Most engineers are handed a ticket. At SchooLinks, you own the whole journey.
Our Product Engineers aren't members of a feature team. They are the feature team. You'll start from a problem or a goal, figure out what to build, design the experience, implement it, test it, ship it, and communicate it. No PM to translate for you. No designer to hand you mocks. No QA to catch your bugs before users do. That's not a gap in our process. It's the role.
We're looking for engineers who get uncomfortable when they're too far from the outcome. Who have opinions about UX, not just code quality. Who find product thinking as natural as system design. Who take it personally when something they built doesn't land with users, and who fix it without being asked.
What this looks like in practice
- You receive context on a user problem or business goal, not a spec
- You define your own requirements, break down the work, and manage your own scope
- You make design and UX decisions, getting lightweight feedback when useful
- You write the code, write the tests, and hold yourself accountable for quality
- You communicate progress and outcomes directly to stakeholders
This role is probably not for you if you do your best work inside clearly defined tickets, or if you prefer deep specialization over broad ownership. It might be exactly for you if you've always felt constrained by the boundary between "engineering" and "product" and you're ready for a role that erases it.
The stack
Django / Python backend · React / TypeScript frontend · AWS · PostgreSQL · Celery / Redis
We use AI tools (Claude, Cursor) as a standard part of how we plan, build, and document not as an experiment.
Requirements
What you bring
- Demonstrated ability to own features end-to-end, from ambiguous problem to production
- Strong Python and React proficiency, built through real production work
- Solid AWS and SQL experience in production environments
- Comfortable with async task management and the operational realities of production systems
- You define requirements from a problem statement, you don't wait for a spec
- Strong written communication: specs, release notes, and documentation are part of how you deliver
- This role is for engineers based in Austin, Texas, with the ability to work in the office 1-2 days a week.
- We are unable to sponsor employment-based visas (H-1B, O-1, EB-3, etc.). Applicants must be eligible to work in the United States without sponsorship.
Nice to have: Celery, Redis, educational data standards (Ed-Fi, One Roster), or genuine interest in ed-tech, career exploration, or workforce development.
About SchooLinks
SchooLinks is a venture-backed ed-tech company that helps millions of students navigate what comes after high school college applications, course planning, financial aid, career exploration, and more. We have over 80 tools in production used daily by students and school staff across the country.
Compensation Range
$100,000 – $160,000 base + equity + bonus
Compensation is based on experience, skills, and location. Total package includes equity and performance-based bonus. Final offer may fall outside this range.
Benefits
• 100% health care coverage
• 401K with company 2% matching
• Dental & Vision
• Parental Leave
• Subsidized gym membership
• Remote work stipend
• Annual team offsite
Skills Required
- Own features end-to-end from ambiguous problem to production
- Strong Python proficiency with real production experience
- Strong React proficiency with real production experience
- Solid AWS experience in production environments
- Solid SQL experience in production environments
- Comfortable with async task management and operational realities of production systems
- Ability to define requirements from a problem statement without a spec
- Strong written communication for specs, release notes, and documentation
- Based in Austin, Texas and able to work in the office 1-2 days per week
- Experience with Celery
- Experience with Redis
- Familiarity with educational data standards (Ed-Fi, One Roster) or interest in ed-tech
What We Do
SchooLinks is a college and career readiness platform with curriculum that engages students throughout the process of self discovery, career education and college planning and application. The student-centric experience is able to create a wealth of behavioral data, and its machine learning algorithms leverage those data to personalize college recommendations and content to further drive student engagement. SchooLinks then serves actionable insights to counselors that help them act in real time to become more effective. On a district level, the sophisticated data models power a full suite of accountability tools to allow administrators to monitor and achieve desired college and career readiness outcomes.
Gallery
