Senior Backend Software Engineer

Title: Sr Backend Software Engineer

Location: Software EngineeringHybrid Remote, Boston, Massachusetts  Massachusetts

Department: Software Engineering

Job Description:

WHO ARE YOU? You are a talented, adaptable and technically sound Backend Software Engineer that is looking to bring your technical skill set and expertise to a growing organization.  

WHO ARE WE?  We are passionate, innovative, lifelong learners, and creative thinkers working to develop culturally authentic language learning products for K-12 schools and universities.  

WHAT IS THIS ROLE ABOUT? In the role of Senior Backend Software Engineer, you will join our talented and growing Development team that is an essential part of building Vista Higher Learning’s unique and industry leading online language education products sold in the K-12 and Higher Education markets.   

OUR TECHNOLOGY STACK  

• Languages/Frameworks: Ruby/Rails, JS, Vue  
• Persistence: MySQL, Postgres, Redis, ElasticSearch  
• Hosting: AWS  

 IN THIS ROLE YOU WILL:  

• Participate in all aspects of the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC)  
• Perform tests to optimize performance  
• Write clean code to develop functioning web applications  
• Work effectively and collaborate with different team members to deliver on-time and efficient projects   

 YOU MUST HAVE (MINIMUM REQUIRED SKILLS & EXPERIENCE)  

• Bachelor’s Degree
• 7+ year’s Backend Software Engineering experience with Ruby, Ruby on Rails or Python + JavaScript
• Demonstrated software architectural design experience, including data persistence and API design
• Strong understanding of Large Language Models (LLMs), LLM APIs and AI tooling
• Strong understanding of networking and web browser protocols
• Advanced working knowledge of *nix systems, and comfort working at terminal command line.
• Advanced SQL and DB schema design knowledge
• Advanced working knowledge of git & GitHub
• Experience collaborating with other departments/teams
• Strong communication, listening and interpersonal skills to be able to actively listen to needs and respond to audience appropriately

 IDEAL IF YOU HAVE or ARE (PREFERRED SKILLS & EXPERIENCE)  

• Fullstack development experience
• Knowledge around LLM evaluation and MLOps practices 
• Experience with Sagemaker, AWS Poly, Azure Speech Service
• Experience with SQL, Postgres, Redis, Elasticsearch
• Experience building and deploying high-capacity applications in cloud environments, especially AWS 
• A strong understanding of how to architect solutions for scalability and performance
• Experience with Ruby highly preferred
• Experience in ed-tech, education, language-learning or a similar industry
• Familiarity with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and best practices for meeting 2.1 AA compliance

LOCATION: Remote/Boston-Hybrid  

Position requires current residence within the United States of America. Ideal candidates will be located within close proximity to our Boston office location and be willing to work a Tuesday/Thursday (2-day minimum) Hybrid schedule. Relocation assistance is not available. 

SALARY: $140k-$150k annual base salary range

This position is salaried and is eligible for an annual incentive based on employee and organizational performance. 
We are passionate, innovative, lifelong learners, and creative thinkers working to develop culturally authentic language learning products for K-12 schools and universities. Our benefits package includes life/health/dental/vision insurance, 401(k), educational assistance, commuter pass subsidies, generous employee referral bonuses, PTO and paid holidays.