Senior Frontend Web Developer

Vera C. Rubin Observatory is a brand-new astronomical facility currently under construction in Chile, with staff based in Tucson, Arizona. Rubin Observatory will undertake the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) which will be one of the largest and most comprehensive astronomy surveys of its kind. Rubin Observatory will enable countless discoveries in almost every area of modern astronomical research—discoveries made possible by the team that built the Rubin Observatory system, and by the global science community that Rubin Observatory serves. 

The Rubin Education and Public Outreach (EPO) team is a small, interdisciplinary group of astronomers, writers, designers, and developers building data-driven astronomy experiences for students and the general public. Our goal is to make LSST data, astronomy, and science interesting and accessible to a broad audience.

About the Role: 

Our education and outreach efforts focus on providing online experiences that are inspiring, educational, and data-driven.  As a member of our team, you will lead our frontend development efforts, be involved in decision-making processes related to UI & UX, and collaborate closely with other EPO team members.  You will report to the EPO Technical Lead and will work most closely with a Senior Backend Developer and a Web designer.  Our stack is a headless Craft 3 CMS on the backend, and a React/Next.js app on the frontend querying the CMS for content over graphQL, with additional scientific data from RESTful APIs.  Some web products currently in development include: an interactive astronomical images viewer with rich data overlays, online tools exploring data and physical concepts related to everything from hazardous asteroids, to astronomical image colorization, to the large scale structure of the universe, and a comprehensive web portal for the Rubin Observatory which will provide news, in-depth info about the project and its team, and tons of images and videos to a large international audience. 

Primary responsibilities include:

• Leading frontend projects from start to finish: defining scope, establishing milestones, scheduling and tracking effort, providing regular status updates to stakeholders, and delivering well tested production-ready features
• Collaborating with Web Designer to perfect UI & UX
• Building data visualizations and other highly interactive astronomy/cosmology tools
• Addressing technical debt and enhancing existing web products
• Assuring web products are compliant with accessibility standards
• Contributing to test coverage and documentation (Jest + React Testing Library)
• Scaling up and optimizing web products for a large international audience
• Regularly collaborating with EPO team members, and communicating with stakeholders
• Participating in regular code reviews 

About you: 

A strong candidate would bring initiative and ownership to the development of our web products.  You will collaborate on improving our frontend architecture, contribute to a growing library of reusable components and styles, and have a strong voice in matters related to our codebase and web design. 

 Required Education/Experience/Skills/Abilities:

• You are a frontend developer who has at least 3 years professional experience and has taken the lead on multiple projects
• You have at least one year of experience working with React + Redux (or similar), and Sass
• You are familiar with D3, three.js, or other data visualization, animation, or WebGL libraries
• You know git inside and out
• You have a demonstrated capacity to clearly and concisely communicate complex technical problems and propose thorough iterative solutions
• You receive tasks with well defined goals but no prescribed path to success. You come up with an actionable plan and execute that plan to deliver well-tested production-ready features
• You are productive when working independently but you are equally enthusiastic about collaborating with others
• You are proud of your concise, highly performant, developer-friendly code
• You strongly empathize with the User
• You have built web products that meet or exceed AA Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
• You are familiar with agile software development methodologies (e.g. Agile, Scrum, Kanban, etc.), especially using Jira

 Preferred Education/Experience/Skills/Abilities:

• You have a positive and solution-oriented mindset
• You are passionate about science and online education
• You have familiarity with Next.js (or similar) 
• You are familiar with styled-components
• You are passionate and highly knowledgeable about Web Accessibility
• You extract big-picture ideas into workable processes and functional designs
• You have experience with performance and optimization problems and a demonstrated ability to both diagnose and prevent these problems
• You have effectively onboarded and integrated with an organization long-term
• You work well with remote teammates 

Above all we are looking for someone enthusiastic with a desire to learn and experiment in a highly supportive and collaborative environment. 

The position is expected to last through the EPO construction phase (concluding late 2022) with the expectation to extend the position through into operations.  Our preference is for this position to be based in Tucson, AZ for at least the first year but there is opportunity for remote work.

AURA offers an excellent benefits package including paid time off, competitive salary commensurate with experience, and a very attractive work environment.

Preference will be given to qualified internal candidates and qualified Native Americans living on or near the Tohono O'odham reservation. 

****Rubin Observatory has the majority of staff working remotely during COVID-19 crisis. The safety of our staff and community is our top priority. We will continue to interview and screen candidates in this new virtual landscape. Offers of employment can be extended and new hires can on-board virtually and arrangements may be made for remote work. Relocation benefits will be available to those eligible when travel can be supported****  

Submission materials: Please include a CV or resume, a cover letter, and a link to your portfolio or GitHub, PDF files preferred.  Also, please list 3 professional references who will only be contacted during the late stages of the interview process. Please name any attachments with the following format: Lastname Docname. Application documents that are not uploaded as part of the application may be sent to [email protected]. 

Veterans, disabled individuals or wounded warriors needing assistance with the employment process should request assistance at [email protected] 

The position will remain open until filled. To be considered in the first round of reviews, please submit your application by August 27, 2021. 

As a recipient of U.S. Government funding, AURA is considered a government contractor and is subject to Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action regulations. As an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer, AURA does not discriminate based on race, sex, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity/gender identity expression, lawful political affiliations, veteran status, disability, and/or any other legally protected status under applicable federal, state, and local equal opportunity laws.