Senior Software Engineer, Full-stack

Academia.edu is a venture-backed, for-profit, and profitable company based in San Francisco. We are recognized as the world’s leading platform for researchers and scholars to share work, discover research, and connect with academics globally. Our bold vision is to democratize and accelerate the world's research, enhancing the speed of scientific discovery and technological progress for the benefit of everyone. We imagine a world where accessing academic papers is effortless, keeping track of cutting-edge research is seamless and collaborating with researchers is easier than ever before. Our platform empowers millions of scholars worldwide to push the boundaries of human understanding. We believe in the power of knowledge to change lives and the world, and our commitment to this mission drives everything we do.

Join us as we continue to redefine what's possible in the world of research. Discover careers that challenge, inspire and propel you toward a future where your ideas can truly change the world. At Academia.edu, we're not just shaping the future of research—we're shaping the future of possibilities.

We’re looking for Senior Software Engineers who love moving with urgency, learning through iteration, and shipping fast to gather real user feedback rather than overdesigning. You’re a self-directed problem solver who proactively finds answers, communicates clearly across disciplines, and collaborates fluidly with anyone needed to get the job done. Grounded in 80/20 judgment and optimism, you focus on what matters most, delivering high-impact results quickly and improving through continuous learning.

• Excellent coding habits and attention to detail.

• Sharp analytical mindset with a knack for solving complex problems.

• Excels at rapid prototyping, building products from 0 to 1, fast.

• Strong user empathy and product mindset

• Ability to solve problems autonomously with a large variety of stakeholders and partners

• Strong business and product acumen

• Understanding of LLMs and their limitations

• Professional level of coding proficiency with one of the following: Ruby, Python, or Node.js+Javascript or Node.js+Typescript. Must be willing to learn/work with the Ruby on Rails stack.

• Ruby on Rails, Sidekiq

• PostgreSQL, Redis, Elasticsearch

• React + Typescript

• RSpec, Chromatic, Jest, Storybook

• CircleCI, Jenkins, Ansible, Terraform, Datadog

• AWS ecosystem (EC2, S3, RDS, Redshift, Aurora, and many others)

• You don’t need to know our tech stack, but you must be willing and able to learn and apply it quickly!

• You'll design and build systems and web applications to increase productivity among our user base on our platform. Here are some things that we are currently working on

• Our goal is to automate science by building a co-scientist to help academics in key tasks with tools like: