Lead Engineer

*This position is fully remote/home based. Applications will be accepted from candidates based in the UK and the following US states: FL, IL, MA, MD, NY, PA, TX, VA

PLOS is a non-profit organization on a mission to drive open science forward with measurable, meaningful change in research publishing, policy, and practice. We believe in a better future where science is open to all, for all.

Role Summary

As Lead Engineer, you will draw on your diverse experience in software engineering, architecture, and team building to collaboratively design, build, and maintain solutions to power the ongoing revolution in open science.  This role sits within the Digital team, leading a team of engineers within the software engineering function and playing a pivotal part in both leading the team and cutting code.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Sets high performance standards for the team and monitors any performance issues
• Provide team leadership by exemplifying and supporting our core values; managing individuals to ensure their continued personal and professional development; and supporting the overall development of the culture in Software Engineering.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership by contributing to the overall platform architecture; ensuring new work is delivered in alignment with said architecture, establishing and supporting development processes, providing stewardship of the long-term sustainability of our platform, and actively managing platform health and technical debt.
• As part of a cross-functional product team, contribute designs, code, tests, code reviews, and excellent judgment towards the development and continuous improvement of our digital platforms. Participate in agile ceremonies and evolving development practices of the team.
• Ensures that work is delivered in accordance with PLOS policies, standards and protocols.
• Provide inputs into functions budgeting, hiring and performance management.

Knowledge and Skills

• Experience managing engineers (including hiring, retention and performance management).
• Skilled in mentoring and developing engineers in various career stages.
• Demonstrated passion for delivering testable, instrumented, and reliable code.
• Strong track record of using and improving agile software development and related design practices.
• Deep understanding and experience of at least one server-side language.
• Expertise in cloud-native architectures.
• Expertise in data pipelines and event-driven architectures preferred.
• Expertise in machine learning and machine learning pipelines preferred.
• Expertise in workflow or actor frameworks preferred (e.g. Temporal, Akka) preferred.
• Solid foundation in secure coding practices.
• Solid understanding of client-side technology (CSS/HTML/JS).
• Solid understanding of continuous delivery methods and technologies.
• Experience using system monitoring tools and automated testing frameworks
• Ability to pick up new techniques and technologies quickly.
• Self-directed and comfortable with taking ownership when needed.
• Flexible and open minded. Energy and enthusiasm for learning.
• Problem solving in multiple domains. Resilient, proactive and creative.
• Pragmatic while maintaining an attention to detail.
• Experience working with a variety of stakeholders and leading meetings.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, or related academic degrees and/or equivalent experience preferred alongside a strong background in software engineering.
• Significant professional software engineering experience gained in a full-stack cloud environment (specific technologies are not important, but our stack include Google Cloud Platform, Python, React, Kubernetes, Big Query).
• Hands-on experience developing, shipping, operating, and/or maintaining consumer and/or enterprise web applications.
• Excellent verbal and visual communication skills. Ability to actively listen and communicate whilst showing a high level of professionalism, discretion and sound judgment.

Physical Requirements and Work Environment

• Prolonged periods stationary at a desk and working on a computer
• Some national and international travel will be required
• Some flexibility to work across time zones

SALARY:

The base salary range we’ve established for these positions is US: $145,000-$200,000, UK: £75,000 - £105,000. PLOS also offers a comprehensive benefits package summarized below.

BENEFITS:

US:

• 401k with employer match
• Employee sponsored health, dental and vision insurance (Dental and Vision 100% employer paid)
• Paid Vacation, 11 public holidays and sick leave
• Parental leave
• Birthday and three winter holidays days off
• Short term and long term disability insurance
• 2 days paid time off for volunteering per year
• Fully remote work environment with stipend on joining for home office 

UK:

• Private medical insurance
• Life assurance
• Income protection 
• Personal accident insurance
• Pension with up to 10% employer match
• 25 days holidays, market competitive Maternity and Paternity leave
• Birthday and three winter holidays days off
• 2 days paid time off for volunteering per year
• Fully remote work environment with stipend on joining for home office 

About PLOS 

Building on a strong legacy of pioneering innovation, PLOS continues to be a catalyst in open science, reimagining models to meet open science principles, removing barriers and promoting inclusion in knowledge creation and sharing, and publishing research outputs that enable everyone to learn from, reuse and build upon scientific knowledge.

Our work is supported by a highly skilled global in-house team, partnerships with local scholarly organizations, and the valued contributions of a diverse, international community of scientific researchers.

We’re committed to equal opportunity

We’re working to create a more equitable system of scientific knowledge and understanding. Removing barriers to inclusion and facilitating broad participation of voices is core to our success, inside and out. 

Beyond accepting distinct perspectives, we seek and support divergent backgrounds among our colleagues because we know differences strengthen our teams, our work, and our communities. We strongly encourage applicants of all identities to join us as we work towards a future where science is open to all, for all. Visit plos.org/careers to learn more.

To learn more about how PLOS protects your privacy, see our Employee Privacy Notice.