Software Engineer, Full Stack Developer

Job Title
:
Software Engineer

Team
:
Systems

Location
:
In-Person in Chicago (IL)

Employment Type
:
Full-time

Start Date
: ASAP

Braven is a national nonprofit that prepares promising college students to secure a strong first opportunity after college graduation through a career-accelerating program.

We work with higher education and employer partners to offer a life-changing experience that begins with a semester-long course for college students, followed by support that lasts through graduation.

Together, our ambition is to help rebuild the middle class and revitalize the American Dream.

To learn more, take a look at Braven’s Jobs Report.

In order to achieve its ambition of serving 80,000–100,000 Fellows over the next decade, Braven is hiring a Software Engineer who will focus on the user experience to have a real impact on students’ lives. We want students using our platform to feel empowered, connected, and engaged. To accomplish this, we aggressively prioritize which projects we work on, aiming to provide the most value in the simplest way possible.

We constantly iterate to improve our services as we see what works and what doesn’t. We’re agile and we like to have fun!

You will play a crucial role in our mission: prototyping new features, helping peers grow through code reviews, and learning new technologies. Braven is entering an exciting growth phase, in which we need to balance agility in developing new features with discipline to ensure we utilize software engineering best practices.

This role is on the Systems team and reports directly to the Senior Director, Software Engineering.

Focus on full-stack project initiatives (90%)

• Work primarily in Ruby on Rails or Python, showcasing proficiency and contributing to high-quality, maintainable applications.
• Take ownership of well-defined tasks and deliver reliable, impactful solutions.
• Apply software engineering best practices to improve processes, systems, and code robustness.
• Keep end-users at the forefront of your work, prioritizing solutions that have a meaningful impact and enhance students’ experiences.
• Solve technical challenges with creativity and a focus on enhancing team capabilities.

Improve the team via reviews, documentation, and cross-functional communication (10%)

• Provide constructive feedback on code and architecture proposals to promote team excellence.
• Support junior engineers through guidance and collaboration, fostering a culture of continuous learning.
• Create and maintain clear documentation for architectures, design decisions, and team protocols.
• Contribute to scrums and sprints by sharing updates, addressing blockers, and refining tasks with the team.
• Stay current with industry trends, security practices, and compliance requirements to ensure alignment with best practices.

• Other duties as assigned

• Bachelor’s Degree in a technical field or equivalent professional experience
• 3+ years of professional software engineering experience

Preferred Qualifications

• Proficient in full-stack development, with experience in Ruby on Rails and React, and expertise in backend, frontend, and database design, using Big Query, Postgre
  
  SQL, and Git.
• Strong organizational and task management skills, with the ability to prioritize work, ensure attention to detail, and make sound technical decisions independently.
• Flexible and solutions-oriented, with strong problem-solving skills and the ability to adapt to changing priorities.
• Excellent communication skills, bridging technical and non-technical teams and managing stakeholder expectations effectively.
• Collaborative team member with peer coaching experience, contributing to knowledge sharing, team growth, and fostering an inclusive learning environment.
• Personal attributes of emotional intelligence, autonomy, empathy, and the ability to maintain composure in challenging situations, emphasizing a proactive, forward‑looking approach in software development.
• Excellent communication skills, bridging technical and non‑technical teams and managing stakeholder expectations effectively.
• Demonstrated commitment to building strong and welcoming cultures that help to develop…