Software Engineer (Senior/Principal)

Posted Sep 21

COMPANY PROFILE

Code.org® is a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to computer science in K-12 schools and increasing participation by young women and students from other underrepresented groups. Our vision is that every student in every school has the opportunity to learn computer science as part K-12. The leading provider of K-12 computer science solutions in the largest school districts in the United States, Code.org also created the annual Hour of Code campaign, which has engaged more than 15% of all students in the world!

A unifying approach in a divided world

Code.org's global role in the K-12 computer science movement is only possible because we use a unifying approach across diverse and often divided stakeholders. At a time of increasing polarization, the idea of increasing opportunity for students unites people from across the political spectrum. Code.org's team members, students, teachers, and supporters have diverse and diverging view points, and they are all welcome in our mission. Read more. 

JOB SUMMARY 

Are you passionate about computer science and education? We’d like to work with you! As a senior/principal software engineer on the Platform Team at Code.org, you’ll deliver software products and operate services used by tens of millions of students and teachers in K-12 classrooms around the world. Our team’s goal is to enable access to anyone and everyone who wants to use Code.org. Whether that be through integrating with learning management systems, supporting new authentication providers, or even building solutions to deliver to areas with limited or no connectivity, our mission is to remove all obstacles that might prevent a student, teacher, or school from being able to utilize our platform. And with AI bursting onto the world stage, we’ll be looking for ways to both use and support AI curriculum as well.

Learn more about our Software Engineering Team here! 

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

As a member of our engineering team, you will:

  • Own projects and build features end to end, working on exciting technical challenges using some of the latest technologies.
  • Work across the engineering organization to help set the technical direction for the Code.org platform, as well as contribute to our architecture working groups.
  • Work with your product manager and internal customers (other engineers) to identify current limitations or new features that deserve attention to enable the best experience possible for our students and teachers.
  • Explore and contribute to our efforts to incorporate AI in all aspects of our product and curriculum
  • Create and expand the foundational concepts and components in our system necessary to support our ever-expanding set of course and features
  • Ship software regularly while maintaining excellent live site availability. 
  • Mentor other engineers and contribute to an inclusive, growth-focused, and collaborative team culture.

EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS

We seek candidates who have:

  • Passion for our mission of growing access to computer science education
  • Passion for learning and exploring new technologies, building processes and tooling to multiply the team’s output, and looking for ways to improve not only what we build, but how we build and operate it.  
  • Experience with building the foundational elements of a consumer-grade web applications with JavaScript and React, and ideally with TypeScript, Ruby on Rails, and MySQL
  • Experience supporting a production high-scale web-based software product or service using cloud technologies (ideally AWS)
  • Experience in both working independently on and leading larger investigations and implementation efforts. This includes the ability to break down project work into smaller features, communicate status updates effectively, and propose improvements to execution plans.
  • Experience leading architectural change from conception to execution… identifying opportunities, seeking input, setting technical direction, and garnering support from stakeholders.
  • A product and team-first mindset where success is measured by the team’s delivery, execution, and health 
  • A desire to improve how we work and aren’t afraid to suggest changes to existing patterns.
  • A bias for action that moves implementation forward, knowing how to balance planning and execution.
  • Passion and experience in growing engineers around you through mentoring, promoting opportunities, and supportive feedback 
  • At least 5+ years of professional software engineering experience

In addition, AI experience is a bonus and includes:

  • Experience with commercial, hobby, or open source language models and prompt engineering frameworks
  • Knowledge of mitigating bias and improving safety of LLMs; preferably for educational purposes
  • Ability to apply AI models creatively and effectively using commercial and open source solutions 
  • Familiarity with instruction tuning and agent frameworks 
  • Proficiency in ML frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow

In addition, candidates must:

  • Be a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident
  • Pass a pre-employment background check
  • Be willing to travel a minimum of two times per year for team events 

WHAT IS THE INTERVIEW PROCESS LIKE?

Step 1: Technical Assessment - General Coding

Step 2: Informational Interview - learn more about the role and share your experience (30 minutes)

Step 3: Full Interview Loop (3 one-hour paired interviews)

  • Coding: Data Structures
  • Coding: System Design
  • Code Review

Each interview will include a behavioral question and additional time for the candidate to ask questions

Step 4: Final Interview (1 hour)

Step 5: Reference Checks 

All interviews are currently being conducted virtually via Zoom

TO APPLY

Our team will review all applications on a rolling basis and if we believe your qualifications would make a great fit, we'll contact you to schedule an informational interview.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS PACKAGE

The expected salary range for this position is $145,800 - $164,800. The actual offer will be at the company’s sole discretion and determined by relevant business considerations, including the final candidate’s qualifications, years of experience, and skillset.

We also offer a comprehensive benefits package for full-time employees that includes:

  • Technology subsidy consistent with our Bring Your Own Device environment 
  • Flexible, engaging, and remote working environment
  • Paid time off: 3 weeks vacation annually, sick leave, and 'winter break' office closure the two weeks that include Christmas and New Years
  • Medical, dental and vision premiums paid at 100% for FT positions and their dependents
  • Option to participate in 403b retirement plan
  • Annual professional development stipend 
  • The opportunity to help students learn better and change the face of computer science

Additionally, in order to safeguard the health of our employees and their families, we require that all Code.org full-time employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. We define fully vaccinated as either both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and take medical and sincerely held religious exemptions into consideration.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.