Senior Product Engineer

Position Overview:

MIT Open Learning’s Engineering & Products team is hiring a Senior Product Engineer to help design, build, and optimize front-end experiences  across all our existing and future products, including MIT Learn, the Institute’s unified platform for lifelong learning. Our products reach millions of learners, and we iterate quickly with continuous delivery. This role is for someone who thrives in ambiguity, removes blockers without being asked, and drives execution with the pace and discipline of a high-performing startup environment.

Reporting to the Director of Application Development, you will design, architect, and build core front-end components of MIT Learn and deliver reliable, intuitive learning experiences. The role blends hands-on engineering excellence with leadership: you will shape front-end direction, establish patterns, mentor engineers, and drive delivery from concept to production.

To give a sense of the types of initiatives you would contribute to, recent examples include:

• Building a Tiptap-based authoring editor in MIT Learn for creating rich, modular learning materials. 
• Developing the front end for AskTim, a suite of AI learning tools used in both residential and online contexts.
• Implementing the initial version of the MIT Learn learner dashboard
• Defining and implementing MIT Learn’s front-end architecture, component patterns, and shared design system in close partnership with UX

Principal Duties and Responsibilities (Essential Functions**):

• Lead the technical implementation of user interfaces using TypeScript, React, and Next.js, ensuring performance, accessibility, and maintainability.
• Translate UX specifications into robust, scalable front-end components and systems.
• Partner closely with UX to validate feasibility, refine interaction patterns, and establish a coherent design system—while owning the engineering execution.
• Own and evolve high-performance, secure, and maintainable software systems that support learners, educators, and enterprise partners across MIT.
• Shape the future of our front-end technology by becoming the go-to expert for critical decisions—including framework selection, modern tooling, performance benchmarks, and championing accessibility best practices. 
• Write high-quality code in JavaScript, Python, and modern web frameworks, and drive adoption of best practices across the team.
• Lead and participate in technical design and architecture discussions with clear reasoning, a tight scope, and a focus on long-term maintainability.
• Review code with a focus on correctness, clarity, and efficiency; help elevate the engineering bar across the team.
• Define and champion best practices for front-end development, providing hands-on leadership and guidance across the team.
• Troubleshoot, debug, and optimize systems to ensure reliability and scalability.
• Develop and maintain documentation and automated tests to support ongoing platform improvements.
• Stay current with emerging technologies and best practices, and advocate for continuous learning and innovation within the team.

Supervision Received:

Reports to Peter Pinch, Director of Application Development

Supervision Exercised:

None

Required Qualifications and Skills:

• B.S. or higher in Computer Science or related technical field 
• Minimum 10 years relevant programming experience required
• Deep experience with modern front-end engineering using TypeScript, React, and Next.js, including component architecture, state management, and build pipelines.
• Minimum 10 years of professional software engineering experience, including leading complex web initiatives.
• Strong experience with server-side frameworks such as Django, Rails, or Next.js (server-side), with the understanding that backend work is supportive but not the primary focus.
• Proficiency with React and with one or more server-side frameworks such as Django, Rails, or Next.js.
• Deep knowledge of software engineering principles, scalable architectures, and enterprise systems.
• Strong knowledge of relational databases and SQL
• Ability to communicate clearly, make sound technical decisions, and collaborate effectively in a fast-moving environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with TypeScript for scalable front-end development
• Experience with NextJS or server-side React
• Experience selecting frontend tooling and establishing patterns for use across projects
• Experience developing performant, scalable mobile-first web applications 
• Experience with frontend testing and build tools
• Passion for open-source software (GitHub profile or links to open-source contributions are highly valued).
• Interest in learning technologies and digital education.

Other Considerations:

• The pay range for this position is $120,440 - $163,200. Final salary is determined by MIT’s compensation team based on years of experience of the individual hired.
• The Senior Product Engineer is required to work in person, on campus, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, two days per week. The in-person requirement is determined by the Vice Provost, Open Learning and is subject to change based on the needs of Open Learning and MIT.
• Employment is contingent upon satisfactory results of a background check.

** To comply with regulations by the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), the principal duties in job descriptions must be essential to the job. To identify essential functions, focus on the purpose and the result of the duties rather than the manner in which they are performed. The following definition applies: a job function is essential if removal of that function would fundamentally change the job.