ThinkCERCA.com is a Chicago-based company passionately committed to improving the quality of K-12 education on scale. In only 18 months, we have built an education technology product that is currently used in over 7,000 schools across the country (free + paid version). ThinkCERCA is also a top winner of the Gates Foundation Literacy Courseware Grant.

We’re looking for someone is who passionate about web development, works well with a team, and is interested in joining a fast-paced startup as a front end developer to drive our product to the next level. Primary skills desired include React, Redux, a dash of Ruby, and an eye for simplicity and usability.

What you’ll be doing

• Functionally pure programming with React, Redux, and Ramda. From the green field development of our many upcoming new features, to bringing ever increased simplicity and modularity to our existing frontend architecture, you’ll be helping us write succinct, modular, and side-effect free code
• Occasionally helping build our core server-side API with loosely-coupled, thoughtfully abstracted classes in Ruby on Rails
• Test-driving your work and pairing remotely with a team across North and South America
• Helping improve our core technology stack; making sure our dependencies are useful, minimal, and up to date
• Competing for the coveted Best With Computer award during our bi-monthly hack nights in obscure new programming languages
• Interfacing directly with our QA team to ensure that the features you build have been rigorously verified and are up to spec
• Meeting with our stakeholders to understand and refine feature requirements throughout their implementation
• Making our team better with your unique viewpoints and interests

What you’ll need

• Experience with JavaScript, especially React
• At least some experience with functional programming and some familiarity with Ruby
• Knowledge of testing best practices and version control (we use git)
• An understanding of the many difficulties and gotchas in web development, such as: client/server security, cross-browser compatibility, responsive design (especially on mobile devices), and connection volatility.
• A desire to continually improve both the stack that we all work in and your own skillset
• An interest in considering issues of unnecessary complexity, premature abstraction, maintainability, tight coupling, and all of the other grand plagues of the software engineering world
• The ability to give and receive thoughtful, constructive feedback on any incoming changes
• An awareness of when to act, delegate, and ask for help
• An appreciation of discussion and diverse viewpoints
• Big Bonus points: knowledge of education or education technology