Software Engineer – IT/Toladata

Location: Portland, OR or remote from US location

Position Status: Full-time, Exempt, Regular

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse, and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.

The Team

The Information Technology (IT) Business Apps department coordinates, facilitates, and supports the agency’s use of technology to improve organizational agility and achieve agency goals. The TolaData Development Team is part of the IT Business Apps department, and supports this objective by developing and improving the agency’s internally built, web-based, software solution for program performance monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL), called TolaData.

Launched in 2016, TolaData is used by Mercy Corps team members to support data-driven decision-making, learning, and adaptive program management. TolaData supports these practices by improving the accessibility of program data as well as ensuring the retention of evidence necessary to support reported programmatic results and achievements. Today, the TolaData Development Team works closely with the headquarters MEL Team to ensure that TolaData continues to meet the needs of Mercy Corps team members and programs.

The Position

The Software Engineer is a member of the TolaData Development Team. This position may also support the development and execution of other key agency priorities, such as business intelligence, database integration, award/program management, and/or data security.

Essential Responsibilities

DEVELOPMENT

• Works closely and collaboratively with members of the software development team, business units, and end-users to address business needs and user problems.
• Writes or refactors code to be clean, readable, commented, documented, reusable, testable, and efficient, and:
  • Follows and implements OWASP recommendations for writing secure code;
  • Meets acceptance criteria and quality specifications, including PEP8 and Django coding style and standards;
  • Supports the integration of frontend and backend functionality, across different systems and databases, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MongoDB.
• Effectively utilizes software development best practices in the development of potential technical solutions, working to address existing codebase limitations.
• Reads and interprets design documentation (e.g., GitHub tickets, Figma mockups), soliciting clarification and refinement of acceptance criteria, as needed, while developing level of effort estimates and ensuring new code meets business requirements and quality specifications.
• Participates in diagnosing and fixing software bugs and system errors.
• Facilitates engineering design reviews and participate in code reviews.
• Supports Quality Assurance (QA) testing and writes unit tests for all code written in an existing Continuous Integration (CI) testing environment.

OPTIMIZATION

• Develops solutions to improve the overall performance, latency, reliability and scalability of our systems and reduce technical debt, such as selecting software packages and libraries; establishing software patterns; and collaborating to design code deployment processes.
• Participates in backlog refinement and contributes to the development of the roadmap and release planning.
• Contributes to the development and implementation of end-user software analytics and evaluates end-user feedback for continuous software improvement.

Supervisory Responsibility

None

Accountability

Reports directly to: Director – Global Data Protection and Privacy

Works directly with: TolaData software development team, Program Performance and Quality (PAQ) Unit, and other business units, as needed.

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of our programming.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Must have 4+ years of professional computer programming experience with object-oriented languages (i.e., Python, JavaScript).
• Must have 4+ years of professional experience with back-end web frameworks (i.e., Django 2.0+, Django Rest).
• Must have 3+ years of experience with database development, including the creation of queries, stored procedures, views, tables, and schemas as part of a web application, and relational databases (e.g., MySQL or PostgreSQL, and NoSQL databases like MongoDB).
• Must have 3+ years of experience deploying with a CI/CD pipeline.
• Must have 3+ years of experience with front-end web application technologies and frameworks (i.e., React, jQuery, CSS/HTML, RESTful APIs, AJAX/JSON, etc.).

Success Factors

All members of the software development team are expected to be strong communicators, who can effectively collaborate with colleagues from a variety of technical and non-technical backgrounds, including developers, designers, and subject matter experts. They do not hesitate to seek clarification and assistance when needed and are able to explain technical concepts to a non-technical audience. They are curious about other people’s ideas and perspectives and are willing to learn, adapt, and contribute their own. They welcome and proactively seek feedback and are solution-oriented; they interested in exploring alternative, innovative paths to solving an issue, demonstrating strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

This is a remote position open to applicants authorized to work in the US. The applicant must be available to collaborate with team members based in the Pacific (GMT -8) and Eastern (GMT -5) time zones. Team members based in Portland, OR or Washington, DC will have the option to work out of Mercy Corps’ headquarters offices.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times.

As a safeguarding measure, Mercy Corps screens all potential US-Based employees. Any offers of employment or continued employment are dependent on the successful completion of the screens which include, but are not limited to our Background Check and Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme processes,

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

Covid-19 Vaccine Policy for US-Based Employees

Mercy Corps has determined that, in an effort to protect the health, safety, and well-being of all Mercy Corps employees working in the United States, all U.S.-based employees must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, regardless of prior COVID-19 infection status.

This policy will be revised as needed to comply with federal, state, and local requirements, and to respond to changing guidance from public health authorities.

For new employees this requirement goes into effect within 10 business days of employment. Team members that travel are expected to comply with host-country requirements, including vaccinations. Failure to comply may impact your employment. Proof of vaccination or exemption must be provided.