Lead Engineer

About Upstatement

Upstatement is a digital product studio with an editorial mindset. We use the tools of design, engineering, and journalism to enrich lives and create a more just society. Our 50-person team works with established leaders (MIT, ESPN, PBS) and emerging companies who are about to change the world.

• Work with ethical and mission-driven organizations.
• Collaborate in a high-trust environment that empowers creative ownership.
• Build a portfolio you can be proud of.
• Blossom in a small studio culture full of top talent and peers who help you grow.
• Find your path at a place that prizes flexibility: We encourage experimentation, support role switching, and help people balance between maker/manager and lead/support.
• Contribute to a progressive, values-driven culture that has deep commitment to DEI, puts people first, and believes in making each other better.
• Experience true life-work balance with a 4-Day Work Week.

We Are

• A full-stack shop doing large and technically ambitious projects
• Champions of resourceful engineers and best practices
• Inspired by the bleeding edge, yet pragmatic and tool agnostic
• Open Source advocates and contributors
• Pavers of individual growth paths (for makers and managers!)
• Supporters of ambition and career development

The Position

A hands-on maker & strategist who leads a range of projects (we’re tech agnostic). Work on meaningful problems while mentoring a team.

Engineers are the functional soul of our team, tasked with transforming creative concepts into production realities for our clients, ourselves, and the open source community.

Our engineers rarely specialize exclusively in one tech stack, preferring to keep an open mind and a diverse skill set in order to deliver optimal solutions for the problem at hand. Their responsibilities don’t end with code, as we believe communication, collaboration, and good judgement are as important to our work as raw programming skills.

Responsibilities

• Code. High quality, clean, and readable front-end/back-end code developed in concert with design and delivered on time.
• Quality. Engineers are accountable for the overall quality of our production deliverables – code, infrastructure, and documentation.
• Communication. Clear and concise written and oral communication, both internally and with our clients and tech partners.
• Collaboration. We’re not just the last stop in a production pipeline; our engineers contribute critical thinking at every phase of the project life cycle.
• Research & Solution Architecture. You’ll work alongside creative directors to lead the research and selection of technical solutions to fulfill business requirements.
• Leadership. Help strengthen our team by passing on your craftsmanship through close collaboration, knowledge shares, and mentorship.

Requirements

FWIW: Worries of “what if I’m not the perfect fit” can sometimes hold us back from applying to jobs. We want to let you in on a secret: there is no perfect candidate. Sure, we’re interested in resumes, but also the narrative beyond that resume—unique backgrounds, experiences, points of views, etc. As such—there is no set of boxes to tick in order to be a good candidate. If this is a job that excites you, we hope you’ll apply.

• Professional experience in a similar role
• Fluency with one or more server-side languages
• Familiarity with popular frameworks and CMSs
• Modern client-side skills
• Intimate knowledge of web performance and security
• Working knowledge of common testing tools and methodologies
• Familiarity with accessibility standards and best practices
• Working familiarity with Scrum/Agile methodologies
• Communicative, thoughtful, optimistic, and collaborative

Our Hiring Process

Our goal is to get to know you in a low-pressure, friendly environment — and to give you ample opportunity to learn more about us, too.

Our typical process includes these types of experiences:

• A resume screen and introductory phone/video chat
• A take-home exercise where you’ll have the opportunity to demonstrate your communication and problem-solving skills
• Additional conversations with potential future team members, the hiring manager, and leadership

Our goal is to create an environment where you can interview at your best. Our interview process is fully remote, conducted via Zoom calls. If we can provide any assistance or accommodations during your time with us, please let us know at hr@upstatement.com. All requests are treated as privately as possible and have no impact on candidate eligibility.

Benefits

• Salary range commensurate with experience ($130,000-$150,000)
• Health, dental, and vision insurance, and supplementary health benefits (FSA, IVF coverage, TalkSpace)
• A company-matched retirement plan
• $1,000 home office setup stipend
• $1,500 annual professional development budget
• Short/long term disability insurance
• 3 weeks vacation to start, plus company-wide closure between Christmas & New Year’s Day (fully paid)
• 12 weeks paid parental leave
• One Medical membership
• Internal events, workshops, and seminars (like our Friday Talks)
• Hubs in New York City and Boston as well as a fully distributed workforce