Senior Software Engineer — AI & Education Policy Lab

Harvard University; Massachusetts; On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Parental leave

Health insurance from day one

Retirement plans

Job summary

Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School (HKS) is seeking a Senior Software Engineer for the Shorenstein Center to advance AI-driven research and education technology. You will design, build, and deploy large-scale software systems supporting empirical public policy research.

The role emphasizes collaboration with researchers and publication-ready results, with a campus-based schedule and opportunities to shape impactful projects.

Qualifications

• At least five years of post-secondary education or equivalent work experience.
• Bachelor's degree and/or relevant work experience in computer science, data science, or related field with focus on software engineering, ML, AI, and empirical research.
• Experience with generative AI pipelines.
• Experience deploying software in a cloud environment.
• Demonstrated teamwork, service mindset and ability to act as trusted advisor.
• Full stack development with Python/TypeScript; familiarity with Svelte/React.

Responsibilities

• Independently perform complex applications/web development for large to very large projects.
• Design and develop complex software systems for large-scale research projects, focusing on education technology and AI tools.
• Leverage ML and NLP to build, test, and deploy advanced algorithmic tools for empirical research.
• Lead and collaborate on AI, ML, NLP projects and large-scale experiments.
• Contribute to randomized controlled trials and empirical evaluation of AI-driven interventions.
• Collaborate with researchers to translate models into production systems.
• Co-author or contribute to academic publications and technical reports.
• Stay updated on AI, computational social science, and causal inference.
• Adhere to Harvard IT standards and code of conduct.

Skills

Python

TypeScript

React

Svelte

Full stack

Generative AI

Machine learning

NLP

Cloud deployment

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Data Science

Job description

Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School (HKS) is seeking a Senior Software Engineer for the Shorenstein Center to advance AI-driven research and education technology. You will design, build, and deploy large-scale software systems supporting empirical public policy research.

The role emphasizes collaboration with researchers and publication-ready results, with a campus-based schedule and opportunities to shape impactful projects.