Remote Software Engineer (Early Career)

Job description

Who We Are

The Constructive Dialogue Institute (CDI) is a non-partisan, non-profit dedicated to equipping the next generation of Americans with the skills to communicate and collaborate across lines of difference. We work with U.S. colleges and universities by providing co-curricular programming for students, professional development for faculty and staff, and strategic guidance to leadership. Our goal is to foster constructive dialogue at every level of the institution and to create the conditions for lasting organizational change. CDI was co-founded by psychologist Jonathan Haidt, the bestselling author of The Righteous Mind and The Anxious Generation.

The Role

We're seeking an early-career Software Engineer to help build the technology behind CDI's learning programs. You'll work on Perspectives, our online learning platform, and our AI-powered dialogue practice experience, helping students build the skills to bridge divides and giving educators better tools to support their learning.

You'll work directly with and be mentored by our Senior Technical Lead, and collaborate closely with our Product team. You'll contribute to real product features, fix bugs, help keep our platform reliable, and improve the systems we use to build and maintain software. You'll start with clearly scoped work, get regular guidance and code review, and take on more responsibility, including production support, as your skills grow.

AI agents are part of our everyday engineering workflow. You'll learn to break problems into manageable pieces, evaluate implementation approaches, and review and test agent-generated code so you understand the work you ship. Our stack includes TypeScript, React, and Next.js; Java and Spring Boot; Python; and AWS. You don't need to arrive knowing all of it.

With guidance and mentorship from our Senior Technical Lead, you'll:

  • Build and improve features for students, instructors, and CDI staff, such as learning activities, progress displays, and tools for managing courses and learners.

  • Work with our Senior Technical Lead and Product team to break product needs into clear tasks, and deliver small, well-tested changes.

  • Use AI coding agents to help implement features, investigate bugs, and explore unfamiliar code. Read, question, and test their output before treating it as finished.

  • Diagnose problems by reproducing them, tracing application behavior, and using logs and tests to understand what went wrong.

  • Write and maintain automated tests, check user-facing behavior, and participate in code reviews with attention to accessibility, reliability, and protecting learner data.

  • Help monitor and support our production systems, building toward taking part in incident response.

  • Contribute to the tools and practices that make AI-assisted development effective at CDI, including project context, custom agents and skills, tool integrations, and agent-assisted code review.

  • Document what you learn, communicate progress and blockers, and ask for help early when something is unclear.

Job requirements

Who You Are

  • Bachelor's degree in computer science, software engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.

  • At least one hands-on engineering project beyond coursework, such as an internship, co-op, job, freelance project, or sustained open-source contribution, where you worked in a shared codebase and had your code reviewed.

  • A working foundation in at least one programming language, and a project you can explain: how it works, the decisions you made, and how you investigated problems.

  • Understanding of web application basics, including how a user interface communicates with an API and how an application stores and retrieves data.

  • Ability to read and modify code, work through problems step by step, and test your changes to make sure they work as expected.

  • Thoughtful use of AI development tools: willingness to learn how to direct them, critically evaluate their output, and ask questions when something is unclear.

  • Clear communication and follow-through, including responding constructively to feedback, flagging when you're blocked, and knowing when to ask for help.

  • Motivation for CDI's mission and interest in building tools that help people learn and practice new skills.

Preferred

  • Experience building a web application with JavaScript or TypeScript and React, Next.js, or a similar framework, or exposure to Java, Spring Boot, or Python.

  • Familiarity with automated testing or SQL.

  • Interest in accessible design or education technology.


What We Offer

  • A Mission-Driven Culture — our work culture genuinely reflects our mission, characterized by intellectual humility, continuous improvement, and open-mindedness

  • Unlimited PTO — recharge on your own schedule with unlimited paid time off, in addition to 13 company holidays

  • Health, Vision & Dental — health, vision, and dental plans, with CDI contributing toward your premiums each month

  • 401(k) Match — invest in your future with a 100% match on your contributions, up to 3% of your pay

  • Professional Development — a generous annual budget to invest in your growth: build new skills, deepen existing ones, and stay inspired in your work

  • Remote Work Support — up to $500 reimbursed for home office equipment and up to $50/month reimbursed for home internet or cell phone expenses

The Details

  • Compensation: $72,000 - $82,000

  • Location: Remote, must be based in the U.S.

  • Schedule: Full-time, flexible within U.S. time zones

  • Reports to: Senior Technical Lead

  • Direct Report(s): None

  • Target start date: 12/01/2026

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Common Interview Questions And Answers

1. HOW DO YOU PLAN YOUR DAY?

This is what this question poses: When do you focus and start working seriously? What are the hours you work optimally? Are you a night owl? A morning bird? Remote teams can be made up of people working on different shifts and around the world, so you won't necessarily be stuck in the 9-5 schedule if it's not for you...

2. HOW DO YOU USE THE DIFFERENT COMMUNICATION TOOLS IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS?

When you're working on a remote team, there's no way to chat in the hallway between meetings or catch up on the latest project during an office carpool. Therefore, virtual communication will be absolutely essential to get your work done...

3. WHAT IS "WORKING REMOTE" REALLY FOR YOU?

Many people want to work remotely because of the flexibility it allows. You can work anywhere and at any time of the day...

4. WHAT DO YOU NEED IN YOUR PHYSICAL WORKSPACE TO SUCCEED IN YOUR WORK?

With this question, companies are looking to see what equipment they may need to provide you with and to verify how aware you are of what remote working could mean for you physically and logistically...

5. HOW DO YOU PROCESS INFORMATION?

Several years ago, I was working in a team to plan a big event. My supervisor made us all work as a team before the big day. One of our activities has been to find out how each of us processes information...

6. HOW DO YOU MANAGE THE CALENDAR AND THE PROGRAM? WHICH APPLICATIONS / SYSTEM DO YOU USE?

Or you may receive even more specific questions, such as: What's on your calendar? Do you plan blocks of time to do certain types of work? Do you have an open calendar that everyone can see?...

7. HOW DO YOU ORGANIZE FILES, LINKS, AND TABS ON YOUR COMPUTER?

Just like your schedule, how you track files and other information is very important. After all, everything is digital!...

8. HOW TO PRIORITIZE WORK?

The day I watched Marie Forleo's film separating the important from the urgent, my life changed. Not all remote jobs start fast, but most of them are...

9. HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR A MEETING AND PREPARE A MEETING? WHAT DO YOU SEE HAPPENING DURING THE MEETING?

Just as communication is essential when working remotely, so is organization. Because you won't have those opportunities in the elevator or a casual conversation in the lunchroom, you should take advantage of the little time you have in a video or phone conference...

10. HOW DO YOU USE TECHNOLOGY ON A DAILY BASIS, IN YOUR WORK AND FOR YOUR PLEASURE?

This is a great question because it shows your comfort level with technology, which is very important for a remote worker because you will be working with technology over time...

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