Software Engineer job in Philadelphia

Overview

Azavea is a technology firm based in Philadelphia that uses geospatial data to build software and data analytics for the web. As a B Corporation, our mission is to use advanced geospatial technology for positive civic, social, and environmental impact. Most of our work deals with local governments, non-profit organizations, and academic or federal research projects. We build custom web applications, perform geospatial analysis, and contribute to open source projects. Our engineers work across the technology stack, from modern browser-based front-ends to robust service-based backends residing on scalable infrastructure. Find out more about careers at Azavea here.

We are looking for a Software Engineer who is passionate about building applications that will have a positive impact. Ideal candidates are interested in public service, but not necessarily in working for a government or a non-profit organization.

We’re excited about what we do, we’re growing, and we hope you will join us.

Skills & Requirements

As a Software Engineer on the Geospatial Applications team, you’ll be working alongside other engineers, project managers, and user experience designers to develop custom web software for our clients. Lately, we’ve been developing tools to help assess communities’ wildfire risk, identify and navigate along accessible and alternative transit routes, and manage high-resolution medical imagery (which has more overlap with spatial data than you might expect). We also do a fair bit of work in the civic space. Our team maintains DistrictBuilder, an open-source, collaborative redistricting tool that will support redistricting after the 2020 Census, and the Cicero API, an Azavea product which provides access to a comprehensive database of elected officials and legislative districts.

Our applications are mostly written in JavaScript or TypeScript (React, Angular), Python (Django) and Scala. Almost all of our work revolves around maps and spatial data. If you haven’t worked with spatial technology before, don’t worry—many of our colleagues hadn’t when they joined us.

What you’ll do:
Write code to create APIs and web applications based on visual designs.
Create interactive data visualizations in our applications using maps, charts, and graphs.
Model relational data and develop data processing pipelines.
Engage in multidisciplinary work that applies an agile process.
Contribute to both a growing company and to the open source communities that support our work.

You should:
Have professional experience building applications using a modern web backend framework such as Django, Rails, or Express.
Demonstrate proficiency with core web technologies (HTML/CSS/JS) and a contemporary web frontend framework such as React, Vue, or Angular.
Be familiar with using and querying relational databases such as PostgreSQL or MySQL.
Be comfortable with the command line and working in a Linux environment.
Have excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
Be interested in working with small teams on meaningful projects.

Additional experience we find valuable:
Familiarity with open source or commercial GIS software like Leaflet, Mapbox GL JS, PostGIS, or ArcGIS Server.
Experience with a GitHub based workflow that includes pull requests and code reviews.
Delivering and operating applications using cloud platforms such as AWS, GCP or Heroku.
Working with virtualization technology or containers.
Making technical decisions and owning outcomes.

You’ll notice that we don’t cite a specific number of years of experience or a Computer Science degree as requirements. We are primarily looking for people who have gained some real-world experience building web applications, and are excited to grow within their primary area of experience (frontend, backend, etc.) and gain new skills—even if that requires guidance from our more experienced engineers. If you think this description fits you, even if your experience doesn't match up perfectly with the technologies we've listed, we encourage you to apply. We do not use automated resume screening technology, and our hiring team reviews all applications that we receive.

A note on hiring during the COVID-19 pandemic
Due to regulations in Philadelphia, and our concern for the health and safety of our team, we will be conducting all interviews remotely for the foreseeable future. While this position is on-site, and the majority of our staff generally work out of our Philadelphia office, we have transitioned the entire company to remote work. If the office remains closed at the time of hiring, we have made arrangements for remote on-boarding, including shipping relevant materials and a laptop to their homes. We are fortunate to have invested in meaningful work-from-home tools and processes over the years, and have been able to continue providing a secure, flexible, and safe work environment for all of our colleagues. We ask for your patience as we adapt our hiring process as well, and are happy to answer any questions or concerns about the process.

Office and Benefits
Our Philadelphia headquarters is located in a brightly lit office on the 5th floor of a converted factory building in the Callowhill neighborhood, a short walk from Center City, the Reading Terminal Market, and SEPTA subway and regional rail stations. For bicyclists, we have in-house bike parking, showers, and lockers. The office itself is assembled as an open office plan with many smaller rooms and flexible spaces for team meetings and concentration time. You get your own desk with a Linux workstation or Apple laptop and extra monitors. We have flex-time to deal with personal stuff, and most people work a 40 - 45 hour week on a regular schedule. After the first six months, our staff can also spend up to 10% of their time on an open source, professional development, or R&D project. Recent 10% time projects include experiments with machine learning, React Native, and various forms of serverless processing with Amazon Lambda.

We offer a salary commensurate with skills and experience and a benefits package that includes:

Fully subsidized health care, dental care, prescription plan, including for spouse/partner and children
Fully subsidized life and long-term disability insurance, plus voluntary short-term disability insurance
Medical reimbursement plan to cover what the health insurance does not
Retirement plan with matching percentage
Almost 4 weeks paid vacation plus additional paid sick/personal time off
Family and medical leave
Flexible work schedule
Paid parental leave
Child care subsidy
Paid time off for voting and volunteering
Education assistance plan
Student loan assistance
Public transit and biking reimbursement plans
Monthly guest lectures with lunches on the company
10% time for research or learning projects
Profit-sharing bonus plan
Financial transparency through an open book policy
Kind, capable and thoughtful colleagues

We welcome qualified candidates from all walks of life and value diversity in our company. We prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, veteran status, military service, disability unrelated to job requirements, marital status, or domestic partner status.