mitigation and explainability where appropriate.

- Contribute to code reviews, unit/integration tests, and continuous improvement of development processes.

Required Qualifications

- 2+ years of software development experience, with hands-on work on AI-enabled or data-driven applications.

- Proficiency in Python for backend and ML integration; experience with building or consuming AI/ML models and APIs.

- Strong backend development skills and experience with at least one modern framework (e.g., FastAPI, Django, Flask, Node.js/Express).

- Experience integrating AI services or LLMs (e.g., OpenAI, Cohere, Anthropic) and working with embeddings, vector databases (e.g., Pinecone, Weaviate), or retrieval-based architectures.

- Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) and basic DevOps practices (CI/CD, Docker); basic containerization and orchestration knowledge.

- Knowledge of data privacy, security best practices, and ethical considerations in AI.

- Ability to work cross-functionally with product managers, designers, and data scientists; strong communication and collaboration skills.

- A track record of writing tests (unit/integration), documentation, and maintaining code quality.

Preferred Qualifications

- Experience with frontend technologies (React/TypeScript) and integrating AI features into user interfaces.

- Experience with ML pipelines and MLOps tools (MLflow, Kubeflow, Airflow) and monitoring tools (Prometheus, Grafana).

- Familiarity with vector databases, structured/unstructured data processing, and data governance.

- Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field; advanced degree a plus.

- Knowledge of modern security practices, data anonymization, and GDPR/CCPA compliance.

Skills and Technologies (Examples)

- Languages: Python, JavaScript/TypeScript (Node.js/React), SQL

- AI/ML: LLMs, embeddings, retrieval, fine-tuning, evaluation metrics

- Backend: FastAPI/Django/Flask, REST/gRPC, microservices

- Frontend: React, Next.js (nice-to-have)

- Data: Pandas, NumPy, data pipelines, ETL

- Cloud & DevOps: AWS/Azure/GCP, Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI)

- Databases: PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis

- AI/ML Tools: OpenAI API, Pinecone/Weaviate, MLflow, PyTorch/TensorFlow (nice-to-have)

- Observability: Prometheus, Grafana, ELK/EFK stack

Nice-to-Have

- Mendix and JAVA experience

- Production experience with AI-powered consumer or enterprise applications

- Contributions to open-source AI projects or prior startup experience

- Experience with privacy-preserving AI and bias mitigation techniques

- Experience with HIPPA data privacy impact assessments and security reviews

What We Offer

- Competitive compensation and meaningful equity

- Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage

- Professional development and opportunities for growth

- Collaborative, inclusive team culture and mentorship

- Modern tech stack and access to AI/ML resources

How to Apply

Please submit:

- Your resume/CV

- A brief cover letter outlining relevant AI app projects

- Links to a portfolio, GitHub, or live projects if available