Freelance Surface Pattern Design Jobs in Tennessee

WHO WE ARE

Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, Ncontracts leads the industry in integrated risk management and compliance solutions, serving over 5,000 financial institutions nationwide. As a seven-time Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies honoree and consistent year-over-year recipient of "Best Places to Work" awards, we offer a thriving, work environment where career growth and life-work balance go hand in hand.

At Ncontracts, you'll join a team of industry experts dedicated to strengthening the financial services sector through innovation and thought leadership. We're seeking creative, collaborative, and self-driven professionals across all areas of our business - from developing cutting-edge solutions to sales, marketing, customer support, and beyond. Join us in our mission to make the financial industry stronger and more resilient, while advancing your career in a supportive, dynamic environment that values your unique skills and perspectives.

About the Role

We are seeking a Software Architect with a strong AI focus to work alongside engineering teams, helping implement architectural patterns and standards defined by our Enterprise Architect and Solution Architects. This role focuses on execution, translating architectural decisions, including those governing our AI and LLM-powered features, into working software while developing the skills and perspective needed to grow into broader architectural responsibilities.

This is a highly hands-on role. You'll spend significant time in the codebase, implementing patterns, reviewing code, pairing with developers, and ensuring that day-to-day technical decisions, including AI feature design, align with our architectural standards. You're not just advising; you're building.

You'll float across teams with focused assignments. Rather than spanning the entire organization like our Solution Architects, you'll work with teams on specific initiatives or problem areas, helping implement a new integration pattern, supporting a modernization effort, standing up an LLM-powered capability, or ensuring consistency across a set of related services. Your scope is narrower, but your impact is direct and tangible.

This is a growth role. You'll work closely with our Enterprise Architect and Solution Architects, learning how architectural decisions are made at the strategic level, including decisions around AI adoption, model selection, and responsible AI practices, while building the hands-on experience that makes those decisions credible.

Key ResponsibilitiesArchitectural Implementation

• Implement architectural patterns and standards defined by the Enterprise Architect and Solution Architects, including patterns for integrating LLMs and other AI components into existing services

• Work within engineering teams to ensure solutions, including AI-powered features, align with established architecture decisions

• Translate high-level architectural guidance into concrete implementation approaches

• Identify implementation challenges early and escalate to Solution Architects when decisions need to be revisited

• Validate that completed implementations meet architectural requirements through hands-on review

AI & LLM Implementation

• Design and implement patterns for integrating LLMs into product features, including prompt design, context management, and retrieval-augmented approaches

• Apply prompt engineering techniques to build reliable, maintainable AI-driven features, and iterate on prompts based on observed model behavior

• Use LLM observability tooling such as Langfuse to trace, evaluate, and debug AI workflows in development and production

• Help define and apply evaluation approaches for AI features, covering accuracy, latency, cost, and safety considerations

• Partner with Solution Architects and Enterprise Architect on standards for responsible and secure use of AI across the platform

Hands-On Technical Work

• Write code regularly, this role requires significant time in the codebase implementing patterns and working alongside developers

• Conduct detailed code reviews focused on architectural alignment, code quality, and maintainability

• Pair with developers to work through complex implementation challenges, including those involving LLM integrations

• Build and maintain reference implementations, including AI feature reference implementations, that teams can use as starting points

• Prototype approaches to validate architectural decisions before broader rollout

Team Collaboration

• Embed with engineering teams on focused assignments based on architectural priorities

• Build strong working relationships with developers and engineering leads

• Participate in technical discussions, bringing architectural perspective to implementation decisions

• Help teams understand the "why" behind architectural standards, not just the "what"

• Surface patterns and challenges observed in teams back to Solution Architects and Enterprise Architect

Learning & Development

• Work closely with the Enterprise Architect and Solution Architects to understand how strategic architectural decisions are made

• Seek feedback on architectural thinking and implementation approaches

• Study our existing architecture, understanding the rationale behind current patterns and the history of key decisions

• Develop broader perspective across the platform by working with multiple teams over time

• Grow technical breadth across domains, including integration, data, cloud infrastructure, and applied AI, through hands-on experience

Documentation & Communication

• Document implementation patterns and approaches that teams can follow, including AI implementation patterns

• Contribute to architecture decision records (ADRs) by capturing implementation learnings

• Communicate clearly with developers about architectural expectations and rationale

• Raise questions and surface ambiguities in architectural guidance to improve clarity for all teams

Required Qualifications

• 4+ years of progressive experience in software engineering, with demonstrated technical leadership or senior developer experience

• Strong hands-on coding skills, you're an experienced developer who writes production code regularly

• Solid experience with at least one of our core languages/frameworks: .NET/C#, React, or Python

• Hands-on experience building with large language models (LLMs) in production or near-production settings

• Practical experience with prompt engineering, including designing, testing, and iterating on prompts for reliability and consistency

• Experience with LLM observability or evaluation tooling such as Langfuse (or comparable platforms)

• Familiarity with cloud platforms, particularly Azure or AWS

• Understanding of modern application architectures: microservices, API design, event-driven patterns

• Experience with code review practices and ability to provide constructive, actionable feedback

• Ability to work across different teams and adapt to varying codebases and contexts

• Strong communication skills, you can explain technical concepts clearly to other developers

• Curiosity about the "big picture," you want to understand how systems fit together, not just your piece

• Eagerness to learn and grow into broader architectural responsibilities

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with our tech stack: .NET/C#, React, Python, Snowflake, dbt

• Experience integrating LLM APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, or similar) into application code

• Familiarity with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), vector databases, or agentic workflow patterns

• Familiarity with our toolchain: TeamCity, Octopus Deploy, Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions

• Exposure to integration patterns: REST APIs, message queues, CDC

• Experience with database design and data modeling concepts

• Background in DevOps practices and CI/CD pipelines

• Experience working in multi-tenant SaaS environments

• Prior experience in B2B SaaS or enterprise software development

WE OFFER ALL FULL-TIME TEAM MEMBERS:

• A fun, fast-paced work environment

• Responsible PTO Plan that meets or exceeds state and local medical and family leave laws

• 11 paid holidays

• Community and social events to keep you connected and engaged

• Mental Health Benefits

• Medical, Dental and Vision insurance

• Company-paid Group Life Insurance, Short- and Long-Term Disability

• Flexible Spending Account & Health Savings Account

• Aflac Benefits – Critical Illness, Cancer Protection, & Hospital Choice

• Pet Insurance

• 401 (k) with company match with eligibility on Day 1 of employment

• 2 Paid Volunteer Time Off Days

• And much more!

*Part-Time, Temporary, Contractor, and Intern positions are not eligible for company benefits, including paid time off, health insurance, and other employee benefit programs.

AAP/EEO Statement

Ncontracts provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.