Location: Remote within the US

About our organization:

At Democracy Works, we help Americans vote, no matter what! Our vision is to make voting a simple, seamless experience for all Americans so that no one misses an election, and our team works to help make this happen. Democracy Works is committed to diversity and inclusion in everything we do and aspires to have a team that's representative of the voters we serve.

Salary Range: $118,800 - $136,000 (Offers will vary based on experience and location-based cost-of-living calculations.)

• Level: 4
• Supervisory role: N

The impact you’ll make:

Our teams work closely together to build the tools for both voters and election administrators. Our suite of tools include TurboVote, the Voting Information Project (VIP), How To Vote, and Ballot Scout. To power these tools we use a variety of languages such as; JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Ruby, Clojure, and ClojureScript + re-frame (a framework built atop React). We employ a microservices architecture where deployments are managed using containers (Docker) orchestrated by Kubernetes and running in the AWS cloud. Services primarily communicate using RabbitMQ and store their data in Datomic and PostgreSQL.

As a member of the team, you will:

• Collaboratively solve problems, often by writing high quality, supportable code that fulfills the requirements laid out by your Product team
• Write clear documentation and tests
• Participate in the processes we use to build our products: scoping work, engaging in planning, and reviewing code written by others
• Collaborate with your Engineering Manager and Product Owner to make progress and highlight blockers for you or other team members
• Operate and communicate effectively with a distributed team, using tools such as Slack and Zoom
• Give and get feedback to grow yourself and your team
• Be available for pair programming
• Participate in an on-call rotation for your team when you’re ready and have the resources to be successful (off-hours pages are rare and we take them seriously)
• Engage in conversations about anti-oppression and racial justice in our work

As a Senior Software Engineer on the team, you will:

• Deliver high-quality work in a timely manner
• Implement large-scale technical architecture decisions that have multi-year impact such as choices of new framework, language, or vendors
• Independently lead successful projects
• Work on projects of advanced scope where analysis of situations or data requires thorough investigation
• Set high quality standards for the team on architecture and best practices
• Advance knowledge and experience in multiple areas of the code
• Produce high-quality design and deliverables with minimal changes necessary
• Actively participate in architecture conversations
• Independently own large-impact initiatives and the research and growth needed to achieve goals
• Serve as a subject-matter expert in the development/engineering space and a go-to resource for thought partnership
• Provide technical mentorship to members of your team

You are someone with:

• Strong English written communication skills
• An ability to communicate technical concepts to an audience with a variety of technical backgrounds
• An ability to communicate with empathy and are an active listener, understanding that software is created by and for people
• Strong background in at least one functional programming language with a desire to learn Clojure/ClojureScript
• You have experience with or an understanding of relational databases and relational data modeling
• A desire to join a remote, distributed team
• Familiarity with a distributed version control system (such as Git or Mercurial)
• An ability to learn, make tradeoffs, and think critically about software systems
• Curiosity: you like exploring new tools, techniques, and perspectives on building software
• A commitment to being detail-oriented and thorough in your work
• Interest in supporting voters or working on problems facing election infrastructure in the United States
• A solid foundation in issues of racial justice, or beginning to learn more in earnest
• Hands-on experience delivering projects using a functional, object-oriented or scripting programming language.

You have experience:

• Successfully completing at least 5 years working on or with a team shipping software
• Leading development on a software project

It’s a plus if:

• You’ve previously worked on a remote, distributed team
• You enjoy automating repetitive or manual tasks
• You have experience with or a desire to work with service-oriented or microservices architectures
• You have experience working with Amazon Web Services
• You have experience with or an understanding of accessibility in software development
• You have a knowledge of testing practices including test automation
• You have experience with and enjoy data modeling for complex data pipelines
• You have experience with or an understanding of geospatial databases or spatial relational database extensions
• You have experience with or an understanding of geospatial software such as ArcGIS or QGIS

How we work

Because elections take place everywhere, our employees work from practically every state in the union. We embrace working remotely as the default. Our positions require regular, daily use of a computer (including the use of G-Suite and Slack) to conduct work and communicate with colleagues. You’ll participate in weekly check ins with the team, individual check ins with manager, and other team meetings as needed. We also have regular operating hours (10 am to 6 pm Eastern, Monday to Friday).

For those who prefer to work from an office, we are headquartered in Brooklyn, NY, and we provide support for co-working spaces around the country. We are happy to share more details about the office, including accessibility information, as on-site visits are planned.

Benefits

We have an engaging, remote-forward workplace and as a member of the team, some of the benefits you’ll enjoy include:

• 100% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision option for you and your dependents
• 12 floating holidays and 25 days of Paid Time Off (PTO) per year
• 12 weeks of paid parental leave
• $1000 towards professional development activities

We also offer a 403(b) retirement plan, stipends for equipment and internet reimbursement, and annual Calm or Headspace subscription reimbursements.

To Apply

Attach your resume and answers to the following questions:

• How did you find this job listing?
• Why are you interested in this role and working at Democracy Works?
• Describe a bug you had a primary role in fixing. How did you troubleshoot and resolve the issue?
• Are you authorized to work lawfully in the United States for Democracy Works?

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) in Hiring

Democracy Works is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against applicants based on race, religion, color, disability, medical condition, legally protected genetic information, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, gender identity or expression, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions), age, veteran status or other legally protected characteristics.

As part of our application, you’ll see an optional form used to collect U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) demographic information. Please note the categories used in this survey are set by the EEOC and may not reflect all existing categories.The data collected in this form is anonymized and is used in our EEOC reporting and in ongoing assessment of our recruitment practices.

Democracy Works follows the I-9 requirements of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Immigration sponsorship is not available for this position, and you must possess your own work authorization in the U.S. now and in the future to continue working in this position.

Please reach out to hr@democracy.works if you have any questions about our process or if you need an accommodation for a medical condition during the hiring process.