> Markdown version of [/jobs/ext/4704097-ai-development-lead](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/jobs/ext/4704097-ai-development-lead). Every page supports `.md` or `Accept: text/markdown`. Links point to the HTML versions so they work for humans too. Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # AI Development Lead - **Company:** Cornerstone Barricades - **Location:** Chapel Hill, NC, United States (Remote available) - **Experience:** Expert - **Salary:** $112,320 - $116,480 - **Contract:** Temporary contract - **Skills:** Java (Programming Language), .NET Framework, Artificial Intelligence, Server Applications, Applications Architecture, Databases, Lightweight Directory Access Protocols (LDAP), OAuth, OpenID, Reverse Engineering, Systems Integration, Okta, Agentic-AI, Maintaining Code - **Published:** November 13, 2026 - **Apply:** https://zipstaff.betterteam.com/ai-development-lead/apply/standard ## About the Role * 7-10 years of IT experience as a Software Engineer, including production incident experience. * 1-2 years of experience with agentic engineering and AI projects. * Hands-on technical lead experience guiding development pods through technology-stack and security upgrades while preserving application architecture and behavior. ## Description * Lead AI-assisted reverse engineering of legacy and current applications to discover architecture, dependencies, integrations, database touchpoints, security flows, and runtime and deployment characteristics, then turn findings into spec-driven plans for delivery pods. * Design, refine, and govern reusable AI skills and agents for reverse engineering, dependency analysis, forward engineering, code changes, migration, remediation, and verification, capturing patterns, failure modes, prompts, and verification steps. * Drive Java and .NET modernization (runtime, framework, dependencies, application server, and infrastructure) while preserving architecture and running safely on the target infrastructure rather than re-platforming. * Lead security modernization from LDAP/legacy authorization to token-based identity (Okta, OAuth/OIDC/JWT), and assess blast radius across databases, interfaces, shared libraries, batch jobs, connected systems, and pipelines before changes. * Break work into pod-ready increments, assign and review work, stay hands-on for high-risk work, mentor developers in agentic and spec-driven development, and partner with AI Test Leads, architects, security, and infrastructure on quality gates, production readiness, and incident/P1 root-cause analysis.