Full-stack Software Engineer

At 2U, we are all in on purpose. We are motivated by our mission – to eliminate the back row in education – and connected by our shared passion to deliver world-class digital education at scale. As the parent company of edX, the world’s leading online learning platform, 2U powers more than 4,000 online higher education offerings – from free courses to full degrees. Together with more than 230 colleges, universities, and corporate partners, we are helping to unlock human potential.

What We’re Looking For:

We are looking for a Software Engineer III with experience building and maintaining data pipelines, developing generative AI solutions, and designing robust backend systems. You will participate in the discovery, design, and engineering of multiple cross-functional projects, while troubleshooting complex business and production issues. You will uphold industry best practices and will help encourage our team to continuously improve. Above all, you care about delivering quality software in a sustainable and timely manner and about software craftsmanship.

Sitting within the Technology portfolio, the Xpert Platform team develops and maintains innovative tools that connect users to cutting-edge generative AI capabilities, effectively supporting our students, faculty, and internal content and learning teams. The team implements and sustains tools that leverage advanced generative AI systems and data pipelines, ensuring efficient data management and AI integration. Additionally, the team is responsible for creating and enhancing a versatile platform product that can be utilized across various business units, driving technological advancement and operational efficiency throughout the organization.

Responsibilities Include, But Are Not Limited To:

• Lead technical design of applications and participate in larger system design efforts
• Design and implement generative AI experiences
• Write maintainable, performant code
• Refactor legacy code to improve maintainability
• Conduct exploratory and automated testing
• Efficiently debug complex problems
• Provide technical guidance and feedback to other team-members

Things That Should Be In Your Background:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field (or equivalent professional experience).
• 5+ years of professional experience in a data-intensive environment, with a proven track record of building and scaling full-stack applications.
• Proficiency in Python for backend development, data processing, and AI integration.
• Strong experience with React.js and the modern frontend ecosystem (TypeScript, state management, and responsive design).
• Experience designing and developing AI applications, specifically working with Large Language Models (LLMs) and the OpenAI API.
• Proven experience leading cross-functional initiatives, collaborating with product and design teams to take a feature from concept to production.
• Desired Skills:
• Full-Stack Architecture: Ability to lead the technical design of applications, ensuring performant communication between React frontends and Python backends.
• Generative AI Implementation: Skill in building real-time AI experiences, including handling streaming data and prompt engineering.
• Cloud Infrastructure: Hands-on experience with AWS services (S3, Lambda, SAM, Step Functions).
• Code Quality: Expertise in writing maintainable, performant code and a passion for refactoring legacy systems to improve long-term health.
• Testing & Debugging: Proficiency in exploratory and automated testing across the entire stack to ensure high-quality software delivery.

Other Attributes That Will Help You In This Role:

• AI/ML Depth: Familiarity with machine learning workflows, data modeling, and vector databases like OpenSearch.
• Modern Frontend Tooling: Experience with Tailwind CSS, Next.js, or Vite to streamline the development lifecycle.
• Mentorship: A natural inclination for providing technical guidance and constructive feedback to team members.
• Sustainability: A background in delivering software using Agile methodologies with a focus on long-term maintainability over quick-fix patches.
• Creative Problem Solving: The ability to efficiently debug complex, interconnected problems that span the UI, API, and data layers.

Engineering at 2U is dynamic, innovative and full of people passionate about delivering on the promise of higher education via technology. We are seeking collaborative and results-driven individuals to join us and in return, we can offer you a fun learning environment where your skills, experience and creativity will make a material impact on the company’s success and its overall mission.

We strive for our teams to be cross-functional, self-organizing and autonomous. You’ll be working directly with product managers and business analysts in a highly collaborative manner.

Benefits & Culture

Our global employee base is a diverse collection of innovators, dreamers, and doers working together to transform lives through higher education. We believe that every employee can advance our shared purpose, and that life at 2U should be fun and meaningful. If you’re excited by the opportunity to provide over 40 million learners and counting with access to world-class online higher education, then join us – and do work that makes a difference. #NoBackRow

We offer comprehensive benefits (unique per country) and excellent work/life balance.
Full-time, ZA benefits include:

• 2 complimentary Getsmarter short courses per year
• Subsidised medical aid with Discovery Health Medical Scheme
• 4% 2U contribution towards Discovery Life Pension Fund and Group Risk Benefit
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Generous leave policy including time off to volunteer for non-profit organization, study leave, sports leave and a company-wide festive season break

2U Diversity and Inclusion Statement