Software Engineering Consultant- Lucia Support

ABOUT TERN + LUCIA

Tern is a venture-backed software company on a mission to reshape the $127B travel agency industry—by giving power back to the entrepreneurs who built it. Lucia is a contractor marketplace for the travel industry. It connects travel businesses with vetted contractors (aka CoPilots) who are experts in the travel industry. Lucia can help companies save time and make more money by utilizing gig-style talent.

Tern acquired Lucia in June of 2025 to bring together technology and services to empower travel advisors.

Nearly 98% of travel agencies are small businesses. These businesses have been chronically underserved by technology. We’re here to change that. Our platform & services help travel advisors run more efficient, professional, and profitable operations—giving them the modern infrastructure they need to lead the next chapter of travel.

But the impact goes beyond business. Travel advisors help clients move more intentionally through the world. When a traveler works with an advisor, they're more likely to avoid overtouristed hotspots and more likely to spend their dollars in places where they can do real good. That’s the kind of travel we want more of.

At Tern + Lucia, we believe in small business. We believe in the power of travel. And we’re building the future of both.

Lucia Software Engineer (Part-Time Contractor, ~15/20 hours/month)

As a Software Engineer for Tern+Lucia, you’ll work closely with our UI/UX designer, Customer Growth Manager, and operations team to build lightweight, impactful tools that power the freelancer and user experience within Tern. From internal automations and matching flows to simple user-facing components and AI-powered enhancements, you’ll help bring structure, scale, and speed to how we serve our growing user base.

Lucia is a human-first, tech-augmented freelancer services marketplace. We’re scaling quickly and to do it well, we need better tooling, better workflows, and smart, AI-enabled systems that enhance both our CoPilot and customer experience. You’ll be the technical glue between our product vision and our day-to-day operations.

What You’ll Do

• Design and build lightweight internal tools to streamline operations across matching, onboarding, and quality review

• Maintain backend scripts and services to connect and automate tools like Airtable, Stripe, Checkr, Intercom, Slack, and Notion

• Collaborate with a UI/UX designer to build clean, usable components for simple web-based interfaces or dashboards

• Prototype and deploy AI-enhanced workflows, including GPT-powered summarization, request form workflows, or intelligent matching logic

• Improve workflows over time, working closely with ops and growth to identify pain points and opportunities to replace manual steps with tech

You Might Be a Fit If…

• You’ve worked in early-stage environments, building internal tools and workflow automations

• You’re fluent in Rails or Node, can write clean API integrations, and can deploy quickly via platforms like Heroku

• You’re comfortable working with Git, writing basic test coverage, and deploying updates with minimal disruption

• You’re comfortable writing and iterating with LLMs (OpenAI, GPT-4), even if you’re not an AI specialist

• You’re familiar with relational databases (e.g., Postgres, MySQL) and schema design to support internal tools

• You know how to use (and stretch) Airtable, Notion, Zapier, Postmark, or Slack to keep systems lightweight but powerful

• You love turning fuzzy processes into clear, repeatable, automated systems—and you’re not afraid of ambiguity

Bonus

• Experience with OpenAI APIs, LangChain, or prompt design for operational workflows

• Familiar with async workflows and tracking progress via Notion or similar lightweight tools

• You write clear, concise documentation so others can understand, use, and improve your tools

Role Logistics

• Type: Contractor (Part-time; ~15–20 hours/month)

• Location: Remote

• Duration: 3–4 month initial contract with potential to extend

• Reporting to: Customer Growth Manager (Lucia by Tern)

• Working with: UI/UX Designer, Ops & Matching teams, Core Tern Tech Advisors

Why This Role Matters

Lucia’s success hinges on our ability to scale human services through thoughtful technology. We don’t believe in tech for tech’s sake. We believe in tools that make freelancers better, faster, and more joyful to work with. If you’ve built duct-tape systems that worked until they didn’t, and you know when to level up—you’ll fit right in.

WHAT WE VALUE @ TERN + LUCIA

🌱 We’re always leveling up.

Whether you’re deepening your craft, learning from a teammate, or embracing a new challenge, growth is core to our identity.

🧭 We act with optimistic agency

We take initiative, seek clarity, and move forward, even when the path isn't obvious. Through every peak and valley, we lead with curiosity, laughter, kindness, and resolve.

💪 We have extraordinary ambition

We’re here to reshape the future of travel and we’re building for it with urgency, clarity, and conviction.

Operating Principles:

👂 We deeply understand our users.

At every level of the organization, we obsess about understanding those we serve and the industry we operate in.

➕ We embrace the power of and.

We challenge trade-offs by asking better questions. We believe creativity lives in the tension and that constraints lead to better outcomes.

📣 We speak up and move forward.

Everyone at Tern has a voice and a responsibility to use it. We invite healthy tension, share dissenting views early, and challenge each other with curiosity, not ego.

🏃‍♀️‍➡️ We move fast and sweat the details.

Velocity matters and relentless progress beats perfection every time. But speed isn’t chaos: we stay aligned, own our outcomes, and care deeply about quality.

🤣 We take the work seriously, but not ourselves.

We hire kind, driven people who elevate the room. If you’ve got a big ego or take yourself too seriously, you won’t last.

WHY JOIN TERN + LUCIA?

• Be part of a mission-driven team transforming the travel planning space

• Work with a supportive, curious, and creative team

• Influence and shape our user success strategy from the ground up

Tern is committed to building a team that represents people from many different backgrounds and life experiences, reflecting our worldview coinciding with the users and customers we serve across the world. We prefer that you apply, so think of our postings as the start of the conversation. Take the chance — you may be a wonderful add to our Tern team, even if you don’t fully match every requirement on the job description.