Senior Software Engineer (EPO Technical Lead)

Position Overview

The mission of Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s Education and Public Outreach (EPO) subsystem is to provide online data-driven experiences that are accessible and approachable, engaging people with real-world context to explore the Universe. In this role, the Senior Software Engineer (EPO Technical Lead) leads the EPO technical team by setting the technical direction for a suite of content-driven and science-data-driven web applications and integrations. This position combines elements of project management, people management, product ownership, and hands-on engineering to deliver cutting-edge online educational experiences.

Key Responsibilities

• Ensure the EPO technical infrastructure and staffing reach project-level milestones and meet stakeholder expectations.
• Contribute to long-term planning and strategy for technical projects within EPO.
• Manage day-to-day project tasks and resource allocation.
• Provide functional management, mentorship, and guidance to the EPO technical team.
• Inform digital governance and accessibility standards.
• Develop and maintain software specifications and requirements.
• Work as a full-stack engineer to develop technical solutions at a Senior Software Engineer level, including writing conceptual and technical documentation.
• Participate in user testing, code reviews, and meetings while providing accurate time and effort estimates.
• Track work effort and follow Agile best practices.
• Occasionally present work at conferences and internal meetings.
• Ensure proper management and control of all AURA property by reporting any discrepancies.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Fluency in Python 3
• Familiarity with developing and/or using APIs
• Experience with cloud providers like AWS or Google Cloud
• Comfortable with git version control and Linux CLI
• Ability to capture and read error output and log files

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor degree or higher
• 10+ years of experience in product, project, people, or engineering management
• 3+ years of experience with React (especially Next.js app development)
• Experience with Craft 4 CMS, Drupal, or Django
• Experience with Docker
• Experience managing Kubernetes clusters running Docker containers (especially with ArgoCD)
• Experience with infrastructure as code, such as Terraform
• Additional experience with cloud providers like AWS or Google Cloud
• Ability to work collaboratively with leadership across teams and subsystems
• Experience with Python, Jupyter, JupyterLab, JupyterHub, and/or Bokeh
• Experience handling terabyte-scale data
• Astronomical data expertise (FITS, HiPS, etc.)
• Active participation in the open source community
• A strong interest in science and online education

Benefits & Perks

• Compensation: $132,600-$143,500 (final salary based on skills, qualifications, and experience)
• Excellent benefits package including paid time off
• Retirement plan contributions
• Attractive work environment with opportunities for professional development