Contract: Lead Software Engineer - Newsela Writing Team Remote - Argentina; Brazil; Chile; Colombia; Costa Rica; Mexico

We are seeking a Lead Software Engineer for the Newsela Writing product engineering team. This is an IC-heavy technical leadership role (~50-70% coding) with no direct reports. The Lead Software Engineer owns technical direction, code quality standards, and day-to-day engineering coordination for the writing-app (Next.js, node.js, and Python backends).

Why You'll Love This Role:

• Own architecture decisions for the writing-app and evaluate technical trade-offs that balance speed, quality, and maintainability.
• Define and evolve the team's technical standards (coding patterns, testing expectations, dependency management) and drive technical debt reduction alongside feature work.
• Lead triage and technical coordination during incidents. Drive root cause analysis and propose preventive measures. Be the first responder when production issues arise for the writing product.
• Actively drive technical discussions in grooming, planning, standups, and retros. Ensure technical decisions are documented where appropriate.

What You'll Be Doing:

• Review significant PRs and provide substantive feedback, catch architectural issues before they merge, and ensure PRs are appropriately sized and scoped.
• Drive obstacle resolution during sprints - unblock engineers, make technical calls, escalate when needed. Identify and flag risks early.
• Translate between product requirements and technical implementation for the team. Communicate technical status, risks, and trade-offs clearly to the Engineering Manager and stakeholders.
• Leverage AI/LLM-powered workflows and code-generation tools (e.g., Claude Code, Copilot) to stay efficient and productive, with code reviews to ensure quality and security.

• 5+ years building modern web applications in a SaaS environment, with significant full-stack experience.
• Strong proficiency in React/Next.js (frontend) and Python (backend). Comfortable with database design, API architecture, and frontend state management.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, deployment processes, and monitoring (Datadog or similar).
• Experience with rich text editors, document collaboration, or ProseMirror/similar frameworks is a strong plus.
• Comfort using AI-assisted coding tools (Claude Code, Copilot, Cursor) responsibly with security and license awareness.
• Demonstrated ability to self-direct - picks up work, drives it to completion, and identifies what needs to be done without being told.
• Code review discipline - history of providing substantive, constructive feedback (not just approvals).
• Experience in making technical decisions under ambiguity and communicating the reasoning.
• Strong communication & collaboration skills: active in meetings, clear async writing in Slack/Jira/documentation, comfortable giving and receiving direct technical feedback.

Please note that given the nature of the contract, this role will not be eligible to participate in company-sponsored benefits

Newsela is a leading education technology company dedicated to meaningful classroom learning for every student. We deliver integrated, AI-powered solutions designed to unlock student engagement, empower teachers, and drive meaningful learning outcomes. Our suite of products supports knowledge and skill development, writing practice, daily instruction, assessment, and data-informed decision-making across K-12 classrooms. Grounded in learning science research, Newsela's solutions integrate content, assessment, and analytics to help educators track progress, understand student outcomes, and deliver high-impact instruction that supports every learner., 244 results found No results found * Afghanistan+93 * Åland Islands+358 * Albania+355 * Algeria+213 * American Samoa+1 * Andorra+376 * Angola+244 * Anguilla+1 * Antigua & Barbuda+1 * Argentina+54 * Armenia+374 * Aruba+297 * Ascension Island+247 * Australia+61 * Austria+43 * Azerbaijan+994 * Bahamas+1 * Bahrain+973 * Bangladesh+880 * Barbados+1 * Belarus+375 * Belgium+32 * Belize+501 * Benin+229 * Bermuda+1 * Bhutan+975 * Bolivia+591 * Bosnia & Herzegovina+387 * Botswana+267 * Brazil+55 * British Indian Ocean Territory+246 * British Virgin Islands+1 * Brunei+673 * Bulgaria+359 * Burkina Faso+226 * Burundi+257 * Cambodia+855 * Cameroon+237 * Canada+1 * Cape Verde+238 * Caribbean Netherlands+599 * Cayman Islands+1 * Central African Republic+236 * Chad+235 * Chile+56 * China+86 * Christmas Island+61 * Cocos (Keeling) Islands+61 * Colombia+57 * Comoros+269 * Congo - Brazzaville+242 * Congo - Kinshasa+243 * Cook Islands+682 * Costa Rica+506 * Côte d'Ivoire+225 * Croatia+385 * Cuba+53 * Curaçao+599 * Cyprus+357 * Czechia+420 * Denmark+45 * Djibouti+253 * Dominica+1 * Dominican Republic+1 * Ecuador+593 * Egypt+20 * El Salvador+503 * Equatorial Guinea+240 * Eritrea+291 * Estonia+372 * Eswatini+268 * Ethiopia+251 * Falkland Islands+500 * Faroe Islands+298 * Fiji+679 * Finland+358 * France+33 * French Guiana+594 * French Polynesia+689 * Gabon+241 * Gambia+220 * Georgia+995 * Germany+49 * Ghana+233 * Gibraltar+350 * Greece+30 * Greenland+299 * Grenada+1 * Guadeloupe+590 * Guam+1 * Guatemala+502 * Guernsey+44 * Guinea+224 * Guinea-Bissau+245 * Guyana+592 * Haiti+509 * Honduras+504 * Hong Kong SAR China+852 * Hungary+36 * Iceland+354 * India+91 * Indonesia+62 * Iran+98 * Iraq+964 * Ireland+353 * Isle of Man+44 * Israel+972 * Italy+39 * Jamaica+1 * Japan+81 * Jersey+44 * Jordan+962 * Kazakhstan+7 * Kenya+254 * Kiribati+686 * Kosovo+383 * Kuwait+965 * Kyrgyzstan+996 * Laos+856 * Latvia+371 * Lebanon+961 * Lesotho+266 * Liberia+231 * Libya+218 * Liechtenstein+423 * Lithuania+370 * Luxembourg+352 * Macao SAR China+853 * Madagascar+261 * Malawi+265 * Malaysia+60 * Maldives+960 * Mali+223 * Malta+356 * Marshall Islands+692 * Martinique+596 * Mauritania+222 * Mauritius+230 * Mayotte+262 * Mexico+52 * Micronesia+691 * Moldova+373 * Monaco+377 * Mongolia+976 * Montenegro+382 * Montserrat+1 * Morocco+212 * Mozambique+258 * Myanmar (Burma)+95 * Namibia+264 * Nauru+674 * Nepal+977 * Netherlands+31 * New Caledonia+687 * New Zealand+64 * Nicaragua+505 * Niger+227 * Nigeria+234 * Niue+683 * Norfolk Island+672 * North Korea+850 * North Macedonia+389 * Northern Mariana Islands+1 * Norway+47 * Oman+968 * Pakistan+92 * Palau+680 * Palestinian Territories+970 * Panama+507 * Papua New Guinea+675 * Paraguay+595 * Peru+51 * Philippines+63 * Poland+48 * Portugal+351 * Puerto Rico+1 * Qatar+974 * Réunion+262 * Romania+40 * Russia+7 * Rwanda+250 * Samoa+685 * San Marino+378 * São Tomé & Príncipe+239 * Saudi Arabia+966 * Senegal+221 * Serbia+381 * Seychelles+248 * Sierra Leone+232 * Singapore+65 * Sint Maarten+1 * Slovakia+421 * Slovenia+386 * Solomon Islands+677 * Somalia+252 * South Africa+27 * South Korea+82 * South Sudan+211 * Spain+34 * Sri Lanka+94 * St. Barthélemy+590 * St. Helena+290 * St. Kitts & Nevis+1 * St. Lucia+1 * St. Martin+590 * St. Pierre & Miquelon+508 * St. Vincent & Grenadines+1 * Sudan+249 * Suriname+597 * Svalbard & Jan Mayen+47 * Sweden+46 * Switzerland+41 * Syria+963 * Taiwan+886 * Tajikistan+992 * Tanzania+255 * Thailand+66 * Timor-Leste+670 * Togo+228 * Tokelau+690 * Tonga+676 * Trinidad & Tobago+1 * Tunisia+216 * Turkey+90 * Turkmenistan+993 * Turks & Caicos Islands+1 * Tuvalu+688 * U.S. Virgin Islands+1 * Uganda+256 * Ukraine+380 * United Arab Emirates+971 * United Kingdom+44 * United States+1 * Uruguay+598 * Uzbekistan+998 * Vanuatu+678 * Vatican City+39 * Venezuela+58 * Vietnam+84 * Wallis & Futuna+681 * Western Sahara+212 * Yemen+967 * Zambia+260