Software Engineering Lead - URBAN TXT: Teens Exploring Technology

TXT: Teens Exploring Technology

URBAN TXT: Teens Exploring Technology is a nationally recognized and growing nonprofit organization focused on inspiring young men of color to become confident leaders who use technology as a tool to improve marginalized communities, and dedicated to ending the school-to-prison pipeline. Our core values come for our leadership creed. We value empowerment, agility, innovation, creativity, and leadership. Our interdisciplinary curriculum develops leadership, entrepreneurship, design, and coding skills among underrepresented teens. Through our unique approach to leadership, technology, and entrepreneurship, we prevent our youth from entering the school-to-prison pipeline. 

Software Engineering Lead and Technology Manager

The TXT Software Engineering Lead is part of an agile development team working on building and maintaining software solutions. In this role, you are involved in all areas of software development from ideation to development to testing and will be working closely with other members of the TXT Staff. The ideal candidate loves writing software, as well as coaching and mentoring junior engineers. The Technology Lead is a team player with a keen eye for detail and problem-solving skills, and is expected to be knowledgeable about the full application development lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead a small team of software engineers, providing mentorship, guidance, and support to ensure high-quality, timely delivery of projects. 

• Mentor, coach, and teach students software development skills and practices 

• Collaborate closely with a cross-functional team to define project requirements, prioritize tasks, and establish clear objectives and timelines.

• Architect and design scalable, maintainable, and efficient software solutions that meet the needs of our users and stakeholders.

• Drive best practices in software development, including code reviews, testing strategies, and continuous integration/deployment processes.

• Champion innovation and exploration of new technologies, methodologies, and tools to enhance our technical capabilities and improve efficiency.

• Ensure adherence to coding standards, security guidelines, and regulatory requirements throughout the software development lifecycle.

• Act as a technical subject matter expert, providing insights and recommendations to inform strategic decision-making and planning.

• Lead all technical support for the Summer Coding Leadership Academy and ensure all youth groups are ready to present on Demo Day.

• Manage and hire the tech team which includes senior and junior developers, college coaches and technology volunteers.

• Participate in day-to-day activities involving design, development and testing and deployment

• Help to develop technology curriculum

• Other tasks as assigned.

Education and Experience Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or similar area required. 

• 2-3 years experience working in Agile frameworks.

• 2-3 years experience working with JavaScript and related frameworks: React, AngularJS, Node.JS, etc

• Proven Experience with planning, designing, developing, testing, and deploying software.

• Demonstrated leadership experience, with the ability to effectively lead and inspire students and junior engineers.

• Ability to work with ambiguity in a fast-paced, collaborative, tech startup environment.

• Strong communication skills, with the ability to articulate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders and foster a culture of knowledge sharing and collaboration.

• Ability to work under pressure during peak seasons of activity, and work quickly but effectively by prioritizing tasks.

• Proficiency in modern programming languages and frameworks (e.g., Python, JavaScript, Java, etc.) and familiarity with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP).

• Solid understanding of software architecture principles, design patterns, and best practices.

• Experience with Agile/Scrum methodologies and tools (e.g., Jira, Trello, etc.).

• Strong communication skills, with the ability to articulate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders and foster a culture of knowledge sharing and collaboration.

• Passion for using technology to drive positive social change and make a difference in the world.