Staff Software Engineer
Art of Problem SolvingSan Diego, California, United States · Posted 3 months agoDescription
At AoPS, we are world leaders in teaching advanced mathematics. We train many of the most elite mathematicians in the world, including all members of the US International Math Olympiad team. Despite this impact, AoPS remains relatively unknown to the broader public.
AoPS is unique because it is vertically integrated: it develops its own curriculum, runs its own physical learning centers, employs teachers, and has a robust and capable product, design, and engineering team. Today, our curriculum and academic programs are absolutely world-class, but our digital experiences are dated. Your job will be to help us reimagine our digital learning experiences and push the upper bounds of great teaching and learning.
As a Staff Software Engineer, you'll be a core member of a small and scrappy team, partnering directly with peers in curriculum and design, as well as the broader AoPS engineering organization, to design, build, and iterate on real user feedback.
We're looking for someone who loves building student-facing products and cares deeply about craft. This isn't a role where you'll just implement a spec that's handed to you. You'll be:
- Prototyping solutions quickly, testing with families and iterating based on what you learn
- Digging into user feedback and data to understand what's resonating and not
- Making technical decisions that balance moving fast with building foundations that scale
- Working across the stack - from React components to database schema and more
The Staff Software Engineer will:
- Build Products That Matter: Architect software that engages, challenges, and inspires students to go deeper. Whether it's through collaborating closely with our classroom instructors, AI-powered support, cleaner interfaces, or improving our multiplayer whiteboard algorithms, you'll explore multiple approaches to create learning experiences that truly resonate. When the path forward isn't obvious, you'll pioneer the solutions that move our mission forward
- Drive Strategic Evolution: Champion continuous improvement by transforming legacy systems into modern platforms, refining our testing and deployment practices, and evolving our architecture for the future. When you spot technical debt or opportunities to adopt current frameworks, you'll take initiative to address them strategically. This isn't just refactoring, it's charting the technical path forward while keeping our products rock-solid for the students who depend on them
- Elevate the Team: Through thoughtful code reviews and hands-on mentorship, help teammates level up their skills. You're not just writing code, you're shaping how we think about architecture, design, and technical excellence across the team
- Own the Entire Journey: From initial user conversations with Product and Design through launch and beyond, be deeply involved in shaping what we build and how we build it. Your technical insights will influence product strategy, and you'll see your ideas come to life in the hands of real learners
- Communicate Fearlessly: Keep stakeholders informed with clear timelines and early warnings when challenges emerge. No surprises: just transparent, proactive communication that helps the whole team move faster
- Stay Sharp: Stay curious about emerging web technologies and best practices, always expanding your toolkit and bringing fresh ideas to the team
The ideal candidate has:
- 4+ years of professional experience in full stack web development using the following strongly preferred: Typescript, React, Next.js, and RDBMS such as PostgreSQL
- A strong understanding of the JavaScript language and ecosystem
- Experience building culture in an early stage startup environment
- Ability to thrive in an ambiguous and fast-paced environment
- A proven ability to build delightful consumer experiences
- Ability to provide technical leadership and coaching on full stack design and code
- A track record as a thought leader on product/development strategy and owner of large projects
- Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and creative skills
Why Join AoPS: This is a hybrid full-time position based at our headquarters in San Diego, CA. The hiring range for this position is $190k - $210k. Here are some things you can look forward to:
- Impact: As a Staff Software Engineer, you will play a central role in reimagining AoPS's digital learning experiences, directly shaping the tools and platforms that inspire and challenge the next generation of great problem solvers
- Flexibility: Casual work environment with a hybrid work week and flexible scheduling
- Benefits: Multiple options for Medical, Dental and Vision plans
- Future Planning: 401(k) with company match
- Quality of Life: PTO Plan and supportive leadership that gives you the work-life balance you deserve
- Ease of Transition: Relocation bonus (if currently located outside of San Diego)
Background Check: Please note that employment is contingent on the successful completion of a background check.
Work Authorization: Please note that in order to be considered for this position you must be legally authorized to work in the US. We are unable to offer sponsorship, including STEM-OPT and H-1B.
About AoPS: Art of Problem Solving (AoPS) is on a mission to discover, inspire, and train the great problem solvers of the next generation. Since 2003, we have trained hundreds of thousands of the country's top students, including nearly all the members of the US International Math Olympiad team, through our online school, in-person academies, textbooks, and online learning systems. While our primary focus has been math for most of our history, through the years we have expanded our unique problem solving curriculum into more subjects, such as language arts, science, and computer science.
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