Senior Full-stack Developer, DevOps

Why we need you

Springboard Collaborative invites talented and passionate candidates to apply for the position of Senior Full-stack Developer, DevOps. The Senior Full-stack Developer, DevOps will be responsible for delivering seamless, high-quality, and reliable web and mobile experiences, while supporting efficient continuous integration, delivery, and deployment in a Google Cloud environment. A successful candidate will be an experienced senior developer with great attention to detail, strong team leadership and problem-solving skills, and expertise in React Native, React, DevOps best practices, and Ruby on Rails.

Springboard Collaborative closes the literacy gap by closing the gap between home and school. We coach educators and family members to help kids learn to read by 4th grade. Springboard envisions a world in which parents and teachers work together—rather than in isolation—to accelerate student learning. The Senior Full-stack Developer, DevOps supports this goal by creating software that makes our programs run smoothly, efficiently, and impactfully.

The Senior Full-stack Developer, DevOps will report to the Senior Director, Engineering & Quality Assurance and work as part of the Products & Services Team. This is a great opportunity to support an entrepreneurial team to maximize the impact of a rapidly growing organization.

You can read more about the requirements, competencies, goals, and responsibilities below. We'd love to have you join us!

This is important

We are an equal opportunity employer. Diversity is more than a commitment at Springboard Collaborative—it’s at the core of what we do and how we do it. No one can solve a problem better than those who experience it firsthand. That’s why Springboard aspires to hire a diverse team that is representative of the marginalized communities we serve.

We also know that having a diverse workforce makes for a better workplace. Springboard’s hiring process seeks individuals who value diversity of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, national origin, etc.

Finally, if you’re passionate about an open role, we encourage you to apply— even if you don’t meet 100% of the qualifications listed on the job description!

Here are your priorities in the first year:

• You will maintain the existing CI/CD pipeline on Google Cloud, achieving a 95% deployment success rate within the first six months.
• You will integrate a crash and performance monitoring tool to track and minimize unexpected web app behavior in real-time to ensure stability for users through robust error handling, fallback mechanisms, and graceful recovery from failures.
• You will lead strategy development on at least one significant feature for the web application.
• You will work with the team to build, test, and release 3 core features that involve both backend (Ruby on Rails) and frontend (React).
• You will develop an initial baseline and focus on improving performance by 15% in key areas, like reducing page load times in the app and making backend requests faster.

Here are your responsibilities within and beyond the first year:

• You own the design, implementation, and maintenance of robust CI/CD pipelines using Google Cloud Build and other relevant tools.
• Ensure pipelines are optimized for speed, reliability, and scalability
• Monitor pipeline performance, identify bottlenecks, and continuously improve efficiency
• Implement and manage infrastructure using Terraform on Google Cloud
• Ensure all infrastructure changes are version-controlled and peer-reviewed
• Develop and maintain comprehensive documentation for infrastructure configurations and processes
• Set up and maintain monitoring, logging, and alerting systems using Google Cloud Operations Suite
• Develop and implement incident response protocols to ensure quick resolution and minimal downtime
• Conduct regular system audits and risk assessments to proactively identify and address potential issues
• You lead team members to ensure overall site security and design while developing and implementing new features and bug fixes to adequately cover requirements.
• Translate requirements into technical specifications and develop a plan for implementing the necessary changes
• Design and develop front-end components, user interfaces, and bug fixes using React
• Conduct thorough testing of new features and bug fixes to ensure their correctness, functionality, and compatibility with existing codebase
• Write clean, maintainable, and efficient code that adheres to coding standards and best practices
• Document changes and updates made to the codebase to maintain a clear and organized code repository
• Ensure smooth and error-free deployment, contribute to the development of deployment scripts, and monitor application health after deployments
• You design, develop, and maintain code integrations and API functionality.
• Collaborate with the rest of the Engineering team to design and implement back-end functionality, server-side logic, bug fixes, and code integrations with external systems, services, and APIs using Ruby on Rails
• Develop and maintain robust and scalable API endpoints and functionality
• Implement data validation, authentication, and authorization mechanisms to ensure the security and integrity of API interactions
• Perform thorough testing and debugging of API endpoints to ensure their correctness, performance, and adherence to specifications
• Monitor and optimize API performance, including response times and error handling, to ensure efficient and reliable operation
• Document API endpoints, functionalities, and usage guidelines to facilitate integration by other developers or third-party services
• You perform unit testing, bug discovery, and debugging.
• Write and execute unit tests to ensure the correctness and functionality of individual components and modules
• Identify and reproduce bugs by closely analyzing and understanding reported issues and error logs
• Debug code using debugging tools and techniques to locate and fix the root causes of bugs
• Collaborate with team members to investigate and resolve complex technical issues and challenges
• Continuously monitor and assess code quality to proactively identify and address potential bugs or vulnerabilities
• Utilize logging and monitoring tools to gather and analyze data for troubleshooting and bug fixing purposes
• Lead/participate in knowledge sharing sessions to exchange insights, tips, and strategies related to unit testing, bug discovery, and debugging
• You collaborate with product, engineering, and quality assurance team members to ensure software products meet the highest standards of quality.
• Attend all scrum events and Engineering Team meetings
• Participate in requirement reviews to develop context for current and upcoming feature development
• Provide technical input and engage in discussions to ensure the proposed solutions meet the highest quality standards
• Actively communicate progress, challenges, and risks to the team and stakeholders to maintain transparency and foster collaboration
• Participate in code reviews and provide constructive feedback to improve code quality and maintainability

What you offer us
Here are the competencies and requirements we expect the right candidate to have: 

• Analysis & Reasoning: You actively collect and examine data to grasp issues with our products or methodologies, draw data-driven conclusions, make strong recommendations for improvement, and resolve bugs and obstacles. 
• Attention to Detail: You diligently pursue completion, thoroughness, and accuracy in your work and pursue the highest quality in our software products through your coding and testing. You have the capacity to drive projects to completion with a high degree of independence.
• Teamwork: You drive projects, mentor others, anticipate and solve complex problems, and ensure that technical solutions align with both immediate goals and long-term org strategy. 
• Valuing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: You actively create and support a work environment and technical products that embrace and appreciate diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Problem-Solving: You proactively work to resolve difficult and complicated technical challenges with diligence, creativity, innovation, and persistence, moving forward with initiative and focus.
• You have 7+ years of experience in full-stack development with exposure to DevOps practices.

• You have 4+ years of experience with React and Ruby on Rails.

• You have experience with serverless architectures on the Google Cloud Platform and containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes).
• You have familiarity with infrastructure as code (IaC) tools (e.g., Terraform) and supporting CI/CD tools (e.g., Google Cloud Build, Jenkins, GitLab CI, GitHub Actions).
• You have an excellent understanding of monitoring, logging, and alerting tools and practices.

• You have knowledge of relational databases and the ability to write complex queries for data manipulation and retrieval.

It would also be nice if you had:

• A degree in computer science or a related field
• Familiarity with security best practices in DevOps, including secure coding, vulnerability scanning, and compliance.
• Familiarity with implementing and managing deployment pipelines.
• Experience collaborating with off-shore development teams, demonstrating strong communication and coordination skills.

While this description is meant to provide an overview of the goals and responsibilities of the Senior Full-stack Developer, DevOps, we are seeking candidates who demonstrate flexibility and can adapt to evolving needs in an entrepreneurial environment.

What we offer you

Compensation
Our compensation values: At Springboard, compensation equity is integral to the way we operate and our commitment to competitiveness, pay equity, performance-based rewards, transparent & equitable career growth, and progressive benefits.

Compensation for this role: Each role at Springboard is placed in a compensation band with 5 levels. Generally, we expect candidates that meet all the hiring criteria to be offered the midpoint of the band. This role sits within Band 6. The midpoint of this band is $147,819. The actual level of the successful candidate (and corresponding salary) will be based on compensable factors such as job-relevant education, job-relevant experience, training, licensure, demonstrated competencies, and other factors. You may also be eligible for Springboard's bonus program.
Our process to determine compensation: Springboard does not negotiate the offered salary during the offer conversation. Throughout the interview process, we will evaluate your alignment with the compensable factors listed in the job description. From there, we will determine your starting salary on a level within the job band.

At Springboard, we feel it is important to take care of our employees, which is why we offer a competitive benefits package. These benefits include the following:

• The usual stuff - Medical insurance with a cash stipend for those who waive Springboard coverage. Options include PPO, High Deductible/HSA, and EPO.
• We’ll take care of it - We fully cover your vision & dental insurance premiums, plus your short & long-term disability coverage.
• Securing your future - We match up to 6% of your salary in 403(b) retirement contributions after your first twelve months at Springboard.
• Paid Time Off (PTO) is important - Four weeks (20 days) annually. At Springboard, time off isn’t earned. Everyone gets access to their time at the start of the calendar year.
• Holidays! - All 11 federal holidays, two extra floating holidays, weekdays between Christmas and New Year’s Day, Election Day, and your birthday!
• Under the weather? - We don’t cap the number of sick days available to employees.
• Paid Leave - Parental Leave (12 weeks after the first 6 months of employment). Marriage Leave (five days). 
• Technology - All employees receive a Springboard laptop and optional monitor. Springboard uses Google Workspace and Asana. 

• We are committed to your development - We provide personal & professional development funding of $2000/year.

• Your wellness is a priority - Our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides support for stress/anxiety, finance, law, family, substance abuse, grief, and more. 
• Transparency is key - We ensure regular opportunities to discuss individual and organizational development and our commitment to equity. Consistent and structured real-time feedback is foundational to Springboard’s culture.

Location and travel

Applications are welcome from any location within the United States. This role can be performed remotely, with quarterly travel to participate in team and org-wide retreats. Springboard Collaborative’s headquarters office is in Philadelphia, PA.

Springboard requires in-person employees at a Springboard facility or participating in in-person SBC programming or events to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 unless a medical or religious exemption is approved. Being fully vaccinated means an individual is at least two weeks past their final dose of a CDC-authorized COVID-19 vaccine regimen. As a condition of employment, newly hired employees will be asked to provide their COVID-19 vaccination status and proof of vaccination, as required.

About Springboard

Since our founding in 2012, we have grown Springboard’s reach from 40 to more than 100,000 students in over 300 Title 1 schools. Amidst rapid growth, Springboard consistently delivers best-in-class results. In schools that often struggle to get 20% of parents to show up for report card conferences, Springboard’s weekly family workshops average 88% attendance. Students average a 3-4-month reading gain during each program cycle, closing the gap to grade-level performance by about half in just five or ten weeks. Springboard’s work has been featured by Forbes, NPR, and the New York Times (twice). Nationally, Springboard Collaborative is the only organization to have cracked the code on equipping marginalized families to teach reading at home. You can learn more by watching our CEO on the main stage of ASU GSV.

Our org chart & mission

Click here to view Springboard’s structure at a glance, and here to browse our incredible staff. You can read more about how we engage teachers and families to accelerate student learning in this op-ed.