Staff Engineer, Composer Platform

Finalsite; Glastonbury (CT); Hybrid; USD 130,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Professional development opportunities

Competitive benefits

Collaborative culture

Job summary

Finalsite is seeking a remote Staff Engineer to provide technical leadership for their Composer platform used by educational institutions. This role involves leading modernization efforts, improving platform scalability, and driving engineering strategy.

The ideal candidate should have at least 12 years of experience with Ruby/Rails, strong skills in distributed systems, and a proven ability to enhance system reliability. Join Finalsite to help shape stronger school communities while working from anywhere in the U.S.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience as Staff Engineer or senior-level contributor.
• Experience leading modernization or architectural decoupling initiatives.
• Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead technical strategy for the Composer platform.
• Drive decoupling and migration efforts from legacy dependencies.
• Improve platform reliability, scalability, and observability.

Skills

Ruby/Rails

Distributed systems

Cloud infrastructure

Observability tools

Technical leadership

AI-assisted development tools

Tools

Containerized applications

MongoDB

Job description

WHO WE ARE

Finalsite is the most valued partner for K–12 schools to build trust, strengthen community, and grow enrollment. Named one of TIME’s Best EdTech Companies in America 2026, Finalsite supports more than 7,000 schools and districts worldwide with an integrated platform for websites, communications, mobile apps, enrollment, and marketing services.

Headquartered in Glastonbury, Connecticut, Finalsite is a global company with employees working remotely across nearly every U.S. state, as well as throughout Europe, South America, and Asia.

We believe people do their best work when they feel supported, connected, and empowered to grow. That’s why we invest in our employees through competitive benefits, professional development opportunities, and a collaborative culture built on partnership and purpose. Whether you’re looking to expand your skills, take on new challenges, or make a meaningful impact in education, Finalsite offers the opportunity to grow your career while helping schools thrive.

At Finalsite, every interaction matters — with our clients, with each other, and with the schools and families we serve. Join us and help shape stronger school communities around the world.

SUMMARY

The Staff Engineer, Composer Platform will provide technical leadership for Finalsite’s core CMS platform used by educational institutions nationwide. This role will lead architectural modernization efforts, improve platform scalability and observability, and drive long‑term engineering strategy for a high‑traffic, customer‑facing application environment.

The Staff Engineer will lead a critical modernization effort focused on decoupling the Composer platform from a legacy architecture, defining and executing a scalable long‑term solution while maintaining platform stability. The role will also elevate engineering standards across the team by strengthening architecture practices, improving observability, and fostering a culture of proactive problem‑solving, operational accountability, and technical excellence.

LOCATION

100% Remote - Anywhere within the US

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Define and lead technical strategy, architecture, and modernization initiatives for the Composer platform
• Drive decoupling and migration efforts from legacy application dependencies while maintaining platform stability
• Improve platform reliability, scalability, observability, and operational resilience
• Establish engineering standards related to instrumentation, monitoring, alerting, and system performance
• Lead architecture review practices and collaborate with cross‑functional engineering teams on technical decisions
• Support distributed systems and containerized application environments
• Provide technical mentorship and guidance through code reviews, design feedback, and engineering best practices
• Utilize AI‑assisted development tools to support codebase navigation, modernization, and platform evolution

QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

• At least 12 years of experience as Staff Engineer or senior‑level individual contributor supporting large‑scale production platforms
• Strong experience with Ruby/Rails or comparable backend application frameworks
• Experience leading modernization, migration, or architectural decoupling initiatives
• Strong understanding of distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, and application resiliency principles
• Experience with observability tools, monitoring frameworks, and alerting strategies
• Experience supporting containerized applications and scalable production environments
• Strong communication, technical leadership, and cross‑functional collaboration skills
• Experience using AI‑assisted development tools such as Claude Code, Codex, or similar technologies

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with JRuby or polyglot application environments
• Familiarity with MongoDB or shared‑database architectures
• Experience supporting legacy web platform modernization initiatives
• Experience working within complex or multi‑acquisition codebases
• Familiarity with Cloudflare Workers or edge‑computing technologies
• Background supporting EdTech, SaaS, or multi‑tenant platform environments

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT

Finalsite offers 100% fully remote employment opportunities, however, these opportunities are limited to permanent residents of the United States. Current residency, as well as continued residency, within the United States is required to obtain (and retain) employment with Finalsite.

DISCLOSURES

Finalsite is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. EEO is the Law. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please contact Finalsite's People Operations Team. Finalsite is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, Finalsite will ensure that persons with disabilities or special needs are provided a reasonable accommodation. Ensure your Finalsite job offer is legitimate and don't fall victim to fraud. Ask your recruiter for a phone call or other type of verbal communication and ensure all email correspondence is from a finalsite.com email address. For added security, where possible, apply through our company website at finalsite.com/jobs.