Senior Backend Developer

Outreach Technology & Learning Solutions - Senior Backend Developer Full Job Description

We are seeking a highly skilled Senior Backend Developer to join our team. In this role, you will be owning the design, development, and maintenance of robust backend systems that power innovative web applications and services.

Your work will be helping students and the people who work with them on an everyday basis, which means you will need to be comfortable working with applications with real human impact, and safeguarding the data that these applications handle. Your expertise will drive scalable solutions, optimize system performance, and ensure data security and integrity across a number of diverse platforms.

You will be working with a small team with big impact, including a team of frontend developers who will be consuming your APIs and data structures, a QA team working on end to end automated tests, and a product team with deep knowledge of what is actually needed from this software. If this is the kind of work you want to be doing and are looking to build high-quality, efficient backend architecture, this opportunity is for you!

Duties

• Own backend services end to end. Design, build, and maintain REST and GraphQL APIs in TypeScript across Node/Bun and Next.js server-side, and debug complex issues that cross service, codebase, and deployment boundaries.
• Model and optimize relational data. Design schemas, tune queries, and run migrations across MS SQL and Postgres with Prisma.
• Design and extend our service architecture. Build on existing microservices, stand up new infrastructure on AWS, and migrate legacy monolithic code to newer patterns as the roadmap calls for it.
• Build and maintain integrations with external systems like OneRoster and ClassLink, covering OAuth2 client-credentials flows and idempotent sync jobs.
• Build privacy and security into the code with access controls, audit logging, retention rules, and encrypted data handling that satisfy SOC 2 Type II, FERPA, and COPPA.
• Partner with frontend, QA, and product on the API contracts and data structures they build against, and keep the code and internal docs clear enough for other developers to work from.
• Maintain CI/CD pipelines and unit test coverage, and work with QA on end-to-end automation.
• Review PRs and mentor other developers. Uphold coding standards and favor reusable abstractions over one-off solutions.

Skills

Required

• 6+ years of backend development experience, with demonstrated ownership of server-side systems beyond integrating with and developing against existing APIs.
• Strong TypeScript in a backend context.
• Deep relational database design and management, covering schema modeling, indexing, and query optimization. Production experience with both MS SQL and Postgres.
• Designing and shipping secure APIs (REST and GraphQL), including RBAC-style authorization.
• Implementing OAuth2 and SSO server-side, including authorization flows, token validation, and session management.
• Deploying and scaling containerized applications on AWS (ECS, Lambda, S3, CloudWatch, SSM).
• Building and maintaining CI/CD workflows in GitHub Actions or equivalent.
• Opinions on observability, monitoring, and tracing, plus the experience behind them.
• Prisma or a comparable ORM.
• Frontend familiarity with React, TanStack, and modern frontend practices.

Bonus

• Prior work under SOC 2 Type II, FERPA, or COPPA.
• SIS or EdTech interoperability with OneRoster, ClassLink, Clever.
• Auth0 tenant configuration, rules, and custom claims.

Stack

Language & runtime - TypeScript on Node and Bun
Web & API - Next.js (server-side), GraphQL, REST
Data - MS SQL and Postgres with Prisma, plus Redis
Infrastructure - Docker, AWS (ECS, Lambda, S3, CloudWatch, SSM)
CI/CD & testing - GitHub Actions, Jest/Vitest, Playwright
Process - JIRA, Slack

Please email resumes to [email protected]

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $90,000.00 - $175,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Flexible schedule
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Vision insurance

Experience:

• Next.js: 5 years (Required)
• Software development: 7 years (Required)
• Back-end development: 6 years (Required)

Ability to Commute:

• Chicago, IL 60630 (Required)

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Chicago, IL 60630