Position: Java Developer (Technology & User Experience Team)
Location: New York, NY
Posting Date: December 2011
DonorsChoose.org engages the public in public schools by giving people a simple, accountable, and personal way to do something about educational inequity. Public school teachers from every corner of America post classroom project requests on our site. Then, "citizen philanthropists" can support the projects that most inspire them. To date, more than 180,000 teachers and 5 million students from low-income families have received $90 million of books, art supplies, field trips, and other resources. Fast Company recently named DonorsChoose.org the first nonprofit to make the list of the World's 50 Most Innovative Companies, and GOOD magazine highlighted DonorsChoose.org as one of 30 Places We Want to Work. Board members include Stephen Colbert, former Senator Bill Bradley, venture capitalist Fred Wilson, and LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner. Learn more at DonorsChoose.org/about.
Position responsibilities
DonorsChoose.org is seeking an energetic, team-oriented, and self-motivated Java Developer to improve the user experience of DonorsChoose.org's unique philanthropic marketplace. This position will report directly to DonorsChoose.org's CTO and will play a central role in an agile non-profit organization that is serious about technology.
The right candidate is a top-notch contributor with a proven track record of success, who will be comfortable in DonorsChoose.org's start-up atmosphere and ready to play a key technical role on a small, dedicated team. A passion for delivering high-quality web functionality on aggressive schedules is crucial. This Java Developer will be joining a charity with deep private-sector management experience. The DonorsChoose.org team is smart, committed, and passionate, and the work environment is informal, fast-paced, and fun.
Candidate must
• Design, implement, and maintain new functionality for use by teachers, donors, and staff.
• Estimate and deliver on rapid implementation schedules--without compromising smart development goals and principles--to build web functionality that is functional, fast, and scalable.
• Keep a high-volume transaction-driven web system running by troubleshooting and fixing critical bugs.
Candidate possesses
• Experience building robust functionality for commercial web sites and applications.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Exceptional problem-solving skills and enthusiasm for tackling diverse development challenges.
• Strong sense of ownership and detail-orientation throughout the web engineering lifecycle.
• Superb self-management skills and ability to work in a fast-paced environment with little supervision.
• Strong SQL skills, experience with O/R mapping tools like Hibernate is a plus.
• Excellent Java and extra credit for experience with Spring framework.
• Experience integrating 3rd-party web applications, services, and components.
• Nice to have: HTML, CSS, JS, or AJAX.
Compensation and benefits
DonorsChoose.org is proud to offer a total compensation package including: a competitive salary with merit-based bonus potential, a comprehensive benefits program including employer paid premiums for medical, dental and vision coverage, as well as transit benefits, non-contributing 401K plan, professional development budget, casual workplace and 5 weeks paid vacation plus national holidays.
To apply
Email resume, note of introduction, and how you learned about the position to Oliver Hurst-Hiller, CTO & EVP Product at software-engineer (at) donorschoose {dot} org. Include "Java Developer" and "REF:SW5" in the subject line. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. No calls, please.
DonorsChoose.org is an equal opportunity employer committed to developing the skills and leadership of people from diverse backgrounds.