Senior Software Engineer

At AoPS, we are world leaders in teaching advanced mathematics. We train many of the most elite mathematicians in the world, including all members of the US International Math Olympiad team—and we're expanding that same standard of excellence into new subjects and experiences.

AoPS is unique because it is vertically integrated: we develop our own curriculum, run our own physical learning centers, employ teachers, and have a robust and capable product, design, and engineering team. But we've only scratched the surface of what's possible! Your job will be to help build the future of AoPS, creating the transformative digital experiences that students and teachers use to push the upper bounds of great teaching and learning.

As a Senior Software Engineer, you will play a key role in building and scaling the platforms and products that power AoPS. You'll be a core member of a small, mission-driven team, partnering directly with product leadership and the broader AoPS engineering organization to build products that make learning irresistible.

What You’ll Do:

Build Products That Matter: You'll work on tools and platforms that directly impact how students learn—whether that's the infrastructure powering our courses, the interfaces students interact with daily, or the systems that help our teams move faster. When the path forward isn't obvious, you'll pioneer the solutions that move our mission forward.

Drive Strategic Innovation: Be a champion for continuous improvement—building modern platforms with scalable architecture, establishing robust testing and deployment practices, and making technical decisions that set us up for long-term success. When you spot opportunities to adopt current frameworks or architect systems that will grow with us, you'll take initiative to address them strategically. This isn't just building features, it's charting the technical path forward while keeping our products rock-solid for the students who depend on them.

Elevate the Team: Through thoughtful code reviews and hands-on mentorship, you'll help teammates level up their skills. You're not just writing code, you're shaping how we think about architecture, design, and technical excellence across the team.

Own the Entire Journey: From initial user conversations with Product and Design through launch and beyond, you'll be deeply involved in shaping what we build and how we build it. Your technical insights will influence product strategy, and you'll see your ideas come to life in the hands of real learners.

Communicate Fearlessly: Keep stakeholders informed with clear timelines and early warnings when challenges emerge. No surprises: just transparent, proactive communication that helps the whole team move faster.

Stay Sharp: Be curious about emerging web technologies and best practices, always expanding your toolkit and bringing fresh ideas to the team.

Prototype and Iterate: Prototype solutions quickly, test with users, and iterate based on what you learn. Dig into user feedback and data to understand what's resonating and what's not.

Work Across the Stack: Make technical decisions that balance moving fast with building foundations that scale, working across everything from frontend components to database schemas and more.

The ideal candidate has:

• 5+ years of professional experience in full stack web development
• Strong proficiency with modern web technologies (we use TypeScript, React, Next.js, and PostgreSQL)
• Ability to thrive in an ambiguous and fast-paced environment
• Proven ability to build delightful consumer experiences
• Ability to provide technical leadership on full stack design and code
• A track record as a thought leader on product/development strategy and owner of large projects
• Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and creative skills

Bonus points for: 

• Experience building web-based IDEs or interactive coding environments
• Background in platform engineering, backend services, or infrastructure
• Experience building educational technology or consumer products for younger audiences
• Time spent as an educator or classroom teacher

Why Join AoPS:

This is a hybrid full-time position based in our San Diego office. The full salary range for this position is 134k-180k. Here are some things you can look forward to:

• Impact: Join a small, high-agency team building the future of how students experience world-class education. Your work will directly affect thousands of students who are discovering the joy of problem-solving
• Flexibility: Casual work environment with flexible scheduling
• Benefits: Multiple options for Medical, Dental and Vision plans
• Future Planning: 401K with company match
• Quality of Life: PTO Plan and supportive leadership that gives you the work-life balance you deserve
• Ease of Transition: Relocation bonus (if currently located outside of San Diego)

Background Check:

Please note that employment is contingent on the successful completion of a background check.

Work Authorization:

Please note that in order to be considered for this position you must be legally authorized to work in the US. We are unable to offer sponsorship, including STEM-OPT and H-1B.

About AoPS:

Art of Problem Solving (AoPS) is on a mission to discover, inspire, and train the great problem solvers of the next generation. Since 2003, we have trained hundreds of thousands of the country's top students, including nearly all the members of the US International Math Olympiad team, through our online school, in-person academies, textbooks, and online learning systems. While our primary focus has been math for most of our history, through the years we have expanded our unique problem solving curriculum into more subjects, such as language arts, science, and computer science.