Senior Programmer/Analyst

Cambridge Associates is a highly regarded investment and financial consulting firm providing research and investment advice to endowed universities, foundations, and other non-profit institutions, pension funds, and high net worth family groups. For more information on our firm, please visit our web site at www.cambridgeassociates.com We currently have a Senior Programmer/Analyst position available in our Arlington, VA office.


The position currently available requires working with systems tracking financial data. An ideal candidate will have strong quantitative skills in addition to a very good understanding of relational databases. The candidate should posses advanced SQL programming skills and experience working with Transact-SQL in particular. Experience coding in a .NET environment using C# is required. The candidate should also have a solid background in web development with experience coding applications in both ASP.NET and classic ASP.

Cambridge Associates maintains a number of custom and COTS-integrated applications using a wide variety of technologies. These technologies include, but are not limited to the following: C#, VB.NET, ASP/ASP.NET, HTML, Microsoft TSQL, PowerBuilder, Visual Basic 6, and JavaScript. Cambridge Associates IT supports a number of COTS applications, including Lawson Financial software, MPI Stylus, and various financial packages to support specific business areas. Programmer/Analysts are expected to develop, maintain, and improve competency in one or more technical areas, consistent with project requirements. Cambridge Associates IT manages application integration of COTS products with internal custom built products.

Typically, Cambridge Associates expects experienced candidates to have strength in one or more technologies that are specified for the current position opening. Employees are expected to develop and broaden their technical expertise through work experience, Cambridge Associates-provided training, and personal development in order to keep pace with changes in the field.


Primary Duties:

-Participate as a member of one or more software development teams charged with developing and maintaining enterprise applications using a variety of software development technologies in a Microsoft Windows environment. Identify potential problems, evaluate application performance against documented requirements, and actively determine specifications and standards for applications.

-Write software development plans and test documentation for assigned project work. Document and interpret technical approaches to solutions for business and technical requirements for software development.

-Remain current in evolving technologies as well as currently used technologies and methodologies. Recommend adoption of new technologies and practices to the team when appropriate.

-Facilitate and build end user confidence in produced products. Implement process changes and ideas to improve product quality.

-Apply quantitative methods to analyze, synthesize and interpret data on various software platforms. Business problem solving using data, intuition, hypotheses setting and testing. Work with internal clients to gather resources on how to approach a particular business problem.

-Communicate, track, and close software defects using Cambridge Associates' internal defect tracking system.

-Participate constructively in project meetings and provide ongoing status to peers and management.

-Mentor less senior staff members and assist in the professional development of those employees.


Characteristics:

-Programmers at this level demonstrate the ability to easily switch between multiple tasks and manage time while contributing to multiple projects.

-Programmers at this level are expected to have significant competency in at least one core programming language, as well as significant competency with SQL.

-Programmers at this level will understand best practices of working with Microsoft SQL Server. Programmers at this level who have worked with other relational database systems will understand the practical implementation differences between Microsoft's Transact SQL and other relational database platforms on which they may have previously worked and program accordingly.

-Programmers at this level are expected to be able to independently research solutions to technical hurdles with minimal direction or supervision.

-Programmers at this level are expected to be able to implement new (internal first-adopter') solutions at Cambridge Associates with the (strongly encouraged) collaboration of colleagues in the firm.

-Programmers at this level are expected to consistently write program code that exhibits all of the generally accepted attributes of well-written structured code, including: readability, consistent in-line commenting, appropriate function break-outs, proper error-handling and defensive programming, appropriate application of OOP principles, use of consistent and (where applicable) internally-defined naming conventions, and adherence to other norms of programming practice.

-Programmers at this level are expected to deliver code that has been properly and fully unit-tested.

-Programmers at this level are capable of interacting directly with end-users to address maintenance, program malfunction, and crisis situations.

-Programmers at this level possess basic competency in software configuration management, including an awareness and understanding of the basic run-time assumptions of the software on which they are working.

-Programmers at this level ensure proper archiving and version control of product releases and artifacts, and oversee the proper branching and subsequent merging of the code base.

-Programmers at this level interpret appropriate server benchmarks to quantify performance bottlenecks and propose and execute solutions to enhance and optimize the overall performance (and often, scalability) of a system.

-Programmers at this level perform impact analysis for system changes and determine appropriate means of implementing these system changes.

-Programmers at this level can work independently with minimal supervision. When appropriate they are capable of working directly with end-users to convert business requirements into technical requirements.

-Programmers at this level demonstrate the ability to identify risk in existing or proposed solutions and to manage or mitigate that risk through the adoption of specific technical solutions they propose.

-Programmers at this level are able to (and do) thoroughly identify and document the technical implementation of the products on which they are assigned, without specific direction.

-Programmers at this level perform broad architectural evaluations of products and offer recommendations for software improvement at an architecture level.

-Programmers at this level perform architectural design and construction of software products far beyond module-level software design and construction.
REQUIREMENTS
Qualifications:

Preferred candidates will possess some or all of the following qualifications:

-A Bachelor's degree (or equivalent experience) with a major/minor in one or more of the following disciplines: Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering and Physical Science disciplines, Mathematics, Economics, Finance and Accounting.

-Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.

-An understanding of the principles of proper relational database design.

-Strong initiative, the ability to motivate peers and direct reports, and the ability to work independently within a team structure.

-The ability to communicate effectively with clients and all levels of staff verbally and in writing.

-Ability to interact in a service-oriented environment.

-Experience with one or more technologies / languages, including the following: Java, C#, C++, C, VB.NET, SQL, HTML, JavaScript, .NET, and Object-Oriented Programming.

-Candidates must have technical expertise working with the core technical competency areas identified for open position. This technical expertise will always include Microsoft TSQL.

-Candidates will typically possess more than 5 years of programming experience in related fields, though it is understood that extremely qualified candidates may achieve this competency level in less time.


*Candidates must be eligible to work in the U.S. without sponsorship.

We offer opportunities for advancement as well as a competitive salary and benefits package including medical and dental, life and disability insurance, 401(k) plan with company match, tuition reimbursement, generous paid time off, and more. Convenient location near the Metro (Ballston) in Arlington, VA. Qualified applicants should send a resume and cover letter to:

Cambridge Associates, LLC
Job Code: SPA-DC
4100 N. Fairfax Drive, suite 1300
Arlington, VA 22203
E-mail: [Click here for email]
Fax: 703-526-4404
No phone calls, please. EOE.