Mid-Level Full Stack Software Engineer

At Crisis Text Line, Engineering, Product, and Design work together to create a trusted, innovative, and deeply human-centered Crisis Care Platform. Our technology supports millions of people in moments of need and enables global partners to deliver crisis support at scale.

We’re looking for a mid-level full-stack software engineer to join our Conversational Application Team. This is a backend-leaning role for an engineer who can independently deliver well-defined work across the software development lifecycle—from technical design and implementation through testing, deployment, and production support.

You’ll contribute to APIs, data models, caching, background processing, and user-facing or internal tools. Your work will help improve the resilience, stability, and scalability of systems used by people during some of their most vulnerable moments.

As a Mid-Level Full-Stack Software Engineer, you will design, build, test, deploy, and operate core platform features. After completing your initial onboarding and becoming familiar with our environments, you’ll be trusted to take ownership of assigned work with support available from technical leads, architects, and other members of the team.

You’ll work primarily on backend systems while contributing across the stack as needed. This includes implementing approved technical designs, developing and maintaining APIs, working with relational databases and caching technologies, and supporting systems that use queues, schedulers, and other asynchronous processes.

You’ll also help address technical debt, improve production reliability, and strengthen the tools and practices that allow us to deliver software safely.

Our Stack

You’ll work across a modern, cloud-based environment, including:

• Backend: PHP with Symfony, Golang, Node.js, services, and APIs
• Frontend: React and Redux
• APIs: REST and GraphQL
• Data: MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Redis
• Cloud: AWS
• Infrastructure as code: Terraform
• Observability: Datadog and Grafana
• Delivery: Automated CI/CD pipelines and shared ownership of production reliability

• Own features end-to-end: Design, build, test, ship, and maintain full-stack features in production.
• Solve hard problems: Break down ambiguous technical challenges and deliver scalable, secure solutions.
• Champion security: Contribute to authentication, authorization, and platform security practices.
• Build for scale: Improve service architecture, APIs, and system reliability as we grow globally.
• Collaborate deeply: Partner with product, design, and engineering peers to deliver high-impact solutions.
• Raise engineering quality: Improve testing, CI/CD, observability, and developer workflows.
• Support production: Participate in on-call rotation to ensure platform reliability.

• Approximately three to five years of professional software engineering experience, including meaningful backend or full-stack responsibilities.
• Professional experience programming in at least one high-level language.
• Experience developing and maintaining production APIs.
• Experience working with SQL and relational databases such as MySQL or PostgreSQL.
• Experience testing, debugging, and supporting production software.
• Familiarity with cloud-based environments such as AWS.
• Experience working with automated CI/CD pipelines and deployment workflows.
• The ability to independently complete well-defined engineering work while asking questions and seeking Full alignment when needed.
• The ability to explain technical analysis, decisions, risks, and tradeoffs clearly.
• A collaborative approach to working with engineering and cross-functional partners.
• A commitment to building secure, reliable, and accessible technology for people with diverse needs and experiences.

Preferred Qualifications 

The following experience would be useful, but we encourage you to apply even if you do not meet every item:

• PHP or the Symfony framework.
• Golang or an interest in developing Golang proficiency.
• Node.js, React, or Redux.
• REST and GraphQL APIs.
• Redis or another caching technology.
• Queues, schedulers, background processing, or event-driven systems.
• AWS services and cloud-based application architecture.
• Terraform or another infrastructure-as-code tool.
• Datadog, Grafana, or comparable telemetry and observability tools.
• Improving CI/CD pipelines, deployment automation, or release processes.
• Designing for availability, performance, security, and observability.
• Contributing to service-oriented or API-first architectures.
• Participating in technical design reviews or architectural discussions.
• Working in a mission-driven, regulated, safety-sensitive, or high-trust environment.

Reliable High-Speed Internet Required: Must have a stable high-speed internet connection to support seamless remote collaboration, virtual meetings, online job tasks, etc.

The full salary range for this position, across all United States geographies, is $99,704 to $116,990.  The upper portion of the salary range is typically reserved for existing employees who demonstrate strong performance over time. Starting salary will vary by location, qualifications, and prior experience; during the interview process, candidates will learn the starting salary range applicable for their location. We pay competitively in the tech-forward nonprofit space and offer a robust benefits package.

This is a remote position within the United States. At the time of hire and throughout employment, the employee’s primary residence and regular home work location must be in one of the following approved hiring states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, or Washington state.

Benefits & Well-Being

Crisis Text Line offers thoughtfully designed, equity-centered benefits that support holistic wellness, financial security, and flexibility. Our benefits are built to meet people where they are and reduce barriers to care and sustainability. 

Highlights include:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision options that prioritize accessibility and financial peace of mind
• Employer-funded HSA contributions
• Generous PTO, sick time, and 19 paid holidays with a winter break
• 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave after 26 consecutive weeks of service
• Monthly wellness and mental health stipends
• Home office and professional development stipends
• 403(b) retirement plan with employer contribution
• Sabbatical after 3 years of service

Benefits are for U.S.-based employees; international benefits may vary.