Software Engineer

Software Engineer 

Ed-tech, Remote-friendly, US 

About the job 

Use of FlatWorld’s online educational products has grown tremendously over the last eight years.  We want you on our team to support professors in teaching and students in learning.   We are seeking a skilled, self-driven, and motivated Software Engineer to join our dynamic and close-knit remote tech team. In this role, you’ll collaborate directly with team members to design, build, and maintain scalable software solutions. As part of a small team, you’ll have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact, take ownership of projects, and contribute to all aspects of the software development lifecycle. We work in Ruby on Rails with Typescript/Javascript and other tools. All of this is “dockerized” and living in AWS where it supports tens of thousands of students every semester. 

About the team 

We are a small, remote team supporting each other through peer review and frequent collaboration. Each of our engineers specializes in certain components and skills but we share responsibility for our systems. This allows us to work independently and autonomously while partnering on larger projects. Our investments in testing, infrastructure automation, and code quality let us focus on shipping improvements for users. We listen carefully to others and treat each other, our peers, and our customers respectfully. This groundwork means we can actively lead the company in designing and delivering good solutions through software. 

About you 

You will be a good fit for this job if you’ve worked as a software engineer for three or more years and have experience building web applications as part of a distributed team. Ideally, you’ll have solid familiarity with all of the layers of a modern web application, including Ruby on Rails, JavaScript/TypeScript, SCSS/Sass, HTML, build tools, and server-side code. We don’t expect you to be an authority in all layers, but you are a full stack developer, comfortable with some things, curious about others, and willing to jump in on any project.

You are self-driven and proactive, demonstrating an ability to take ownership of tasks, work independently, and deliver high-quality results.

You excel at problem-solving with a proven ability to analyze complex issues and implement effective solutions.

You have developed good practices over time and have specific ideas about improving quality and listening to customers. You are as eager to teach us what you have learned as you are to learn from others.

You are forever curious.

About the company

Our mission is to bring textbook prices back down to earth. College faculty and students are our customers. We make their lives easier by ensuring that students have access to our high-quality, digital-first textbooks, at prices they can afford.

Adoption of FlatWorld’s affordable, high-quality digital-first textbooks and the online Homework system has grown tremendously: we have been the fastest-growing publisher in our market for the past five years. 

FlatWorld seriously embraces diversity and equal opportunity. We are committed to building teams that represent a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. The more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. 

We welcome women, men, and people of all genders who have come to software engineering through nontraditional paths.

Requirements 

• First and foremost, curiosity and the ability to think critically
• Highly team oriented. Be ready to learn and teach!
• Strong knowledge and experience developing in Ruby on Rails 
• Familiarity with Typescript and SCSS/Sass
• Expertise in writing automated tests with RSpec and a strong desire for quality in your work 
• Comfortable with modern software delivery practices (like git, automated deployment, etc.) 
• Experience working in a rapid release cycle and collaborating with colleagues in other groups 
• An ability to work in the US for a US employer 

Nice-to-have skills: 

• Experience working in Agile development environments
• Familiar with DevOps practices or infrastructure as code (e.g., Terraform, Docker, Kubernetes)
• Experience with AWS and/or Angular is a plus
• Experience in the EdTech space is helpful

How to apply 

• Write a cover letter explaining why you’re interested in FlatWorld and what you are generally looking for in an employer
• Tell us what you did with our required skills in your previous positions
• Take a shot at building your resume without an AI tool
• Differentiate yourself. Why you instead of the next person?

We’re looking for great team members. Show us that’s who you are.

Please send your resume and a cover letter to jobs@flatworld.com.