Software Engineer

Today, 67% of students and 82% of low-income students can’t read at grade level by the end of third grade. That’s when students are supposed to go from learning to read to reading to learn. It’s America’s number one education crisis and we know how to fix it.

Ignite Reading delivers one-to-one virtual tutoring that teaches every student the foundational skills they need to become a confident, fluent reader. We pair students who need extra support with expert reading tutors who provide daily, 15-minute, Science of Reading-based instruction that rapidly closes their decoding gaps. We focus on the foundational reading skills—phonics, phonemic awareness, and sight words—kids need to master so they can decode a sentence. Students in Ignite Reading’s program achieve over 2 weeks of reading skills growth per week of instruction, and notably all students achieve the same outstanding results including students with IEPs, multilingual learners, students of color and those receiving free or reduced-price lunch.

Ignite Reading is a mission-driven public benefit corporation. We believe we can do well for our team members and shareholders while we solve one of the nation’s biggest challenges. We believe we will be more successful with a diverse team and are seeking candidates who have lived experience related to social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Your Role

Reporting to the Lead Software Engineer, the Software Engineer for Ignite Reading is responsible for leading software development projects in support of scaling Ignite to serve at least 100,000 students in the next 5 years.

Ignite Reading Uses Technology To Enable The Delivery Of Our Virtual Tutoring Services, Maximize The Learning Of Our Student, And Accelerate Our Ability To Scale. To This End, The Product Is Focused On Four Key Technology Needs

• A tutoring logistics platform, which enables us to schedule, conduct and report on our tutoring sessions.
• A tutor workflow platform, which lets tutors know exactly what to teach each student every day.
• An extended learning application, which enables students to practice what they learn in their tutoring sessions after they return to the classroom or go home at night.
• An AI/ML implementation, which will enable us to ensure lesson fidelity as we scale.

Key Responsibilities

• Assessing the state of technical needs and platforms across the organization.
• Designing, testing, and developing key software projects, building and optimizing solutions to meet the short and long term needs of Ignite Reading.
• Partnering with tutoring, academic, and operations teams to create and deliver solutions that meet the needs of internal and external customers.
• Meeting or exceeding project timelines and deliverables.
• Ensuring consistent functionality with Ignite Reading platforms.
• Supporting the development of the engineering function at Ignite Reading.
• Providing a continuous feedback loop on the customer experience in order to drive innovative program solutions and improvements.

Qualifications

We encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every requirement. Many successful team members bring transferable skills or learn new tools on the job.

• Real-world engineering experience. You have built and maintained software in production. (Many candidates have 3+ years of experience, but this is a guideline, not a rule.)
• Comfort with modern web technologies. You are familiar with an object-oriented or functional language (like Ruby, Python, JavaScript, PHP, Java, .NET, etc.), and have experience working with relational databases.
• Willing to work across the stack. You have used front-end frameworks (like React, Vue, Svelte, etc.) and are comfortable taking ownership across different parts of the codebase. Product-minded. You are motivated by solving real problems for users and are comfortable prioritizing features based on user and team needs.
• Focused on quality and maintainability. You care about writing clean, reliable code and have experience debugging and improving performance.
• Collaborative. You enjoy working with others across disciplines and are excited to be a part of a cross-functional agile team.
• Strong communicator. You share ideas clearly, ask thoughtful questions, and value inclusive communication in a remote environment.
• Adaptable and self-directed. You manage your time and priorities effectively in a dynamic environment, and you’re comfortable learning as you go.

We also ensure you have the tools you need to thrive both in and out of work.

• Employee Stock Options
• Medical, Dental, and Vision (80% employee coverage, 50% dependent coverage)
• Short-term Disability (100% employer paid)
• Technology Stipend
• Unlimited PTO + 12 paid holidays
• Professional Development Stipend
• Wellness Reimbursement
• Internet Stipend
• 12 Weeks of Parental Leave
• Yearly Staff Retreat
• Voluntary Life Insurance

We believe in building and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace environment. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer where all applicants are considered for employment without attention to color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status. Research shows that candidates from underrepresented backgrounds often don't apply for roles if they don't meet all the criteria – unlike majority candidates meeting significantly fewer requirements. We strongly encourage you to apply if you’re interested!

We are seeking candidates who have lived experience related to social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are a virtual organization with headquarters in the California Bay Area.