Sr AI​/Backend Software Engineer

WHO ARE YOU?

You are a high‑impact Senior Software Engineer driven by innovation and excited to apply your technical expertise in building and scaling solutions that have a positive impact.

We are passionate, innovative, lifelong learners, and creative thinkers working to develop culturally authentic language learning products for K-12 schools and universities.

In this Senior Software Engineer role, you will join our talented and collaborative Development team, in designing, building, and scaling backend systems while integrating AI‑powered capabilities. You will play a key role in shaping our innovative, industry‑leading language education products for the K‑12 and Higher Education markets.

• Languages/Frameworks:
  Ruby/Rails, JS, Vue
• Persistence:
  MySQL, Postgres, Redis, Elastic Search
• Hosting: AWS

• Participate in all aspects of the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC)
• Perform tests to optimize performance
• Write clean code to develop functioning web applications
• Work effectively and collaborate with different team members to deliver on-time and efficient projects

• Bachelor’s Degree
• 7+ years of experience as a Senior Software Engineer working with Ruby, Ruby on Rails or Python + Java Script
• Demonstrated software architectural design experience, including data persistence and API design
• Strong understanding of Large Language Models (LLMs), LLM APIs
• Strong understanding of networking and web browser protocols
• Advanced working knowledge of
  * nix systems, and comfort working at terminal command line.
• Advanced SQL and DB schema design knowledge
• Advanced working knowledge of git & Git Hub
• Experience collaborating with other departments/teams
• Strong communication, listening and interpersonal skills to be able to actively listen to needs and respond to audience appropriately

• Backend/Full stack development and AI Tooling experience
• Knowledge around LLM evaluation and MLOps practices
• Experience with Sagemaker, AWS Poly, Azure Speech Service
• Experience with SQL, Postgres, Redis, Elasticsearch
• Experience building/deploying high-capacity applications in cloud environments, especially AWS
• A strong understanding of how to architect solutions for scalability and performance
• Experience with Ruby highly preferred
• Experience in ed-tech, education, language-learning or a similar industry
• Familiarity with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and best practices for meeting 2.1 AA compliance

Boston-Hybrid or Remote - Eastern US Time Zone. Position requires current residence within the United States of America and within the eastern time zone. Ideal candidates will be located within close proximity to our Boston office location and be willing to work a Tuesday and Thursday (2-day minimum) Hybrid schedule. Relocation assistance is not available.

$140k-$150k annual base salary range. This position is salaried and is eligible for an annual incentive based on employee and organizational performance.

Our benefits package includes life/health/dental/vision insurance, 401(k), educational assistance, commuter pass subsidies, generous employee referral bonuses, PTO and paid holidays.

If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process due to a physical or mental disability, please send an email to: [email protected]

Vista Higher Learning is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, age, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, physical or mental disability, and/or protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by applicable law.

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.