Specialist Software Engineer

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Specialist role within the software engineering discipline is a key contributor on their agile team.  They work with their tech leads and product owners to define the technical approach and implementation of features.  They should be able to provide junior team members with mentoring in support of their tech leads.   Those in this role should have expertise in one or more core software engineering areas, and broad knowledge on other software engineering skills related to their area as well as other key engineering functions including dev ops, quality engineering, performance engineering, security, and site reliability engineering.

Using all of these skills, the Specialist Software Engineer is responsible for ensuring they deliver quality software that meets customer needs.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design, Develop, and Maintain Web Applications/Services. Implement new features, optimize existing functionality, and fix bugs in web applications, ensuring high performance and responsiveness. Work across the stack as needed, depending on team specialization and project requirements.

• Collaborate with Cross-Functional Teams.  Work closely with product managers, designers, QA engineers, and other stakeholders to understand requirements, provide technical insight, and ensure seamless integration and delivery of features.

• Determines the best approach for software implementations and architecture and works with the team to develop them.

• Optimize Development Processes and Tools.  Identify areas for improvement in the development process, tooling, and infrastructure. Work with Tech Leads and peers to implement changes that increase efficiency and developer productivity.

• Mentorship and Knowledge Sharing.  Provide guidance and support to junior developers through informal mentorship, pair programming, and sharing knowledge on best practices and new technologies.

• Engage in Agile software development lifecycle ceremonies, such as stand-ups, sprint planning, retrospectives, and backlog grooming. Contribute to sprint commitments and help drive team goals.

About Scholastic

For more than 100 years, Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL) has been meeting children where they are – at school, at home and in their communities – by creating quality content and experiences, all beginning with literacy. Scholastic delivers stories, characters, and learning moments that empower all kids to become lifelong readers and learners through bestselling children’s books, literacy- and knowledge-building resources for schools including classroom magazines, and award-winning, entertaining children's media. As the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books through school-based book clubs and book fairs, classroom libraries, school and public libraries, retail, and online, and with a global reach into more than 135 countries, Scholastic encourages the personal and intellectual growth of all children, while nurturing a lifelong relationship with reading, themselves, and the world around them. Learn more at www.scholastic.com.

Some benefits that we offer:

• Full suite of health and wellness benefits (including a $0 deductible Medical Plan)

• Retirement Savings Plan 401(k) with options for both Roth and Traditional Contributions

• Tuition-Free programs for undergraduate and graduate degrees

• Generous Parental Leave Program

• Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) with opportunity for discounted stock at a 15% discount

Thank you for your consideration in choosing Scholastic.

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HOW YOU CAN FIT (Qualifications)

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Required:

• Aptitude for troubleshooting and problem solving.

• Expertise in modern web application/services development, technical design and architecture.

• Practical experience in software engineering and application/service architecture.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills with ability to communicate with a variety of audiences at all levels.

• Knowledge of the contemporary Java ecosystem, tooling, and best practices.

• API development experience, preferably on the Java Spring stack (Spring Boot, Spring Web, Spring Data, etc.)

• Strong understanding of Agile product development and practices.

• Ability to build key features for web based software with minimal support.

Preferred:

• Understanding of service oriented architecture concepts

• Knowledge of Object Oriented Programming, Model View Controller paradigm

• Experience with relational or NoSQL data platforms like MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB.

• Knowledge of version control systems and workflow (e.g. Git)

• Familiarity with Test Driven Development, Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) concepts.

• Experience with cloud infrastructure and services, Amazon Web Services preferred.

• Expert-level understanding of semantic HTML5 and modern CSS (Flexbox, Grid, responsive design, accessibility best practices).

  • SCSS/Sass with CSS Modules

  • Strong grasp of Javascript ES2015 - ES2020 and TypeScript.

  • Deep understanding of browser APIs and rendering performance.

• Proficiency in Front-End Frameworks - React 18.3+, Angular, and Vue.js.

  • Ability to design and architect component-based systems (hooks, context, state management).

• Experience building scalable front-end architectures and reusable component libraries.

  • Familiarity with design systems, modular CSS strategies (e.g., CSS-in-JS, BEM, Tailwind), and theming strategies.

  • Understanding of state management patterns (e.g. Context API).

  • Error boundaries and error handling

  • Fetch API, CORS and error handling

• Cross-browser Compatibility

  • Testing & Polyfill strategies

  • Safari-specific considerations

• Strong understanding of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

  • Experience implementing accessible UI patterns (keyboard navigation, ARIA attributes and roles, contrast, etc.).

  • Screen reader support

• Experience profiling and optimizing front-end applications (bundle size, lazy loading, code splitting, caching).

  • Familiarity with performance monitoring tools and Core Web Vitals.

• Proficiency with automated testing frameworks (e.g., Jest, React Testing Library, Cypress). Ability to write unit, integration, and end-to-end tests.

• Familiarity with build tools and bundlers (e.g., Webpack, Vite, Babel).

  • Understanding of package management, linting, formatting, and CI/CD automation.

  • Experience with modern version control and Git workflows.

  • ESM/CommonJS dual module exports

Experience and Education:

Experience: Prior experience in a mid-level engineering role, with responsibility for technical design and strong expertise with one or more technical areas.

Education: Bachelors or masters in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, or similar field of study

Scholastic is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our policy is clear: there shall be no discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, pregnancy, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, or status as a disabled veteran or Vietnam veteran. Those factors shall not influence the determination of qualifications for a job or other opportunity within the company. Further, all personnel actions (such as compensation, tuition aid, benefits, transfers, promotions, and dismissals, company-sponsored training, social and recreational programs) shall be administered without discrimination.

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