Remote Senior Web Developer at Merit

We’re a small company that created and sells a cool, unusual software product to colleges. We’ll soon be working on a complementary new product. We’re proud of what we’ve made, how we sell it, and how we support it. Clients know our team by name and like us (or they’re indifferent, but renew their annual subscriptions at a 90%+ rate). We don’t think we’re taking over the world, disrupting anything, or moving fast and breaking things. We’re doing good work with colleagues we respect and like.

Merit is a very flat organization, management-wise, so we hire people who are self-directed and collaborate well with others. None of us is a super-specialist in anything (though each of us is better at some things, which we’re responsible for), so we tend to hire generalists in their fields. Ideally, you’re broadly good at programming but perhaps have specific interests around which you can add expertise.

One of our team calls us “an island of misfit toys” (a la Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer). That means we look past resumes and credentials, which can lead to hiring unconventional people. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds and identities to apply for this job because you’ll find a place that welcomes and values the perspective you bring to our work.

There’s more about our policies and benefits below, but here are some of the characteristics of who we’re hoping will work with us:

You have a strong curiosity about technology in general. By now you may have curated a specific set of tools for your industry (including workstation and OS preferences), which we are happy to accommodate. We’re a small development team so we regularly have to learn about and become experts in new things. We care about your curiosity, eagerness to learn, and ability to communicate on the job, not simply your “passion” for programming. Coding in your free time, side projects, and GitHub portfolios are not necessary.

You have several years of experience developing web applications professionally, and have a familiarity with HTML, JavaScript, CSS, and a web application framework. Our applications are primarily Ruby on Rails, but the MVC principles are broadly transferable. Experience with other aspects of application development, such as SQL or cloud infrastructure, are most welcome.

We pay as well as we can given our size and location; as far as we can tell, it’s competitive. We offer a platinum health care plan (Blue Shield PPO) and pick up 100% of the premiums for you and your family. We also match 3% of your salary in your retirement plan contribution, provide paid parental leave, and insist you take a lot of vacation (it’s an unlimited policy, which often means people don’t take enough out of social pressure, but we will make sure you do).

If you’re interested, the most important thing to send us is a good letter or note. We believe that writing is an excellent proxy for the quality of your thinking. Thus, your first letter to us is just as important as your resume (please send that, too). We will respond to every application we get that has a non-templated letter, but ignore any application that doesn't include one. PLEASE NOTE: As an excellent writer, I can generally tell if your cover letter was written by an LLM. Don't do it! (check web)