• Drive architectural decisions and contribute to long-term technical strategy in partnership with engineering leadership • Own complex feature development end-to-end, from initial planning through delivery and observability • Set engineering standards and promote best practices in code quality, testing, documentation, and system design • Collaborate with product, design, and other technical stakeholders to shape roadmaps and scope technical initiatives • Mentor engineers across the team and provide technical leadership through code reviews, design discussions, and knowledge sharing • Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks, scaling challenges, and system reliability issues • Advocate for and contribute to improved developer experience through tooling, automation, and process refinement

• Build end‑to‑end features across UI, API, and database layers. • Improve SQL performance through indexing, query optimization, and schema refinement. • Develop REST APIs with proper error handling, logging, and validation. • Refactor legacy code to improve maintainability and testability. • Manage feature branches and resolve complex merge conflicts. • Review pull requests from junior developers with constructive feedback. • Follow and enforce branching strategies (GitFlow, trunk‑based, etc.). • Write comprehensive unit and integration tests. • Work with QA to: - Define test cases for Playwright automation - Validate API contract tests in Postman - Participate in defect triage and root‑cause analysis - Ensure code is testable and supports automation frameworks. • Enhance built pipelines by adding automated tests, static analysis, or linting. • Contribute to deployment scripts and environment configuration. • Troubleshoot pipeline failures and improve reliability. • Estimate work accurately and identify risks early. • Collaborate with product owners to refine requirements. • Support hybrid Agile/Waterfall delivery by adapting to project needs.

Role Description We are looking for a talented and knowledgeable full stack software developer to join NPR's Research, Archives & Data Strategy department (RAD). RAD colleagues work with all aspects of the storytelling cycle from conception to preservation. We are a cross-functional team of product owners, taxonomists, researchers, archivists, trainers and developers, and we work with everyone at NPR. This position works exclusively with RAD’s internal products and services, and is tasked with managing and growing their technological capabilities. Our teamwork thrives on agility and continuous improvement in all that we do. The right person for this role is self-driven, learns fast and is a creative thinker who brings their best to a collaborative team role. As the sole full-time developer for these products, you will have the opportunity to update and improve legacy assets. You will be expected to work on almost all facets of them completely, from adding new features to managing their deployment in the cloud and handling disaster recovery. This is a unique role that encompasses the full scope of web application development: architecting systems, API design, DevOps, front and back end development. Your work will require you to communicate and collaborate effectively with other technologists throughout the organization. Responsibilities - Manage all technical aspects of the life cycle development of NPR RAD’s archive, taxonomy and music production products; carry out the gathering, analysis, and development of specifications and requirements as provided by product owners. - Work closely and communicate effectively with RAD product owners and team, thoroughly developing an understanding of how best to work with each of us. - Establish and maintain effective professional relationships and communication with other NPR technologists and external vendors. - Identify and act on ways to improve and align RAD products with other NPR products and services. - Keep current with technological developments and incorporate new knowledge as appropriate. - Write and regularly update documentation to make workflows and outcomes visible. Qualifications - 3+ years of professional experience (not including internship) in software development. - 2+ years professional experience (not including internship) creating and deploying applications/services in a cloud (e.g., AWS, Azure, homegrown). - 2+ years of professional experience (not including internship) managing NoSQL databases/search engines such as Elasticsearch, Redis, DynamoDB, MongoDB, etc. Experience with Elasticsearch is preferred. - Experience working with a large inherited codebase. - Demonstrated mastery of full-stack JavaScript and Typescript, with experience using Node.js and any front end frameworks such as Angular, Vue.js, React, etc. - Experience building and maintaining APIs used heavily by other teams internally and/or externally. - Fluency on the Unix command line in various Linux-like environments. - Experience working with a version control system (Git/GitHub preferred). - Confidence in working with and deploying to production infrastructure (GitHub Actions preferred). - Ability to create and communicate practical technical designs through PRDs, wireframes, workflow diagrams. - Commitment to crafting well-tested, well-documented and elegantly structured code. - Commitment to standards-based web development. - Ability to professionally flourish alongside and communicate with busy colleagues in a deadline-driven environment. - Demonstrated ability to learn and deploy new skills on the job. Preferred Qualifications - Experience supporting digital preservation activities in an archives or library environment. - Coordination of engineering work with other teams in a nonprofit and/or large organization. - Additional fluencies in programming languages and frameworks (e.g., PHP, Express, Python). - Familiarity with using Docker for local development and deployment (e.g., Amazon ECS). - Awareness of current events and the complexities of news coverage. Work Location & Requirements This is a remote-permitted role. This role is based out of our Washington, D.C. office, but the employee may choose to work on a remote basis from a location that NPR approves. You will have the option of working (a) remotely from a location of your choosing within the United States that is supported by NPR; (b) on-site at an NPR facility, based on the availability of desks and approval from NPR; or (c) a combination of both. Regardless of where you choose to work from, you may be expected to travel to other locations from time to time to perform the duties of your position. Job Type This is a full-time, exempt position. Compensation The U.S. based anticipated salary range for this opportunity is $128,000-$138,000 plus benefits. The range displayed reflects the minimum and maximum salaries NPR expects to provide for new hires for the position across all US locations. Benefits - NPR offers access to comprehensive benefits for employees and dependents. - Regular, full-time employees scheduled to work 30 hours or more per week are eligible to enroll in NPR’s benefits options. - Benefits include access to health and wellness, paid time off, and financial well-being. - Plan options include medical, dental, vision, life/ accidental death and dismemberment, long-term disability, short-term disability, and voluntary retirement savings to all eligible NPR employees. Equal Opportunity Employer NPR is committed to being an inclusive workplace that welcomes diverse and unique perspectives, all working toward the same goal – to create a more informed public. Qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, national origin, ancestry, age, religion, religious belief, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, lactation, and reproductive health decisions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, transgender status, gender non-conforming status, intersex status, sexual stereotypes, nationality, citizenship status, personal appearance, marital status, family status, family responsibilities, military status, veteran status, mental and physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, genetic characteristics of yourself or a family member, political views and affiliation, unemployment status, protective order status, status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, or any other basis prohibited under applicable law.

• Lead the design, development, and deployment of secure, scalable, and high-performance backend services and RESTful APIs using Node.js and TypeScript • Architect and optimize data models in MongoDB, ensuring high availability, performance, and data integrity for large-scale applications • Write clean, modular, testable, and reusable code • Contribute to architectural decisions, including the design of microservices and event-driven systems • Work closely with business stakeholders, onshore/offshore developers, and other cross-functional teams to translate business requirements into technical solutions • Investigate, diagnose, and resolve complex technical issues and production incidents • Mentor and guide junior and mid-level engineers