Staff Software Engineer

Code for America

7h•Remote

About The Position

Code for America is looking for a talented Staff Software Engineer who will contribute to high-impact government services by supporting critical workflows, improving system reliability, and advancing automation efforts that make public services more accessible and effective for the people who need them most. Code for America software engineers are involved in every stage of our products’ lifecycle, from prototyping and design, to developing features in response to user feedback, to operating technical systems at scale. Staff Software Engineers further support organization-wide technical efforts and strengthen our software engineering teams as internal champions and subject matter experts for specific technology domains, tools, and processes. This role will report to our Senior Director of Engineering and is expected to travel no more than 10% of the time. Code for America is based in California and can employ those who reside full-time within the United States. This is a remote position.

Requirements

10+ years of full-stack web development experience, with strong expertise in system architecture, data modeling, and API design
6+ years of experience developing and supporting multilingual web applications
6+ years working with Agile Software Development models like Scrum, XP, TDD, or BDD
Demonstrable expert-level skills in applied computer science and web fundamentals, including data structures, design patterns, and application architecture
Eager for collaboration with peers, and providing technical and professional mentorship.
Truly excellent written and verbal communication skills in English
Expert understanding and experience communicating with cross-functional peers, and in translating those conversations into actionable tasks
Specialized expertise in: Javascript / Typescript/ Web-based software engineering with an emphasis on browser experiences.
Experience with JavaScript and its derivatives, including both modern frameworks (React, Vue, etc) and ‘vanilla’ patterns and tools.
Solid Understanding of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
Proven experience conducting experience evaluations or audits for accessibility
Understanding of UX patterns and principles, and in translating product and UX requirements into actionable tasks.
Evaluating, investigating, and optimizing client experience and code performance in front-end code.

Nice To Haves

Experience with cloud infrastructure and IaC tooling
Experience with making government services better for people who need them most
Personal or professional experience with the justice system, social safety net, or other mission relevant experience

Responsibilities

Facilitating strategy and roadmapping conversations about areas of expertise.
Own technical decision making and documentation around the implementation and architecture of your SME area.
Authoring developer-centric documentation and best practice guidelines.
Working with other engineering leaders on how to upskill their teams in your area of expertise.
Create and maintain detailed learning and reference materials, including practical examples and prototypes.
Craft new features that help users more easily navigate government services and receive a dignified experience.
Write automated tests and develop monitoring strategies to ensure a high level of service quality.
Implement minimal features to maximize learning, and then harden features to scale when we know they work.
Support Engineering’s culture of writing by producing quality documentation and learning materials for internal and external audiences.
Be a friendly face, eager collaborator, and mentor for other software engineers in your particular area of expertise.
Other duties as assigned

Benefits

Laptop provided
A one-time $700 payment for remote environment setup; $200 stipend (in first paycheck) and up to $500 reimbursement, in accordance with our equipment policy
Cell phone and/or internet reimbursement of $50 per month
$500 annual (per calendar year) stipend towards professional development; prorated at time of hire
Up to $500 of professional development funds can be rolled over each year, up to a maximum of $1000
Training / guidance for staff required to utilize AI as part of their role, plus opportunities for employees to gain AI-related skills to support job and career growth
100% employer match on the first 3% of contributions for 401k
Additional 50% match on contributions between 3% and 5% for employees with 3+ years of service, for a maximum employer contribution of 5%
At least one no cost health insurance option for full-time employees for employee-only coverage
A minimum of 80% of the cost of dependent coverage for health insurance
Open personal time off (subject to manager approval)
A minimum of 14 paid holidays
Org-wide closure from Christmas Day through New Year's Day
Paid sick time; up to 96 hours annually
17 weeks of paid parental and family leave
3 weeks of paid sabbatical after 5 years of service