Senior Software Engineer

The position is anticipated to be short-term, and not expected to exceed April 30, 2028. Please note that there is no guaranteed duration of the position, and your employment will be for no fixed duration.

*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

In the US, this is a union represented position as part of the Pacific Media Workers Guild, Local 39521 of the NewsGuild-Communication Workers of America.
Role Summary

PLOS is a nonprofit, Open Access publisher empowering researchers to accelerate progress in science and medicine by leading a transformation in research communication. The Senior Software Engineer draws on a diversity of experience in software engineering, architecture, and lifecycle management to collaboratively design, build, and maintain modern cloud-native solutions to power the ongoing revolution in open science. A high level of motivation, independence and willingness to constantly learn and improve are necessary to be successful.

This role sits within the Digital team and is part of a team of engineers within the software engineering function.
Responsibilities

- 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.

- Contribute to the overall platform architecture.

- Ensure new work is delivered in alignment with said architecture.

- Establish and support development processes.

- Provide stewardship of the long-term sustainability of our platform and actively manage platform health and technical debt.

Knowledge and Skills

- Significant professional software engineering experience gained in a full stack environment, ideally with experience using Google Cloud, Python, React, Kubernetes, BigQuery, or similar modern technologies.

- Hands-on experience developing, shipping, operating, and/or maintain consumer and/or enterprise we applications.

- 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.

- Solid foundation in secure coding practices.

- Solid understanding of client-side technology (CSS/HTML/JS)

- Experience with continuous delivery methods and technologies.

- Experience with using data to inform development decisions.

- Ability to collaborate with a variety of functions, personalities and cultures.

- Ability to actively listen, ask the right questions and see the underlying meaning in what’s being said and not said.

- Flexible and open minded. Energy and enthusiasm for learning.

- Problem solving in multiple domains. Resilient, proactive and creative.

- Ability to pick up new techniques and technologies quickly.

- Pragmatic while maintain an attention to detail.

- Self-directed and capable of working under minimal supervision.

Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, or related academic degrees and/or equivalent experience preferred alongside a strong background in software engineering.

Physical Requirements and Work Environment

- Prolonged periods stationary at a desk and working on a computer.

- Some national and international travel may be required.

- Some flexibility to work across time zones.

- Rare but occasional after hours (evening or weekend) work.

The base salary range we’ve established for these positions is ( US): $130,000 - $142,000 or (UK) £65,000- £73,000 . PLOS also offers a comprehensive benefits