Jr. Software Engineer at Ithaka Harbors, Inc in Ann Arbor, Michigan

Job Description:

Title: Jr. Software Engineer

Work Location: Ann Arbor, MI / Remote

Experience Level: Associate

ITHAKA’s mission is to expand access to knowledge and education around the world. Our services—Artstor, JSTOR, Portico, and Ithaka S+R—enable people everywhere to learn, to grow, and to overcome historical barriers to education. In carrying out our mission, we feel a deep responsibility to each other and our well-being, and are committed to building and sustaining a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace. 

The Role

This Junior Software Engineer position is for our JSTOR development team.

You will be designing, developing and maintaining applications that are deployed on our cloud delivered platform and powered by our APIs. You will be a crucial part of a dynamic, energized and agile team delivering leading edge solutions that are used across the globe by millions of visitors each month.

Our organization and this role will provide you with an opportunity few other companies can offer including:

• Leveraging technologies including: AWS, Java, Python, and Django.


• Agile teams that follow continuous deployment and test automation best practices allowing for rapid application development and frequent deployments. We complete an average of 80 production deployments each week.


• Developers are using the same architecture, technologies and tools as companies like Netflix, Etsy, and Amazon.com.


• This is a unique opportunity to be on the leading edge of building large-scale, cloud delivered web applications that host hundreds of millions of sessions annually. 

When joining the development team at JSTOR, you can expect to receive tool and product training. We have an excellent on-boarding program, which enables new engineers to become productive very quickly. A lead will work closely with you as you begin engaging your assigned agile team. We will provide you with constant support as we work to make you comfortable in your new environment. Those in leadership roles will work tirelessly to set you up for success.

Responsibilities

The successful candidate will have applicable development experience, experience with large-scale distributed web applications, a high degree of intellectual curiosity, excellent problem-solving skills and strong communication and interpersonal skills. We look for candidates that possess strong debugging skills, a passion for best practices, and the ability to optimize code for clarity and reliability as well as performance.

The primary responsibilities of our developers include:

• Work closely with Product Owner and User Experience Designer to conduct Product Discovery using various testing methods including high and low fidelity prototypes, and live A/B testing.


• Interact with internal and external customers to understand needs and lead the development of web applications to meet those needs.


• Participate as a member of an agile team leveraging continuous deployment and test automation in order to deploy application changes to production on average more than once per day.


• Implement rich, interactive web applications using the latest technologies, frameworks and patterns.


• Leverage web analytics as needed to support Product Discovery and to measure project KPIs.


• Test, measure, and optimize performance using Application Performance Management Tools.

We are a goal driven organization with a focus on application quality and performance. Our teams thrive in this environment due to our commitment to overcome our failures and build upon our successes. 

You will spend time learning about the business, learning new technology and working with other teams to develop strong solutions to our problems.

Experience and Skills

• Experience in Object Oriented programming using Java, Python or PHP.


• Experience using MVC frameworks like Spring, Django or Zend.


• Familiarity with web technology stack (e.g. HTTP, cookies, headers, caching, CDN, and security).


• Familiarity with Linux, shell scripting or other scripting languages.


• Familiarity using profiling tools to analyze and optimize application performance. 


• Willingness and ability to learn new approaches and emerging technology.


• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.


• Detail oriented.

Work for ITHAKA

At ITHAKA we believe in openness and equity. Part of living those values is our commitment to clarity about salary, so candidates know what to expect. The pay range for this position is ($75,000 - $89,000) per year. Base pay may vary with job-related knowledge, skills, experience, market location, and geography. Our total compensation package includes a no-cost health insurance premium option, an employer-funded retirement plan, and a generous paid time off program for all benefits-eligible staff.

We are committed to our organizational values of belonging, evidence, speed, teamwork, and trust. We take inclusion seriously. Belonging is one of our core values, and it shows in our vibrant culture. People from a wide range of backgrounds work at ITHAKA, and we believe that unique perspectives help us realize new insights and build better solutions. 

We want to work with people who are passionate about ideas like these and who wish to contribute their perspectives and talents to ITHAKA’s mission. We enthusiastically welcome applications from people of all underrepresented backgrounds and credentials. We want to hear your story and include your perspective in the transformative work we aim to do.

Learn more about Working at ITHAKA.

Apply Now:

Interested candidates can submit their resume, a detailed cover letter, and salary requirements.

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer.  All qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, domestic violence victim status, veteran status, disability, history of disability or perceived disability, or other status protected by law.

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