Why This Job is Featured on The SaaS Jobs
SchooLinks sits in the SaaS segment of ed tech, where product value is often delivered through a broad platform rather than a single workflow. With a large suite of tools and an emphasis on scaling to very high user volumes, the backend function becomes central to reliability, data integrity, and long-lived product evolution. That makes this Django role notable as a core platform position rather than a feature-only assignment.
For a SaaS career, the role offers sustained exposure to the concerns that recur across subscription software at scale: maintaining a clean and testable codebase, paying down technical debt without slowing delivery, and making architectural choices that hold up as usage grows. The mix of AWS, SQL in production, asynchronous work patterns, and on-call responsibility maps closely to the operational expectations of mature SaaS engineering teams, and the planning-focused interview steps reflect an environment where engineers influence how work is shaped.
This is best suited to an experienced backend engineer who prefers owning systems over time, values disciplined engineering practices, and can collaborate across product and design to translate requirements into scalable services. It fits someone comfortable operating within established patterns while still raising the bar on quality and maintainability.
The section above is editorial commentary from The SaaS Jobs, provided to help SaaS professionals understand the role in a broader industry context.
Job Description
SchooLinks is a venture-backed ed-tech company that is changing how students explore and pursue their post-high school goals. We have a suite of over 80 tools for students and school staff including college application management, course planning, financial situations, personality assessments, college profiles, and many others.
We're looking for a highly experienced Django back-end engineer who will write high-quality code, make sound and scalable architectural decisions, and help grow our team by bringing and evangelizing best practices.
Presently, we're only looking for US-based engineers that live in Central or Eastern Timezone. We do not have the ability to sponsor H1-B Visas.
Additionally, please note this role is for highly experienced software engineers with deep Django and Django Rest Framework (DRF) experience.
What you'll do:
- Ship clean, readable, and maintainable backend Django code
- Contribute and proactively elevate the quality of our codebase by writing tests and addressing technical debt
- You'll be working with a talented team of engineers, designers, and product people who have shipped 50+ features in the last 3 years and have established SchooLinks as a company that has found product-market fit and transitioned us into a hyper-growth phase.
- Participate in the product development process from start to finish, reviewing requirements and user stories to provide timely and meaningful feedback.
- Design and build solutions that will scale to millions of users
- Participate in on-call rotations
- 5+ years of Django and Dango Rest Framework experience
- 3 + years of experience working with AWS
- 3+ years of experience working with SQL databases in production
- Experience building, supporting, and planning production
- Experience with asynchronous task management
Nice to have -- experience with the following technology that we use regularly:
Domain experience/interest in the following areas is a bonus:
- ETL and data integration with third-party systems such as Student Information Systems
- Educational data
- Workforce development and career exploration
- Predictive analytics around educational outcomes
We may consider exceptional candidates that have slightly less experience, but this is not a role for junior engineers.
Interview Process
1. Video Screening - A 15 min video-based interview focused around your background and technical experience and knowledge.
2. Live Coding Challenge - A hour interview where you will complete a coding assignment with one of our Staff Engineers of Engineering Manager
3. Live Planning Challenge - A non-coding hour and half interview where you will create technical specifications/ planning documentation for a set of requirements and designs provided.
- 100% health care coverage
- 401K with company 2% matching
- Dental & Vision
- Parental Leave
- Subsidized gym membership
- Remote work stipend
- Annual team offsite
A reasonable estimate of the base salary range for this position is $100,000 - $140,000 USD. This compensation range is specific to the United States and it incorporates many factors including but not limited to an applicant’s skills and prior relevant experience and training; licensures, degrees, and certifications; specific geographic location; internal equity; internal pay ranges; and market data/range parameters.
SchooLinks is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws.
