Backend Full Stack Engineer Jobs in Chicago, IL (NOW HIRING)

Department
BSD SUR - OHNS: Thirty Million Words - Tech
About the Department
The TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health at the University of Chicago develops, tests, and implements evidence-based interventions designed to promote very young children's cognitive and social-emotional development. TMW Center interventions are designed to be embedded into existing health, education, and social service systems working at scale in a given community in order to meet families where they already are. The TMW Center has a robust research and development strategy that includes further development and testing of TMW interventions; harnessing technology to support behavior change, intervention engagement, and analysis; and furthering strategies to engage parents in the TMW Center's interventions across the health, early learning, and social service sectors.
Job Summary
The Full Stack Engineer performs a variety of activities relating to software support and/or development. Provides analysis, design, development, debugging, and modification of computer code for end user applications, beta general releases, web pages, and production support. Troubleshoots problems using existing procedures to find a possible solution.
The TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health (TMW Center) develops, tests, and implements evidence-based interventions designed to promote very young children's cognitive and social-emotional development, with emerging technologies that enhance-rather than replace-the pivotal role that caregivers play in building healthy young brains. Although there is a rich body of research demonstrating the importance of the early language environment for maximizing early learning, there are very ways to assess the quality of those environments. As a result, when it comes to nurturing their children's brains, parents often feel like they are in a maze without a map.
The TMW Center has launched a wearable device and an accompanying app that uses machine learning to measure and analyze a child's language environment and provide real-time information as well as personalized feedback and guidance for enhancing that environment. This groundbreaking piece of technology gives parents and caregivers with information they need to engage in robust brain-building interactions - and helps deepen caregiver-child connection.
We're looking for a Senior Full Stack Engineer with a strong focus on backend development to join our growing engineering team. Our ideal candidate will work primarily within our Django system, with additional contributions to a .NET platform that shares a React.js front end.
In this role, our ideal candidate will collaborate closely with other engineers, and the CTO to build, enhance, and maintain scalable software systems. While front-end engineers handle most UI development, our ideal candidate will bring a full-stack perspective - understanding how backend decisions affect the user experience and the overall system architecture.
Responsibilities

• Lead the development and maintenance of backend services and APIs in Django (primary) and .NET (secondary).
• Collaborate with front-end engineers to design and implement effective interfaces between the backend and the React.js client.
• Architect scalable data models, services, and integrations with third-party APIs.
• Contribute to system architecture decisions and help guide best practices in backend and full-stack development.
• Write clean, maintainable, and well-tested code across multiple systems.
• Participate in code reviews, technical design sessions, and cross-functional collaboration with product and design teams.
• Support CI/CD pipelines and ensure smooth deployments and system reliability.
• Mentor other engineers and contribute to improving development processes.
• Utilizes technical knowledge of existing and emerging technologies, including public cloud offerings from Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud.
• Investigates, analyzes and resolves day-to-day technical problems using standard procedures.
• Works with stakeholders to gather and analyze requirements for developmental programs. Receives a moderate level of guidance to design applications to meet University and business requirements.
• Performs code testing on components and works to ensure that appropriate implementation standards are met. Evaluates design alternatives for development cost and solutions using various methods.
• Supports and maintains existing applications. Works with web developers and responds to requests from users.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications
Education:
Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.
Work Experience:
Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.
Certifications:
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Preferred Qualifications
Education:

• Advanced Degree in data science, data analytics, computer science, software engineering or related fields strongly preferred.

Experience:

• Knowledge and skills developed through 7+ years of work experience in a related job discipline, with a strong emphasis on backend systems.
• Proven experience building web applications with Python/Django.
• Working knowledge of C# / .NET frameworks and services.
• Comfortable working with React.js and modern front-end tooling.
• Experience designing and consuming RESTful APIs; understanding of web performance and security principles.
• Strong database skills with PostgreSQL and/or SQL Server.
• Familiarity with cloud environments (AWS, Azure, or similar).

Preferred Competencies

• Experience with containerization and orchestration tools (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Exposure to TypeScript, GraphQL, or other modern web technologies.
• Familiarity with CI/CD systems (GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, etc.).
• Prior experience in a startup or rapidly scaling environment.

Working Conditions

• Office Environment.

Application Documents

• Resume (required)
• Cover Letter (required)

When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.
Job Family
Information Technology
Role Impact
Individual Contributor
Scheduled Weekly Hours
40
Drug Test Required
No
Health Screen Required
No
Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required
No
Pay Rate Type
Salary
FLSA Status
Exempt
Pay Range
$80,000.00 - $120,000.00
The included pay rate or range represents the University's good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.
Benefits Eligible
Yes
The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.
Posting Statement
The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.
Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.
All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history. A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment. Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.
The University of Chicago's Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (Report) provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at: http://securityreport.uchicago.edu. Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637.