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Join us in improving democracy through increased transparency in campaign finance. MapLight believes everyone deserves an equal voice in our democracy. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. 

Rails Engineer (contract position)

We are seeking an experienced Ruby on Rails Engineer. This contract position is available for remote work anywhere in the United States. This position reports to the Director of Engineering.
 
Over the last few years, MapLight has provided groundbreaking transparency for money and politics through our successful Disclosure System launches to city and state governments across the country. While we have more to learn, we’ve discovered much about what our clients need and what we can do to improve our software. We’re taking a big step back to reconsider that product, how it works for the people who use it, and how we treat it like a critical foundation for the organization. 
 
You will be an integral part of a small cross-functional team tasked with building a new version of our core product using Ruby on Rails and a healthy dose of Boring Technology. You will collaborate with other team members to understand end-user requirements and determine how to achieve our desired outcomes.
What you’ll do
  • Contribute technically with hands-on coding time and code reviews.
  • Make meaningful contributions to technical approaches and system architectures.
  • Work on complex, cross-functional, full-stack software projects.
  • Collaborate with engineering, product, and design teams.
 
You’ll need
  • 5+ years of experience with Ruby on Rails.
  • Solid understanding of Rails conventions.
  • Knowledge of the Ruby on Rails API.
  • High degree of self-motivation and self-direction.
  • Excellent communication skills, including communicating cross-culturally and across time zones.
  • Deep understanding of the importance of incremental improvement in systems and people.
  • Empathy and patience for fellow engineers – you’ve been there and made the same mistakes they’re making.
  • Experience in the following areas:
    • Being part of a remote software development team.
    • Working with, refactoring, upgrading, and migrating live production systems.
    • Building and supporting complex systems with many moving parts.
    • Testing approaches for Rails applications.
    • Multitenant projects and codebases.
Ideally, you have
  • Experience working with or as a member of contract development teams and agencies.
  • Experience with modern Rails (6+ years)
  • Started a new project in Rails and shipped that project to customers.
  • Familiarity with the following areas:
    • ViewComponent or Phlex
    • Hotwire/Turbo/Stimulus
    • DB experience outside of ActiveRecord
    • Feature flags
    • Docker
    • Observability and monitoring
 
What to expect from the interview process
  • Introduction call with the Director of Engineering and Principal Engineer
  • Technical call with the Principal Engineer
  • Final call with the Director of Engineering
 
Rate
This position is contract and remote within the U.S. The hourly rate for this position is $75 to $125, depending on experience. The schedule is a flexible four-day schedule with six billable hours per day.
To Apply
Send your resume to jobs@maplight.org, and please include “Rails Engineer (Your Name) ” in the subject line. 

 

About MapLight
We welcome and value a diversity of lived experiences and perspectives that will help further the democracy-oriented work we do. As such, MapLight is committed to an inclusive workplace in all aspects of employment operations; from recruiting, hiring, promoting, training and professional development, compensation, benefits, to discipline, and terms of employment. We know that research shows some applicants – more often underrepresented applicants – downplay their skills. If your experience doesn’t exactly match the qualifications listed but you can shine in this role, we want to hear from you. Please apply and tell us why you’re the right person for the job!
 
MapLight does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, country of origin, citizenship, ancestry, genetic information, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, political affiliation, exercising one’s right to family care and medical leave, medical condition, including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions, or any other category protected by local, state, or federal laws. We are not offering U.S. visa sponsorship at this time. Black & Indigenous people of color, immigrants, LGBTQI+ individuals, folks with disabilities, neuro-diverse people and formerly incarcerated people are highly encouraged to apply.
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