Staff Software Engineer

CodePath’s educational programs run on our sophisticated learning platform, a set of Ruby-based applications with functionality spanning admissions, course delivery, grading, career coaching, and reporting.

We're looking for a Staff Software Engineer who can lead at multiple levels at once: the architecture, the product direction, the team's capacity, and the longer arc of where we're going. You'll move fluidly across the full technical stack, from infrastructure decisions to greenfield product work.  

This is a high-ownership role. You'll work directly with stakeholders to understand what students and staff actually need, participate in deciding what gets built, and then lead the execution. You won't be handed a ticket queue. You'll shape the work.
 

The ideal candidate for this role is a web engineer inspired by potential projects like these:

• Building brand-new functionality in Rails and beyond to create sophisticated and powerful new tools for our users and extend our reach to new kinds of learners we’ve never been able to serve before

• Reimagining core platform components as we migrate them from Sinatra to Rails

• Integrating AI/ML technology into our platform to support mastery-driven, adaptive learning

• Scaling a system that has helped tens of thousands of students to help hundreds of thousands more

Key Activities

• Architect and build web applications across Ruby on Rails, Sinatra/Padrino, and Django that directly support our mission

• Make consequential technical decisions on infrastructure, data modeling, API design, and emerging technologies with full ownership of the tradeoffs

• Set the code quality bar through reviews, architectural guidance, and constructive feedback

• Write automated tests that reflect real edge cases, not just coverage targets

• Identify performance bottlenecks and systemic issues before they become outages

• Mentor other engineers and raise the technical ceiling of the team
  
  

Qualifications

• 10+ years of software engineering experience, including at least 5 years with Ruby on Rails

• Familiarity with Claude Code or similar development tools and related best practices

• A systems-thinking orientation: you consider scalability, maintainability, and failure modes before writing a line of code

• Strong PostgreSQL and database design skills, including experience with complex queries, indexing strategies, and schema evolution

• Reasonable working familiarity with the full web stack, from infrastructure to CSS

• Demonstrated ability to lead technical decisions in a small, autonomous team environment

• Strong written and verbal communication. You can explain a technical tradeoff to a non-engineer without losing what actually matters

• Passion for education and desire to make a positive impact
  
  

Nice to haves

• Familiarity with higher education or edtech

• Direct experience working with LLMs and generative AI in production

• Familiarity with Docker, Ansible, and/or Terraform

• Experience deploying on GCP

Full-Time Employee Benefits:

This is a 100% remote position! CodePath prioritizes employee well-being with a competitive benefits package to support your health, financial security, and work-life balance.

• Health & Wellness: Medical, dental, and vision insurance (90% employer-covered for employees and dependents), employer-funded healthcare reimbursement, FSAs, and Employee Assistance Program

• Financial Security: 401(k), employer-paid life & disability insurance, and identity theft protection

• Work-Life Balance: Generous PTO, paid holidays, 10 weeks of fully paid parental leave, and an annual year-end company closure (Dec 24 – Jan 2)

• Professional Growth: $1,000 annual professional development stipend and home office setup support

• ​​Student Loan Forgiveness: CodePath is a qualifying employer for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), helping employees manage student loan debt

• Additional Perks: Pet wellness plans, legal services, home/auto insurance discounts, and exclusive marketplace savings