ITHAKA’s mission is to expand access to knowledge and education around the world. Our services — Artstor, JSTOR, Portico, and Ithaka S+R — enable people everywhere to learn, to grow, and to overcome barriers to education. In carrying out our mission, as employees we feel a deep responsibility to members of our community and to each other, and we are committed to building and sustaining a culture where everyone can thrive.
ITHAKA is looking for a Software Engineer to join the JSTOR Labs team. As Software Engineer, you will have a pivotal role in building the Transfer Explorer pilot application. The Transfer Explorer is a collaboration between Ithaka S+R and JSTOR Labs which aims to make it easy for students, school administrators, and advisors to see how earned credits and prior learning experiences will transfer and count toward a degree at a new institution. Building on a concept initially piloted at City University of New York, the team is now creating a universal version of the tool that will be able to help students everywhere.
The Software Engineer will work with backend and frontend engineering specialists, UX researchers, and field-leading subject matter experts within Ithaka S+R to build the best possible Transfer Explorer experience for data providers and student users alike. You will collaborate with fellow engineers and our data integration partners at the DXtera Institute to create powerful and engaging user-facing tools that empower students to more easily navigate their educational journey, and enable university staff to make credit transfer more efficient and impactful. You will have the opportunity to contribute to both the frontend and backend of the application, building on our current technical stack of Nuxt/Vue and XState on the frontend, and both NodeJS and Python services on the backend, deployed using Kubernetes and backed by PostgreSQL databases. You will also work with policy and product researchers to use insights from institutional and usage data to play a role in deciding larger product features, strategy, and goals.
The Software Engineer will report to the JSTOR Labs’ Manager of Engineering and join a dynamic and creative team of engineers, UX researchers, and business strategists incubating a variety of novel products. Our engineers play an active role in contributing technical know-how and domain experience into shaping Labs’ new initiatives. Other work may include rapid prototyping sprints pairing with our team and outside partners, or rotating on to growing projects as they mature. As a member of the larger engineering organization within ITHAKA, you will have the chance to learn from experts in software and data engineering, machine learning, and systems architecture working on the leading-edge technology stack used by the JSTOR platform, and be able to have a large impact on the worldwide community that ITHAKA serves.
Application Requirements
Interested candidates should submit:
- Their resume
- A detailed cover letter
The deadline to submit application requirements is Monday, September 29, 2025 at 10 AM EST.
ResponsibilitiesAs part of the Transfer Explorer team, you will:
- Combine your frontend and backend knowledge to create engaging and accessible user-facing features for the Transfer Explorer web application.
- Leverage ITHAKA’s technology stack to optimize and secure the application.
- Learn the landscape of higher education student information systems and the data needs of our student-facing applications.
- Use your deep knowledge of the data, creative problem solving skills, and initiative to identify opportunities for new application features and improvements.
- 2-3 years experience building interactive web applications in at least one high-level programming language such as Python, Ruby, or JavaScript.
- Knowledge of full web technology stack (e.g., HTTP, cookies, headers, caching, CDN, and security)
- Knowledge of at least one full-stack web application development framework such as Nuxt, Django, FastAPI, Flask, Meteor, Ruby on Rails, or other.
- Ability to work as a close and empathetic collaborator across a multifunctional team including backend developers, UX designers, product managers, and subject-matter experts.
- Commitment to our organizational values of belonging, evidence, speed, teamwork, and trust.
The preferred experience or skills listed below are valuable, but ITHAKA encourages candidates to apply if they possess the required skills, even if they do not have the specific experience or skills listed below.
- Familiarity with the higher education sector and student information systems; work with course registration systems, credits and program related data.
ITHAKA is not currently considering candidates who require any type of immigration sponsorship (additional work authorization or permanent work authorization) now or in the future to work in the United States.
Compensation and BenefitsAt ITHAKA we believe in openness and equity. Part of living those values is our commitment to clarity about salary ranges, so candidates know what to expect. The starting salary for this position ranges from $97,000 to $121,000 per year. Starting pay may vary with job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. At present, our total compensation package for benefits-eligible employees includes medical, dental, and vision plans, an employer-paid 10% retirement contribution, paid parental and caregiver leave, 22 days of paid time off, 11 paid holidays, up to 12 sick days, wellness benefits, and more. Please note that ITHAKA, at its discretion, may make changes to its benefits programs from time to time.
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We are committed to our organizational values of belonging, evidence, speed, teamwork, and trust. We take seriously the need for everyone to feel welcome. Belonging is one of our core values, and it shows in our vibrant culture. People from a wide range of backgrounds work at ITHAKA, and we believe that unique perspectives help us realize new insights and build better solutions.
We want to work with people who are passionate about ideas like these and who wish to contribute their perspectives and talents to ITHAKA’s mission. We enthusiastically welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and credentials. We want to hear your story and include your perspective in the transformative work we aim to do.
Learn more about Working at ITHAKA.
Apply NowAlthough ITHAKA has physical offices in New York and Ann Arbor, Michigan, our employees are distributed across the continental United States. At this time, we’re not considering candidates who are unable to work and reside in the continental U.S.
Candidates may apply by submitting an application online through our career site, if you have any questions about your application, please contact us at [email protected]. ITHAKA is committed to providing reasonable accommodations, if there’s anything we can do to accommodate any portion of the application or hiring process, please contact us at [email protected].
We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to identity or other status protected by law. We invite you to read our Equal Employment Opportunity Statement. ITHAKA cares about your privacy, learn more about our Applicant Privacy Notice.
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What We Do
ITHAKA's mission is to expand access to knowledge and education around the world. We started in 1995 with a simple idea: digitize the materials in university and college libraries to preserve them and make them available online to people everywhere. Today, we do that and so much more.
Our 300+ staff - everyone from software developers, designers, and editors, to quantitative analysts, human resource specialists, and marketers - work to deliver four services developed to advance our mission.
JSTOR and Artstor are digital platforms expanding access to knowledge by making thousands of books, journals, images, and primary sources available to millions of students and researchers in 170 countries.
Portico is a global archive preserving nearly 500 terabytes of digital research content for libraries and publishers to ensure it's accessible for future generations.
Ithaka S+R is a strategic consulting group providing research to help colleges, universities, and museums with challenges like enrolling more low-income students and veterans, increasing diversity in their workforce, transitioning to digital environments, improving learning outcomes and graduation rates through the use of adaptive learning technologies, and re-vamping what college means through an inclusive focus on micro-credentials.
