Applications Developer (Machine Learning Engineer) - Hillsborough Country Sheriff's Office

Job Title: Applications Developer (Machine Learning Engineer)

Summary: Design, build, and support custom applications and data integrations to enhance agency operations, with a focus on functionality, performance, and secure handling of sensitive information.

Duties & Responsibilities

Duties may vary based on assignment.

• Develop, train, and optimize machine learning models using frameworks such as ML.NET, Scikit-Learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch, or Keras.
• Integrate artificial intelligence (AI) models into existing in-house applications and services running in secure on-prem environments.
• Experiment with large language models (LLMs) and agentic coding tools, evaluating their potential for secure, internal automation and analytics tasks.
• Perform data preprocessing, feature engineering, and model evaluation using structured and unstructured data from multiple internal systems.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure all models and data workflows align with Criminal Justice Information Systems (CJIS) and Personally Identifiable Information (PII) protection standards.
• Work closely with analysts, investigators, and Information Technology (IT) staff to identify opportunities where AI can provide operational value.
• Participate in code reviews, testing, and deployment activities within a collaborative team environment.
• Continuously learn and prototype emerging AI tools while maintaining strong data governance discipline.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Knowledge & Abilities

• Knowledge of machine learning frameworks such as ML.NET, Scikit-Learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch, or Keras.
• Knowledge of Large Language Models (LLMs), Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipelines, and AI agent frameworks.
• Basic understanding of secure coding principles and CJIS data protection requirements.
• Working knowledge of office policies and procedures.
• Ability to work with structured and unstructured datasets from multiple sources such as databases, APIs, logs, and documents.
• Ability to analyze complex problems, test possible solutions, and apply practical, innovative approaches.
• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to stay curious and continuously learn new AI tools and techniques while maintaining responsible data practices.

Skills

• Strong programming skills in C# or Python.
• Skill in writing optimized SQL queries, functions, and stored procedures for SQL Server and PostgreSQL.
• Skill in developing and evaluating machine learning models.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills for interacting with users and technical staff.

Working Conditions

• Work within an office environment within a law enforcement agency.
• Stand/sit at a keyboard or workstation for prolonged periods.
• May engage in light physical exertion (e.g., lifting, carrying, pushing and/or pulling of objects and materials up to 10 pounds).
• Work standard business hours.
• May work non-standard hours including nights, weekends, and holidays.
• In the event of an emergency or disaster, may be required to respond promptly to duties and responsibilities as assigned by management chain, Division/District Commander, or the Sheriff (or their designee). Such assignments may be for before, during or after the emergency/disaster.

Minimum Education & Experience

• A high school diploma or possession of a GED certificate.
• Six years of paid experience in software development or systems integration, including reporting, data integration, and database technologies.

OR

• An associate degree from an accredited institution of higher education in computer science, information technology, software development or a closely related field.
• Five years of paid experience in software development or systems integration, including reporting, data integration, and database technologies.

OR

• A bachelor s degree from an accredited institution of higher education in computer science, information technology, software development or a closely related field.
• Four years of paid experience in software development or systems integration, including reporting, data integration, and database technologies.

Additional Job Requirements

• Attendance at the specified Sheriff's Office work location is required.
• Depending on assignment, employees may be required to possess a valid Florida Driver License at time of employment. Driving history will be thoroughly reviewed and may be grounds for disqualification.
• No visible tattoos on face, head, and neck. Tattoos determined to take away from the professional appearance of the Sheriff s Office must be covered with an appropriate white, black, or neutral covering.
• No illegal drug sale within lifetime.
• No illegal drug use within the past 36 months. No marijuana use within the last 12 months.
• No felony convictions within lifetime.
• No misdemeanor convictions involving perjury, false statement, or domestic violence within lifetime.
• No dishonorable discharge from any branch of the United States Armed Forces, the United States Coast Guard, National Guard, or Reserve Forces.
• Successful completion of a background investigation including criminal, reference, employment, and neighborhood checks; polygraph; medical evaluation; and drug screening.
• Live within Hillsborough County or within Citrus, Hardee, Hernando, Lake, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota, or Sumter County as long as the residence is located within the 60-mile parameter of Falkenburg Road Jail at the time of appointment/employment (certified only).

The duties and responsibilities on this job description represent the essential functions that an employee must be able to satisfactorily perform with or without reasonable accommodations. Reasonable accommodations shall be made upon request to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job, absent undue agency hardship. The Sheriff s Office retains the right to change or assign other duties to this job as necessary.

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with LangChain, Ollama, or other frameworks for running local LLMs and agentic AI systems.
• Experience with vector databases (e.g., Chroma, Qdrant, Weaviate) for semantic search.
• Experience building APIs or services to expose ML models to other internal systems.

Experience working with data-centric applications in public sector or regulated environments.