Software Engineer III

Special Instructions to Applicants: All interested applicants should attach a resume in the Supporting Documents section of the application, preferably in a PDF format to avoid any formatting issues.

About Rice:

Boasting a 300-acre tree-lined campus in Houston, Texas, Rice University is ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has a 6-to-1 undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio, and a residential college system, which supports students intellectually, emotionally and culturally through social events, intramural sports, student plays, lectures series, courses and student government. Developing close-knit, diverse college communities is a strong campus tradition, which is why Rice is highly ranked for best quality of life and best value among private universities. 

Rice is also a wonderful place to work. Rice faculty, staff and students share values that are essential to our success as a healthy community. Those values guide our decisions and behaviors and shape Rice’s culture. They come through in the way we treat each other and the welcome we extend to our visitors. These values can be recalled simply by our name — RICE — Responsibility, Integrity, Community and Excellence.

Position Summary:

Rice University’s SafeInsights team is hiring a mid- to senior-level Software Engineer to help design, build, and maintain the research data platform that enables secure, privacy-preserving analysis of large-scale learning and behavioral datasets. As a full-stack engineer working primarily in TypeScript, you will deliver features end-to-end across React-based interfaces and Node.js services, model and integrate data from diverse research sources, and contribute to the cloud infrastructure (AWS) and CI/CD pipelines that run the platform reliably for researchers across partner institutions. You will collaborate closely with engineers, product managers, data scientists, and academic partners—translating complex research workflows into intuitive tools, raising the quality bar of the codebase through thoughtful design and code review, and mentoring less experienced teammates. This role is central to SafeInsights’ mission of expanding what is possible in education and learning research while rigorously protecting the privacy of the individuals whose data powers it.

Ideal Candidate Statement: 

The ideal candidate is a pragmatic, full-stack TypeScript engineer who has spent several years shipping production web applications and is energized by the prospect of doing meaningful work at the intersection of software, research, and data privacy. They are equally comfortable building thoughtful React interfaces, designing clean Node.js APIs, and reasoning about the cloud infrastructure and data flows that connect them. They write code that other engineers enjoy reading—well-tested, well-documented, and easy to change—and they treat code review and mentorship as core parts of the job rather than overhead. Beyond technical depth, the ideal candidate brings strong written communication, curiosity about the research domain they are supporting, and the self-direction to be effective on a fully remote, distributed team. They take privacy and data stewardship seriously, ask clarifying questions before charging ahead, and care more about delivering durable outcomes for researchers than about being the cleverest person in the room.

Workplace Requirements:

This is a fully remote position performed from a home office or other suitable workspace within the United States, giving you the freedom and flexibility to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Day-to-day work is conducted primarily over video conferencing, chat, and shared documents, and requires a stable internet connection, a quiet space suitable for video meetings, and availability during standard U.S. business hours on Central Standard Time. The role is primarily sedentary and computer-based, with extended periods of screen and keyboard use. Occasional travel for in-person team meetups, planning sessions, and collaboration with partner institutions is encouraged but limited, typically a few times per year.

Workplace Location: 

This position is fully remote, permitting all tasks to be completed from any location within the United States. Working hours will remain central standard time. Per Rice policy 440, work arrangements may be subject to change.

Hiring Range: