Staff Software Engineer at CodePath

Ruby on Rails; United States; Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote

Health insurance

401(k)

Parental leave

Professional development

Home office support

Student loan forgiveness

Pet wellness plans

Job summary

CodePath is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to lead architecture, product direction, and team capacity across Rails, Sinatra/Padrino, and Django. You will own major technical decisions and mentor engineers while collaborating with stakeholders to shape the platform's future.

This is a highly autonomous, high-ownership role reporting to the VP of Engineering. You’ll drive scalable backend systems, integrate AI/ML features, and help tens of thousands of learners while expanding into new markets.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of software engineering experience, incl. 5+ years with Ruby on Rails.
• Strong PostgreSQL and advanced database design skills.
• Proven ability to lead technical decisions in small autonomous teams.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Passion for education and making a positive impact.
• Systems-thinking approach to scalability and maintainability.

Responsibilities

• Architect and build web applications across Ruby on Rails, Sinatra/Padrino, and Django.
• Make consequential technical decisions on infrastructure and data modeling with full ownership.
• Set the code quality bar through reviews and architecture guidance.
• Write automated tests that cover real edge cases.
• Identify performance bottlenecks and systemic issues before outages.
• Mentor other engineers and raise the technical ceiling of the team.

Skills

Ruby on Rails

PostgreSQL

Systems thinking

Full stack web

Lead decisions

Communication

Education passion

Docker

Ansible

GCP

Tools

Docker

Terraform

GCP

Ansible

Job description

CodePath is the largest educator of college computer science students in the country. We've trained over 40,000 students from 1,000+ universities, and our partners include Amazon, Google, and other leading technology companies. We've spent nearly a decade training the next generation of technical talent, and we just launched a $150M initiative with Anthropic, building one of the most ambitious AI workforce programs in the world.

We're now expanding into new markets and scaling our team so we can move at the speed AI is transforming the workforce. People joining CodePath now will have the opportunity to help architect the next frontier of our work.

We believe technical skill is the fastest way to turn raw talent into real opportunity. We train the engineers the AI era runs on, building toward millions of learners, hundreds of millions in revenue, and billions in economic impact. If you want to own something and be part of a 0-to-1 journey at an organization moving at the speed of AI, this is the place to build it.

About the Role

Location: Remote, United States, Europe, Canada or LATAM
Role-Type: Full-Time
Reports To: VP of Engineering
Compensation: $170,000 to $190,000 per year for US based applicants. Adjusted contingent on location for applicants based in Canada, LATAM, and Europe.

CodePath’s educational programs run on our sophisticated learning platform, a set of Ruby-based applications with functionality spanning admissions, course delivery, grading, career coaching, and reporting.

We're looking for a Staff Software Engineer who can lead at multiple levels at once: the architecture, the product direction, the team's capacity, and the longer arc of where we're going. You'll move fluidly across the full technical stack, from infrastructure decisions to greenfield product work.

This is a high-ownership role. You'll work directly with stakeholders to understand what students and staff actually need, participate in deciding what gets built, and then lead the execution. You won't be handed a ticket queue. You'll shape the work.

The ideal candidate for this role is a web engineer inspired by potential projects like these:

Building brand-new functionality in Rails and beyond to create sophisticated and powerful new tools for our users and extend our reach to new kinds of learners we’ve never been able to serve before

Reimagining core platform components as we migrate them from Sinatra to Rails

Integrating AI/ML technology into our platform to support mastery-driven, adaptive learning

Scaling a system that has helped tens of thousands of students to help hundreds of thousands more

Key Activities

Architect and build web applications across Ruby on Rails, Sinatra/Padrino, and Django that directly support our mission

• Make consequential technical decisions on infrastructure, data modeling, API design, and emerging technologies with full ownership of the tradeoffs

• Set the code quality bar through reviews, architectural guidance, and constructive feedback

• Write automated tests that reflect real edge cases, not just coverage targets

• Identify performance bottlenecks and systemic issues before they become outages

• Mentor other engineers and raise the technical ceiling of the team

Qualifications

10+ years of software engineering experience, including at least 5 years with Ruby on Rails

• Familiarity with Claude Code or similar development tools and related best practices

• A systems-thinking orientation: you consider scalability, maintainability, and failure modes before writing a line of code

• Strong PostgreSQL and database design skills, including experience with complex queries, indexing strategies, and schema evolution

• Reasonable working familiarity with the full web stack, from infrastructure to CSS

• Demonstrated ability to lead technical decisions in a small, autonomous team environment

• Strong written and verbal communication. You can explain a technical tradeoff to a non-engineer without losing what actually matters

• Passion for education and desire to make a positive impact

Nice to haves

• Familiarity with higher education or edtech

• Direct experience working with LLMs and generative AI in production

• Familiarity with Docker, Ansible, and/or Terraform

• Experience deploying on GCP

Full-Time Employee Benefits:

• This is a 100% remote position! CodePath prioritizes employee well-being with a competitive benefits package to support your health, financial security, and work-life balance.

• Health & Wellness: Medical, dental, and vision insurance (90% employer-covered for employees and dependents), employer-funded healthcare reimbursement, FSAs, and Employee Assistance Program

• Financial Security: 401(k), employer-paid life & disability insurance, and identity theft protection

• Work-Life Balance: Generous PTO, paid holidays, 10 weeks of fully paid parental leave, and an annual year-end company closure (Dec 24 – Jan 2)

• Professional Growth: $1,000 annual professional development stipend and home office setup support

- Student Loan Forgiveness: CodePath is a qualifying employer for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), helping employees manage student loan debt

• Additional Perks: Pet wellness plans, legal services, home/auto insurance discounts, and exclusive marketplace savings

Pay range

$170,000 - $190,000 USD