Senior Software Engineer - FTC

Job Summary

PLOS is a nonprofit, Open Access publisher empowering researchers to accelerate progress in science and medicine by leading a transformation in research communication. As a Senior Software Engineer, you will draw on your diversity of experience in software engineering, architecture, and lifecycle management to collaboratively design, build, and maintain modern cloud-native solutions that power the ongoing revolution in open science. This fully remote, short-term contract position (expected to end by April 30, 2028) is ideal for a self-directed engineer who thrives on constant learning and improvement. You will work within the Digital team, contributing to cross-functional product teams and helping to evolve the platforms that support open research.

Key Responsibilities

• Contribute designs, code, tests, and code reviews as part of a cross-functional product team.
• Participate in agile ceremonies and help evolve the team's development practices.
• Contribute to overall platform architecture and ensure new work aligns with that architecture.
• Establish and support development processes that enhance team efficiency and code quality.
• Provide stewardship of the long-term sustainability of the platform, actively managing technical debt and platform health.
• Collaborate with product managers, designers, and other engineers to ship reliable, testable, and instrumented features.
• Use data to inform development decisions and drive continuous improvement.
• Mentor other engineers and contribute to a culture of knowledge sharing and technical excellence.

Role Requirements & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• Significant professional software engineering experience in a full stack environment.
• Hands-on experience developing, shipping, operating, and/or maintaining web applications.
• Deep understanding of at least one server-side language (e.g., Python, Java, Go).
• Expertise in cloud-native architectures, ideally with Google Cloud, Kubernetes, BigQuery, or similar.
• Solid foundation in secure coding practices and client-side technologies (CSS, HTML, JS).
• Experience with continuous delivery methods and technologies.
• Familiarity with data pipelines, event-driven architectures, and machine learning is preferred.

Skills Inventory

• Full stack development with modern frameworks (e.g., React, Python).
• Cloud computing (Google Cloud Platform preferred).
• Containerization and orchestration (Kubernetes).
• Data engineering and analytics (BigQuery).
• Test automation, code quality, and reliability engineering.
• Agile development practices and tools (Scrum, Kanban).
• Strong communication and collaboration skills across functions and cultures.
• Problem-solving and ability to work independently with minimal supervision.

Salary & Compensation Estimation

The base salary range for this position is $130,000 to $142,000 per year for US-based candidates, and £65,000 to £73,000 for UK-based candidates. PLOS offers a comprehensive benefits package including health insurance, retirement plans with employer match, paid time off, parental leave, and a fully remote work environment with a home office stipend. The salary is competitive for a senior engineering role within the nonprofit sector.