Software Engineer, Backend & Data

About Us:

Epic is the leading digital reading platform for kids ages 12 and under, used by millions of children, families, and educators around the world. With a vast library of high-quality books and learning resources from 250+ of the world’s top publishers, Epic empowers kids to explore their interests, build literacy skills, and develop a lifelong love of reading.

Through personalized recommendations and built-in progress tracking, Epic helps children build confidence and curiosity—while giving parents and educators meaningful insight into each child’s learning journey. As Epic continues to grow, we are reimagining what reading can be through thoughtful technology, data, and global collaboration to make learning more engaging, accessible, and impactful.

Position Summary

The Software Engineer, Backend & Data will play a critical role in building and maintaining the backend systems and data infrastructure that power Epic’s products, analytics, and business operations.

This role sits at the intersection of backend engineering and data engineering, supporting core business systems, enterprise data warehouse design, and data pipelines. The ideal candidate is passionate about scalable systems, data quality, and enabling data-driven decision-making across the organization. This is a fully remote, US-based role working closely with a global, bilingual (English–Chinese) engineering team.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain Epic’s core backend systems and services
• Own key components end-to-end, including requirements analysis, system design, implementation, testing, and performance optimization
• Collaborate with product managers, frontend engineers, and business stakeholders to deliver scalable and reliable solutions
• Contribute to the design and development of Epic’s enterprise data warehouse (EDW)
• Build, optimize, and maintain data pipelines to ensure high data quality, reliability, and performance
• Support reporting, analytics, and research use cases by ensuring data is well-modeled and accessible
• Partner with analytics and business teams to translate data needs into technical solutions
• Assist with data monitoring, governance, and best practices
• Create and maintain clear technical documentation for backend systems, data models, and pipelines
• Collaborate effectively across time zones in a remote, global engineering environment

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field
• Strong experience working with databases and advanced SQL skills
• Experience with HiveSQL and Spark SQL
• Proficiency in at least one programming language: Python, Scala, or Java
• Working knowledge of big data technologies such as Hadoop, HDFS, Hive, Spark, Flink, HBase, or similar systems
• Solid understanding of enterprise data warehouse (EDW) design principles
• Experience with Kimball dimensional modeling, including fact tables, dimension tables, and star schemas
• Strong analytical thinking and attention to detail
• High sense of ownership, accountability, and responsibility
• Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to work effectively in evolving systems
• Fluency in English for daily collaboration and technical documentation
• Proficiency in Mandarin Chinese to collaborate effectively with global engineering and business partners

Preferred Skills

• Experience working across both backend application development and data platforms
• Exposure to large-scale data processing and analytics systems
• Experience working in distributed or global engineering teams
• Strong curiosity and ability to learn new technologies quickly