Senior Software Engineer

Senior Software Engineer for a 100+ employee (and growing) remote education non-profit providing professional learning to K-12 educators nationally

Type of Vacancy: Salaried, full-time

Start date: October-November 2024

Location: Remote/home office anywhere in the continental United States

Report to: Senior Director, Podsie Innovation Studio

Supervises: This Director role does not have direct reports; however, the role manages processes, projects, or initiatives at a strategic level.

Compensation: The full salary range for this position is $125,000 - $189,074 annually. There are two types of experience being considered for this role: Experience that is directly relevant to the role and Total Working Experience, in all fields. This includes: internships and consulting work. In collaboration with the hiring manager, the People and Culture team calculates experience based on the candidate’s most current resume. When calculating the offer, consideration is given to candidates that possess additional qualifications (i.e., desired qualifications). Teaching Lab will generally cap salaries for new employees at 105% of the midpoint to allow for continued growth in the role over time.

Teaching Lab is an equal-opportunity employer committed to reflecting the diversity of the students we serve. We pursue equity as both a means and an end and enthusiastically welcome candidates of all backgrounds to apply for this role.

WHO WE ARE

Teaching Lab is a nonprofit organization with a mission to fundamentally shift the paradigm of teacher professional learning to achieve educational equity. We envision a world where teachers and students thrive together in communities that enable life-long learning and meaningful lives. In partnership with teachers, we transform professional learning from the ground up to dramatically improve student outcomes. We also work with school, district, and state leaders to create the instructional systems necessary to support these changes. To learn more about Teaching Lab, explore our website at www.teachinglab.org.

SUMMARY OF POSITION

Teaching Lab is seeking a talented and passionate Senior Software Engineer to join our dynamic team. This role will focus on one of our strategic initiatives, Podsie, an educational technology web application for K-12 teachers and students. We are dedicated to improving student learning outcomes through evidence-based strategies, particularly in STEM fields. Podsie helps students better retain and apply knowledge by implementing research-backed learning techniques.

As a key member of our development team, you will work on projects that directly impact the educational success of students across the United States. Your responsibilities will include designing and implementing sophisticated personalized learning algorithms, building core features to enhance student learning outcomes, and developing LLM-based innovations to improve the learning experience. You'll also contribute to data-driven personalization, advanced analytics, and platform scalability to support our growing user base of students and educators.

Your work at Podsie will involve a blend of product development and applied research. You'll have the opportunity to contribute to a National Science Foundation-funded research project aimed at improving STEM K-12 learning through optimal spaced retrieval. This project, along with our other initiatives, allows us to take an evidence-based approach to driving concrete learning improvements.

We're looking for someone who is excited about using technology to make a meaningful impact on education. While the role’s focus is on Podsie, based on future need, you may have an opportunity to work on other innovative projects. If you're passionate about solving complex problems in educational software and want to be part of a team that's working to measurably improve learning outcomes, we encourage you to apply.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Podsie is a web application that implements research-backed strategies to enhance student learning retention. Our platform focuses on spaced retrieval practice, a method that involves students practicing newly acquired knowledge by answering questions spaced out over time. This approach has shown promise in improving learning outcomes, and Podsie makes it easy for teachers and students to incorporate this practice into their educational routines.

As a Senior Software Engineer at Podsie, you will be instrumental in advancing our mission to improve student learning outcomes through evidence-based technological solutions. Your responsibilities will encompass a wide range of projects aimed at enhancing Podsie's capabilities and impact:

1. Build Core Features: Design and implement new features that demonstrably improve student learning outcomes and support Podsie's mission to drive educational success.
2. Improve User Experience: Develop enhancements that make Podsie more engaging, efficient, and effective for both teachers and students.
3. Develop LLM-based Features: Create and refine LLM-based features such as tutoring chatbots, personalized content recommendations, and interactive learning tools to enrich the student learning experience.
4. Integrate Advanced Analytics: Implement data visualization and analysis tools that provide teachers with actionable insights into student performance, enabling them to tailor instruction effectively.
5. Research and Development: Engage in R&D initiatives to explore new technologies and strategies that can enhance Podsie's impact on student learning and retention, with a particular focus on LLM-based innovations.
6. Expansion: Contribute to the development of new features, functionalities, and subject offerings (e.g., Podsie Math Suite) to broaden our impact and improve outcomes for a wider range of students.
7. Data-Driven Personalization: Develop algorithms and data models that tailor content and pacing to each student's unique needs and progress.
8. Platform Scalability: Optimize Podsie's architecture and infrastructure to ensure reliable performance for hundreds of thousands of daily users as we experience rapid growth.

Moreover, you will play a crucial role in supporting our National Science Foundation (NSF) grant project. This research initiative aims to deepen our understanding of how spaced retrieval practice improves STEM learning and to develop STEM-specific spacing algorithms for authentic educational contexts. The project involves multiple classroom studies with thousands of STEM students across U.S. middle and high schools. Your specific responsibilities related to the NSF grant will include:

1. Implementing sophisticated personalized learning algorithms within Podsie
2. Ensuring that features developed for the research studies can be seamlessly scaled up to benefit all Podsie users
3. Building and maintaining a reliable experimentation infrastructure to support the research process

Through this work, you will contribute to advancing the scientific understanding of spaced retrieval practice in STEM education and help refine its implementation to maximize student learning outcomes.

Your efforts will be divided between general Podsie product development and the NSF grant project, allowing you to make significant contributions to both our day-to-day operations and our long-term research goals. While the role’s focus is on Podsie, based on future need, you may have an opportunity to work on other innovative projects.

Perform other duties as assigned by the Senior Director, Podsie Innovation Studio and/or Executive Team.

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or a related field, or equivalent work experience
• Minimum five (5) years of professional software development experience
• Relevant experience with our tech stack: Rails/React/TypeScript/GraphQL/Postgres
• Demonstrated lifelong learner with a passion for staying up-to-date with new technologies and best practices
• Ability to learn quickly and adapt to new challenges in a fast-paced environment
• Autonomous and proactive, with a strong bias for action and a track record of taking initiative
• Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to break down complex issues into manageable tasks
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with experience working in cross-functional teams
• A passion for improving educational outcomes and using technology to make a meaningful impact on student learning
• Proven experience with architecture and system design, particularly in building and scaling large-scale, user-facing applications
• Expertise in optimizing performance, scalability, and security in production environments, ensuring robust and efficient software operations
• Strong attention to detail and a commitment to maintaining codebases that are scalable, modular, and maintainable in the long run, following best practices in software architecture and development
• A passion for creating inclusive and accessible digital experiences that cater to diverse user needs and abilities
• Incurable builder mindset - We value individuals who are not just smart but also have a relentless drive for starting projects and bringing at least some of them to completion. These are the people who demonstrate passion, creativity, and determination in their work, always eager to build and innovate.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with conducting quantitative research
• Knowledge of or experience with LLM (large language models) and their applications in educational contexts
• Experience in education and/or edtech, with a strong understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities in this industry
• Familiarity with learning science principles, educational research, and best practices in instructional design
• Experience with data-driven decision-making, including A/B testing, analytics, and user research

WORKING CONDITIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

• Ability to work a flexible schedule to support operational needs.
• Ability to perform the essential project, duties and responsibilities with or without accommodation.
• All team members are expected to support program/project needs which could mean that you play multiple roles at Teaching Lab (i.e., project lead, support, subject matter expert, etc.).
• Travel could be required for the role. Travel is determined based on business needs and can vary depending on partnership/contract requirements.