Lead Backend Engineer
Remote
6 months Contract to Hire
$80-88 per hour W2 (Ideally 173k Conversion)
Breakdown:

 

In this role, you will: 

Design and Development (60%)??? 

• Design and deliver high-quality software that is scalable, secure, and reusable--leveraging modern technologies, proven design patterns, and cloud-native practices to power BigFuture's core tools.? 

• Collaborate with product owners, architects, and stakeholders to uphold the highest engineering standards and translate big ideas into impactful, student-facing solutions.? 

• Break down new product capabilities into actionable, verifiable technical changes that move quickly from concept to reality.? 

• Design and implement solutions to allow rapid testing of innovative concepts using the latest technologies, typically React web apps? 

• Create sharable documentation, both technical and non-technical? 

• Exercise discretion in prototyping: investing time to make sure the most important things work well, and working with the team to mock or minimize less important features? 

• Maintain clean code and strong engineering standards such that when prototypes are greenlit for further development, the project is easy to build upon? 

• Continuously develop the skills required to work with this rapidly developing technology? 

Team Operations & Success (30%)? 

• Participate in, or lead Agile SCRUM ceremonies (Sprint Planning, Grooming, Daily SCRUM, Demo) by contributing to team deliverables and driving alignment, focus, and momentum across sprints.? 

• Elevate team performance by giving and receiving thoughtful code reviews, mentoring peers, and helping solve complex technical challenges.? 

• Assist in resolving production issues with urgency and precision, ensuring a smooth and reliable user experience.? 

• Model discipline in adhering to development standards, security practices, and CI/CD principles while helping the team move fast without compromising quality.? 

• Continuously grow your skills and embrace a poly-skilled environment where everyone contributes beyond their specialty.? 

• Serve as an organizational Subject Matter Expert on implementing Generative AI applications? 

• Work with our Enterprise Architecture team to review and/or establish implementation patterns involving Generative AI tools? 

• Advise on, and where feasible, create tools and infrastructure that will enable teams to safely deploy Generative AI tools??? 

Learning & Sharing (10%)? 

• Keep abreast of developments in GenAI capabilities and implementations? 

• Share knowledge of new developments with the team via chats, meetings, and presentations when appropriate? 

• Serve as an advisor to internal teams developing staff education around Generative AI? 

About you, you have: 

• 7+ years of professional experience designing, building, testing, and managing scalable web applications in AWS-hosted environments? 

• 3+ years' experience building back-end applications using Node(with TypeScript)? 

• Experience with relational and NoSQL databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redshift, DynamoDB)? 

• Experience building observability for your products: Set up CloudWatch, X-Ray, for logging, metrics, and alerts. 

• Hands-on experience implementing Generative AI applications (e.g., RAG chatbots, model fine-tuning, or other LLM-powered tools)? 

• Enthusiasm for learning new technologies, especially in the fast-moving GenAI space? 

• Strong knowledge and hands-on experience with back-end technologies such as Node.js

• Experience with asynchronous programming and event-driven messaging patterns? 

• Strong knowledge of AWS services (e.g., Lambda, SNS, SQS, S3, Step Functions, IAM, KMS, API Gateway, CloudWatch, DynamoDB)? 

• Experience working in Agile/Scrum environments? 

• Proven ability to mentor and coach less experienced teammates in new technologies? 

• Strong analytical thinking, structured problem-solving, and practical decision-making skills? 

• Effective communication and documentation skills? 

• Proficiency in reviewing and improving code structure and architecture for testability, maintainability, and scalability, with hands-on experience in JavaScript/TypeScript, React, Node.js, Next.js, APIs, and AWS Serverless technologies (Lambdas, DynamoDB, S3, CloudWatch, etc.). 

• Leadership in the end-to-end design and implementation of user interfaces, from architectural planning and component strategy through to polished execution, including accessibility, performance optimization, and mentoring peers on building intuitive, scalable, and user-centric front-end solutions. 

• Strong problem-solving skills, working collaboratively with team members to identify and resolve issues, and partnering with Product Owners to prioritize backlog. 

• Proven ability to pitch new ideas and implement improved systems and processes, delivering excellent results. 

• Effective communicator and team lead, able to provide actionable feedback, mentor team members, and participate in interviews to evaluate engineering talent. 

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, or related engineering fields preferred  

All roles at College Board require:   

• A passion for expanding educational and career opportunities and mission-driven work  

• Authorization to work in the United States for any employer  

• Curiosity and enthusiasm for emerging technologies, with a willingness to experiment with and adopt new AI-driven solutions and a comfort learning and applying new digital tools independently and proactively.   

• Clear and concise communication skills, written and verbal  

• A learner's mindset and a commitment to growth: welcoming diverse perspectives, giving and receiving timely, respectful feedback, and continuously improving through iterative learning and user input.  

• A drive for impact and excellence: solving complex problems, making data-informed decisions, prioritizing what matters most, and continuously improving through learning, user input, and external benchmarking.  

• A collaborative and empathetic approach: working across differences, fostering trust, and contributing to a culture of shared success.