Engineer IV

College Board

6d•$137,000 - $148,000•Remote

About The Position

As an Engineer IV, you will contribute across the full stack with a primary focus on backend systems (60%) while still engaging meaningfully in frontend development (40%) to deliver high-impact, student-facing features. You bring deep experience in backend engineering—designing APIs, working with distributed systems, building serverless services, and ensuring performance and reliability at scale—while also demonstrating proficiency in modern frontend frameworks. You can navigate complex integrations, troubleshoot across service boundaries, and collaborate with UI engineers and designers to ensure cohesive, high-quality experiences. You’ll work closely with product owners, architects, and other engineers to translate requirements into scalable technical solutions while raising the bar on code quality, documentation, and sustainable engineering practices. This role also offers opportunities to mentor teammates, influence system architecture, and explore emerging technologies like AI.

Requirements

4–6 years of production software engineering experience, owning the full lifecycle of features from design through deployment with a strong emphasis on backend architecture and API design.
Deep expertise in Node.js, TypeScript, backend application architecture, distributed systems, API development, and AWS serverless technologies (Lambda, DynamoDB, S3, CloudWatch, etc.).
Proficiency in modern frontend development (React, Next.js) with experience ensuring accessibility, performance, intuitive UX, and component-driven design.
Strong problem-solving skills, able to drive clarity in ambiguous backend requirements and collaborate with product to guide prioritization.
The ability to mentor peers, influence technical decisions, and lead conversations around backend scalability, data flows, and system integrations.
Excellent communication skills and the ability to evaluate engineering talent.
Ability to travel 3–5 times per year to our NYC or Reston, VA office.
Authorization to work in the United States.
A passion for expanding educational and career opportunities and mission-driven work
Authorization to work in the United States for any employer
Curiosity and enthusiasm for emerging technologies, with a willingness to experiment with and adopt new AI-driven solutions and a comfort learning and applying new digital tools independently and proactively.
Clear and concise communication skills, written and verbal
A learner's mindset and a commitment to growth: welcoming diverse perspectives, giving and receiving timely, respectful feedback, and continuously improving through iterative learning and user input.
A drive for impact and excellence: solving complex problems, making data-informed decisions, prioritizing what matters most, and continuously improving through learning, user input, and external benchmarking.
A collaborative and empathetic approach: working across differences, fostering trust, and contributing to a culture of shared success.

Responsibilities

Lead backend design and development (primary focus), building scalable, secure, and reliable services, APIs, and data integrations using modern cloud-native and serverless patterns.
Develop backend components that support BigFuture’s core capabilities, ensuring performance and resiliency for millions of users.
Contribute to frontend implementation using React/Next.js—translating UX designs into performant, accessible, and modular interfaces.
Break down product capabilities into verifiable technical work, ensuring backend and frontend systems integrate seamlessly.
Champion Agile, CI/CD, DevOps, and instrumentation best practices to improve system health and developer velocity.
Participate in or lead Agile ceremonies, promoting alignment, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Provide thoughtful code reviews across backend and frontend work, strengthening reliability and maintainability.
Troubleshoot production issues across the stack with urgency and attention to root cause.
Model engineering excellence—security, documentation, testing, and code quality.
Develop an expert understanding of the business domain to design backend systems that reflect real user needs.
Partner with architects and leads to shape technical direction, contributing backend-oriented insights that improve scalability and resilience.
Participate in design and code reviews, offering guidance on backend architecture and API design while supporting frontend best practices.