Lead Software Engineer

We Impact Lives Through Purpose-Driven Work in A People First Culture
Ascend Learning, a leading healthcare and learning technology company, is the connection between a powerful portfolio of brands serving students, educators, and employers with outcomes-based, data-driven solutions across the lifecycle of learning. From testing to certification, Ascend Learning products are used by physicians, emergency medical professionals, nurses, allied health professionals, certified personal trainers, financial advisors, skilled trades professionals and insurance brokers.
Headquartered in Burlington, MA, with additional office locations and hybrid and remote workers in cities across the U.S., Ascend Learning was recognized by Newsweek and Plant-A Insights Group as one of America's 2025 Greatest Workplaces as well as America's Best Places to work for Mental Well-Being for 2025.
We're always looking for talented, passionate professionals to join us in our mission to help change lives. If this sounds like an environment where you'd thrive, read on to learn more.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
As a Lead Software Engineer in the Healthcare Workforce Solutions (HWS) group, you'll play a pivotal role in shaping our technology and development of the Laudio product. Reporting directly to the Sr Manager of Software Engineering, you'll work in a dynamic, fast-growing environment, building and iterating on our cloud-based platform using React, Node.js, Typescript, and AWS.
Our team is globally distributed across the United States and Nepal, meaning cross-time zone collaboration is key.
WHERE YOU'LL WORK

• This role is primarily remote, but we prefer candidates located on the East Coast for occasional in-person collaboration. While we strive for asynchronous work, early morning meetings (7 AM ET) will be required.

• Additionally, we offer opportunities to travel to Nepal as needed for deeper collaboration with our engineering team.

HOW YOU'LL SPEND YOUR TIME
As a Lead Software Engineer at HWS, your responsibilities will include:

• Lead - you'll partner with Product to lead a team of software engineers using the Scrum framework to rapidly ship high quality features to production.

• Architect Scalable Solutions - you'll design, develop, and deploy software that is highly available, performant, and scalable.

• Hands-on Coding - act as a key individual contributor, writing code across the full stack to drive our product and engineering roadmap forward.

• Mentor - foster a culture of learning by providing technical mentorship through code reviews and design discussions.

• Innovate & Improve - continuously identify opportunities to enhance our technology and operational processes.

• Being Glue - contribute across multiple areas, including feature development, code optimization, infrastructure improvements, and troubleshooting production issues.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

• High School Diploma or GED required. Bachelor's degree preferred.

• 5+ years of experience as a Software Engineer. 3+ in a technical leadership role.

• Proven ability to lead projects from ideation to implementation in an iterative, agile environment.

• Strong experience building delightful frontend applications with React and Typescript.

• Solid expertise building scalable distributed systems using microservices architecture with Node and Typescript.

• Strong database skills, including SQL performance tuning, schema design, and relational database management.

• Experience building cloud-native applications on platforms like AWS or Azure.

• Strong fundamentals in modern development practices, including Agile, Scrum, CI/CD, test automation, feature flagging, and observability.

• A passion for writing high-quality, maintainable, and scalable code.

• An ability to smoothly operate, monitor, and troubleshoot production applications under pressure.

• Strong communication skills and the ability to communicate with stakeholders at all levels.

HIRING RANGE
The current full-time annualized hiring range for this role is $123,600.00-$176,770.00 and does not include discretionary bonus or sales incentives, if applicable. In accordance with applicable state laws, we are providing the expected salary range for this position. Individual compensation will be determined by various factors, including relevant experience, qualifications, current business needs and local market factors. Most regular, full-time employees are eligible to participate in an Ascend incentive bonus or sales plan.
BENEFITS

• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• Company paid Life Insurance
• 401(k) with company match
• Paid time off and parental leave
• Employee assistance program
• Other employee wellness programs such as Headspace and Airvet
• Charitable matching program

Fostering A Sense of Belonging
Our values-driven culture unifies our teams and inspires a mindset of action, innovation, and collaboration, with a relentless focus on customers. We seek out and celebrate all people and perspectives and cultivate an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive, feel valued, and be authentic. Our culture is firmly rooted in the belief that by embracing our differences and drawing on diverse perspectives, we are a stronger, more innovative, and more successful organization where employees experience a sense of belonging.
Ascend Learning, LLC is proud to be an equal opportunity employer (M/F/Vets/Disabled). No agency or search firm submissions will be accepted. Applications for U.S.-based positions with Ascend Learning, LLC must be legally authorized to work in the United States, and verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.
Nearest Major Market: Boston