Senior Software Engineer

Who we are

SmartPass is a fast-growing K-12 startup developing a platform to make schools more efficient. Initially, we launched with a digital hall pass system — not just bathroom and water fountain visits but managing all kinds of student movements such as counselor appointments, nurse visits, and office hours. Our solution has successfully aided over 3,000 K–12 schools in maximizing classroom time, minimizing aimless hallway wandering, and enhancing student accountability.

In the past year, we've grown our product suite to include three more offerings: Flex for adaptable scheduling, ID cards for secure student identification, and Attendance for roll-call. Each product is at a pivotal stage, and we're on a mission to make SmartPass the most delightful, easy-to-use operations tool schools have ever seen. K-12 software is typically bad, and we’re in the process of changing that.

Role overview

As a Senior Software Engineer, Full-Stack at SmartPass, you’ll be an integral part of the engineering team, contributing to innovative projects that impact our million+ users. Your role involves close collaboration with the technical co-founder, and the entire Engineering, Product, and Design (EPD) team to enhance and perfect our product.

This role is remote or hybrid. Come work with us in person one day a week if you are in the NYC metropolitan area.

In this role, you will:

• Build systems/designs/patterns that enable the team to ship more and higher quality code across the frontend and backend.
• Lead complex cross-functional projects and ship high-quality features that significantly impact our core metrics — NPS scores, ARR, and customer retention. 
• Collaborate closely with product and design by ideating on new features, defining their scope, and providing your expertise.
• Establish a mentoring relationship with the other 8 members of our engineering team.
• Maintain and support systems that 1,000,000+ users depend on daily. 
• Change the perception of software in K-12 schools — affecting every student and teacher in the US

Who you are:

• You have 7+ years of experience writing software in a professional setting.
• You have 4+ years of experience working with Javascript-based frontend frameworks such as Angular, Next.js, or React.
• You have scoped, architected, and led large projects across infrastructure, backend, and frontend to deliver value to end users.
• You have built products for the average person - think Slack, Notion, or Gmail.
• You have a high bar for user experience and design.
• You strive for a healthy & productive contention between product/design and engineering.
• You are an excellent communicator and team player.
• You are endlessly curious with a drive to keep learning.

Nice to Haves:

• You have experience writing Golang in a professional setting.
• You have experience working with Angular in a professional setting.
• You’ve built or managed web-socket or real-time communication systems between the frontend and backend.
• You’ve worked on Edtech products or have classroom experience.
• You understand administrator and teachers’ daily pain-points.
• You’ve worked with small, fast-paced teams before.
• (Optional!) You live in or around NYC and can work with us in person three days a week. Currently, we’re only meeting once a week on Thursdays in Hudson Yards.

Our Stack

• Postgres & Redis.
• Monolithic API Server and Websocket system written in Golang.
• Hosted in GCP (Google Cloud Platform), services are deployed using Kubernetes.
• Frontend is written in Angular 10, and we are exploring a gradual migration to React + Tailwind.

The estimated salary range for this role is $200,000 - $240,000 per year. Actual compensation packages are based on a wide array of factors unique to each candidate including but not limited to demonstrated skill set, years & depth of experience, and some role dependent factors that can include certifications and software expertise. We also hope you’ll consider and be open to what else we provide outside of our base compensation. This includes our benefits, perks, equity, and other aspects of our overall employer brand including our culture which is built on our mission, vision and values.  We welcome direct conversations with each candidate about compensation in all our initial calls.

SmartPass is committed to creating a company where all employees regardless of background can show up and feel they belong. This is an ongoing journey, and we welcome questions one here we’re at during your interview process. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or fitness level.

Why you might be excited about us

1. We’re building software that reduces admin and teacher burden, making schools a better learning environment. If you’re into education and love working on tough engineering problems, you’ll love helping build our product.
2. Good design is one of our core values and differentiators. We won’t ship something that isn’t easy to use and doesn't looks good, even though we’re still a small startup.
3. A handful of us are hybrid in the NYC area, if you are too you can join us and collaborate with the founders face to face and some of the EPD team members. 
   
4. We’re small, so you’ll have big responsibilities and lay the groundwork as we start scaling.
5. Our team has a wide range of experiences (folks from Microsoft, Salesforce, Nielsen, previous startups, and K-12 administrators/teachers).
6. Our culture is simple: we work hard, we’re lifelong learners, and we’re fun — at every monthly all-hands, we start with a “memes of the month” and then dive deep into the work someone is doing.
7. Get in at the ground-level of a fast-growing startup.
8. We'll mold your role to shape a career you're excited about. We care a ton about your satisfaction and job happiness, and will help prep you for whatever you're looking for in the future.

Why you might not be excited about us

1. We’re small (~50 people in the company right now), so if you like more established companies, it’s not (yet) the right time. You’ll help build our company’s culture.
2. Since we’re an early stage startup, projects and priorities may shift. We’ll expect you to bring your own experience and give input to shift these priorities, too.
3. Our customers love us, and there's a lot we can improve. It's a great place to be, but that means there's some jank. (Nothing too scary! 😃)

Go Deeper

Check out our support site to watch some videos and see how SmartPass works!

SmartPass is committed to creating a company where all employees regardless of background can show up and feel they belong. This is an ongoing journey, and we welcome questions on where we’re at during your interview process. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or fitness level.