Innovation Studio Software Developer

Type of Vacancy: Salaried, full-time

Start date: September 2023

Location: Remote/home office anywhere in the continental United States

Business function:

Report to: Senior Director, Podsie Innovation Lab

Compensation: The full salary range for this position is $106,000 - $160,335 annually. There are two types of experience being considered for this role: Experience that is directly relevant to the role and Total Working Experience, in all fields. This includes: internships and consulting work. In collaboration with the hiring manager, the People and Culture team calculates experience based on the candidate’s most current resume. When calculating the offer, consideration is given to candidates that possess additional qualifications (i.e., desired qualifications). Teaching Lab will generally cap salaries for new employees at 105% of the midpoint to allow for continued growth in the role over time.

Teaching Lab is an equal-opportunity employer committed to reflecting the diversity of the students we serve. We pursue equity as both a means and an end and enthusiastically welcome candidates of all backgrounds to role.

WHO WE ARE

Teaching Lab is a nonprofit organization with a mission to fundamentally shift the paradigm of teacher professional learning to achieve educational equity. We envision a world where teachers and students thrive together in communities that enable life-long learning and meaningful lives. In partnership with teachers, we transform professional learning from the ground up to dramatically improve student outcomes. We also work with school, district, and state leaders to create the instructional systems necessary to support these changes. To learn more about Teaching Lab, explore our website at www.teachinglab.org.

SUMMARY OF POSITION

Podsie, one of the initiatives within Teaching Lab’s Innovation Studio, was recently named a co-Principal Investigator (co-PI) for a National Science Foundation grant titled: Improving STEM K-12 Learning Using Optimal Spaced Retrieval in an Existing Educational Technology Platform. To fulfill the objectives outlined in the grant, we’re looking for a strong software developer who, over the course of the 4-year grant, will build out the various features and conditions being researched in the proposed studies. In addition, this developer will build and maintain a reliable experimentation infrastructure. We expect that the responsibilities related to the grant will take about 50% of the time in this role. The other 50% will be allocated towards groundbreaking R&D initiatives within Teaching Lab’s Innovation Studio.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES KEY SUCCESS INDICATORS (KSI)

• Perform other duties as assigned by the Senior Director, Podsie Innovation Lab and/or Executive Team.
• More specifically, to support the NSF grant, the software developer will:
• Supporting the NSF grant will take an estimated 50% of this developer’s time. In the remaining 50%, the developer will work on various R&D initiatives within Teaching Lab’s Innovation Studio. For example, currently, Teaching Lab is building an LLM-based scaffolding and personalization tool for math classrooms using a Retrieval-Augmented Generation architecture. In this role, the developer will take lead on building out these systems and ensuring that they serve teachers and students in a way that drives improved and equitable outcomes.
• Implement sophisticated personalized learning algorithms within Podsie
• Podsie is a web app that leverages research-backed strategies to help students retain what they’ve learned. Specifically, one way that has long been argued to improve such learning is by having students practice new knowledge by spacing questions over time (spaced retrieval practice). Podsie allows teachers and students to easily implement spaced retrieval practice via a free web application. However, the evidence for the benefits of spaced retrieval practice in STEM contexts is limited. Through multiple classroom studies involving thousands of STEM students across different US middle and high schools, the our NSF grant project aims to understand how spaced retrieval practice improves STEM learning and to develop spacing algorithms specific to STEM education that work in authentic contexts. This research will contribute to a better and more precise implementation of spaced retrieval practice in STEM education.
• Contribute to the Podsie web app to ensure that features from the studies can then be seamlessly scaled up to all Podsie users
• Build and maintain a reliable experimentation infrastructure

KEY SUCCESS INDICATORS (KSIs)

• Expand reach: Teaching Lab increases the number of educators who engage in high-impact, multi-disciplinary, curriculum-based, and culturally-responsive learning experiences.>16,000 educators reached, serving over 1M students.
• The Software Developer is accountable for achieving goals set in collaboration with their manager, aligned with Teaching Lab’s goals, and especially, Key Success Indicators (KSI) like:
• As applicable, within the role, model the radical commitments for our values (i.e., collaboration, responsive service, research, excellence, learning with humility, and equity).
• Innovate to Improve the Model: Teaching Lab will innovate new programs, models, and services that dramatically improve teaching and learning.
• Research becomes the way we do our work: Teaching Lab pursues “small r”(i.e., continuous improvement) and “big R” (i.e., rigorous research studies) research in every partnership.90% of partnerships which completed services collect and analyze Educator Surveys 2x/ year, with at least 50% response rate for the post- survey based on the pre-survey responses90% of partnerships that complete services collect and analyze student data and teacher practice data, relevant to their SOW and aligned to the FY24 evaluation plan

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS

• Attention to detail and commitment to delivering high-quality, maintainable code
• Relevant experience with our tech stack: Rails/React/TypeScript/GraphQL/Postgres
• Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to break down complex issues into manageable tasks
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent work experience
• A passion for improving educational outcomes and using technology to make a meaningful impact on student learning
• A passion for creating inclusive and accessible digital experiences that cater to diverse user needs and abilities
• Autonomous and proactive, with a strong bias for action and a track record of taking initiative
• Demonstrated lifelong learner with a passion for staying up-to-date with new technologies and best practices
• Ability to learn quickly and adapt to new challenges in a fast-paced environment
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with experience working in cross-functional teams
• Minimum 2 years of professional software development experience

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Familiarity with learning science principles, educational research, and best practices in instructional design
• Knowledge of or experience with LLM (large language models) and their applications in educational contexts
• Exposure to or interest in data-driven decision-making, including A/B testing, analytics, and user research
• Incurable builder mindset - We value individuals who are not just smart but also have a relentless drive for starting projects and bringing at least some of them to completion. These are the people who demonstrate passion, creativity, and determination in their work, always eager to build and innovate.
• Previous experience working on large-scale, user-facing web applications, with a focus on performance, scalability, and security
• Experience in education and/or edtech, with a strong understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities in this industry
• Experience with conducting quantitative research

WORKING CONDITIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

• Ability to work a flexible schedule to support operational needs
• Travel could be required for the role. Travel is determined based on business needs and can vary depending on partnership/contract requirements.
• All team members are expected to support program/project needs which could mean that you play multiple roles at Teaching Lab (i.e., project lead, support, subject matter expert, etc.).
• Ability to perform the essential project, duties and responsibilities with or without accommodation

TEACHING LAB’S VALUES AND COMPETENCIES

• Educators learn more than they would without us
• Excellence
• Research
• Teaching Lab seeks to fundamentally shift the paradigm of teacher professional learning by reaching more educators every year with the highest impact programming.
• Educators we serve say they love our approach and they want to keep doing it to advance educational equity
• Teaching Lab’s ultimate goals are:
• Responsive Service
• Learning with Humility
• Collaboration
• Students learn more than they would without us, in a way that cannot be predicted by race, gender, or family income

Application Terms & Conditions:

I understand that any falsification or omission of information from this Employment Application can disqualify me from employment (includes rescinding an offer of employment or if hired, employment termination).

I understand that this Employment Application is not an offer of employment. If employed, employment is at will, and either party can terminate the employment relationship at any time.

I understand that if I am offered a conditional offer of employment, it would be contingent upon successful pre-work checks, which include references and verifications/checks for a social security number, education, employment, criminal records search (national and county), global watch list, and sex offender status. Depending on a specific partnership/contract requirement, the criminal background check process could include fingerprinting. At Teaching Lab’s discretion and with an individual’s signed consent, other checks could be completed based on the nature of the position. Moreover, I understand that Teaching Lab participates in a background monitoring service that provides updates for criminal records and sex offender status.

I understand that if I am offered and accept an offer of employment, I will be required to complete an Employment Eligibility Verification Form (I-9), and provide supporting documents within three days of my hire date. Non-compliance will result in termination of employment. Teaching Lab participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. If E-Verify cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, Teaching Lab is required to give you written instructions and an opportunity to contact the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or Social Security Administration (SSA) so you can begin to resolve the issue before any action is taken against you, including terminating your employment. Teaching Lab can only use E-Verify once you have accepted a job offer and completed the Form I-9. EVerify and Right to Work posters.

I understand that if I am offered and accept an offer of employment, I am required to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 within eight (8) weeks of their start date. All exemptions must be reviewed and approved by the People & Culture Team.

I understand that if I am offered and accept an offer of employment, if I have a need for an accommodation related to a disabling (medical) condition that the request must be communicated to People & Culture for review and approval. All requests will be considered as part of the Americans with Disabilities Interactive Process.

I understand that if I am offered and accept an offer of employment, I must disclose all outside work (non-Teaching Lab) positions as an employee, contractor, consultant, advisor, board member, officer, director, or equity owner with any organization deemed to be a competitor organization or a conflict organization to Teaching Lab. Unless obtained the written consent of the Chief Executive Officer of Teaching Lab, I understand that I will not engage in or undertake any such other outside (non-Teaching Lab) position.

I understand that if I am offered and accept an offer of employment, I must undergo a 90 day introductory period. During this time, appropriateness for the role and performance are evaluated. At the end of the 90 day introductory period, Teaching Lab and/or the employee can end the employment relationship at will.

Teaching Lab has a payroll direct deposit program. I understand that if I am employed, I am not required to enroll in Teaching Lab’s payroll direct deposit program, and I would be paid via a paper check.

I understand that if I am employed, all work materials/resources that are provided by Teaching Lab are considered property of Teaching Lab, and are solely for the use of work for Teaching Lab.

I understand that if I am employed, I will be required to sign acknowledgment of receipt and abide by all policies and procedures, requirements, and expectations as outlined in the Employee Handbook.

In relation to the position that I am applying for, I voluntarily give Teaching Lab consent to make a thorough investigation of my background, and release from liability all parties in connection with the supply and use of such information.

The submission of my application serves as acknowledgment and agreement to the above terms and conditions.