What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior Full-Stack Developer position at Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC)?
The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), a public planning agency serving Greater Boston, seeks a Senior Full-Stack Developer to lead technical development of our flagship open data platform, DataCommon (website | GitHub) and help execute and shape the agency’s Data-as-a-Service strategy.
This senior role focuses on building and maintaining a reliable, performant, and accessible data platform that enables planners, policymakers, and communities to access the information they need to make better decisions. They will work closely with a small, interdisciplinary team of developers, planners, and analysts to deliver real civic impact through modern open-source technology.
To learn more about our team’s software work, take a look at the data tools showcased on our website, check out some of the more creative web apps we’ve built, or view our organization‘s repositories on GitHub to get some insight into the tech stacks we use.
About MAPC
MAPC is the Regional Planning Agency (RPA) serving the people who live and work in metropolitan Boston. Our strategic priorities involve sustainable development, advancing equity, regional collaboration, and creating a climate-friendly region. We are guided by our regional plan, MetroCommon2050: Shaping the Region Together. MAPC’s staff includes approximately 120 full-time employees located in downtown Boston in a transit-accessible and bike-friendly office.
MAPC has a hybrid schedule, combining time in the office with remote work. Employees must reside within a commutable distance from MAPC’s Boston office.
MAPC strongly supports the professional development of each staff person, believing their growth to be consistent with the best interests of MAPC and the region. We encourage all our staff to develop new ideas to make MAPC’s planning and policy work more relevant and impactful, and to adapt to changing times.
This is an opportunity to work in a dynamic, interdisciplinary, and innovative environment with professionals who are committed to building a more sustainable and equitable future for everyone who lives and works in Greater Boston. For more information about MAPC or MetroCommon2050, please visit www.mapc.org
The Senior Full-Stack Developer works under the direction of the Digital Services Manager as part of the digital services group, a small team responsible for building and maintaining digital tools that meet the needs of our users, most often by making civic data more accessible and useful to planners, policymakers, and other community stakeholders.
This is a senior hands-on engineering role—ideal for someone excited to work across backend and frontend stacks, lead implementation during all parts of the development cycle, and from time to time support and mentor other developers. They will not be expected to be an expert in every possible tool; instead, we’re looking for someone strong in a solid core set of web and data technologies, with an ability to learn and guide the technical direction with a particular focus on the back-end and data-engineering work most relevant to our core open data product(s) and data-as-a-service strategy.
Candidates for this position should have at least five years of experience as a software developer and at least one year of experience leading a software or engineering team and/or mentoring/guiding and overseeing the code and work product of other (more junior) developers.
Successful candidates for this position will demonstrate all or most of the following:
Preferred Skills (the following are not required, but if you have any of them, be sure to tell us about it):
The salary ranges from $100,000 - $108,000, depending on qualifications and experience. This is a full-time exempt position. MAPC offers excellent Massachusetts state employee benefits, a flexible, supportive, and family-friendly work environment and a commitment to professional development.
How To Apply
Apply online at www.mapc.org/jobs. The position is open until filled, and applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Interested candidates should submit a cover letter and resume. Candidates selected to interview will be asked to submit three (3) references plus a sample of relevant writing or work product. Candidates must have legal authorization to work in the USA and a valid driver's license and/or the ability to arrange transportation to meetings in different parts of the region. MAPC participates in E-Verify, which is a federal program that helps us to determine work eligibility in the United States. MAPC may consider sponsorship on a case by case basis.
MAPC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe that a staff with a range of perspectives, experiences, and skillsets strengthens our work. We are committed to building a more equitable workplace that allows staff with diverse backgrounds and identities to thrive, grow, and lead. For more information on MAPC’s culture of equity, see our Equity at MAPC page.
This senior role focuses on building and maintaining a reliable, performant, and accessible data platform that enables planners, policymakers, and communities to access the information they need to make better decisions. They will work closely with a small, interdisciplinary team of developers, planners, and analysts to deliver real civic impact through modern open-source technology.
To learn more about our team’s software work, take a look at the data tools showcased on our website, check out some of the more creative web apps we’ve built, or view our organization‘s repositories on GitHub to get some insight into the tech stacks we use.
About MAPC
MAPC is the Regional Planning Agency (RPA) serving the people who live and work in metropolitan Boston. Our strategic priorities involve sustainable development, advancing equity, regional collaboration, and creating a climate-friendly region. We are guided by our regional plan, MetroCommon2050: Shaping the Region Together. MAPC’s staff includes approximately 120 full-time employees located in downtown Boston in a transit-accessible and bike-friendly office.
MAPC has a hybrid schedule, combining time in the office with remote work. Employees must reside within a commutable distance from MAPC’s Boston office.
MAPC strongly supports the professional development of each staff person, believing their growth to be consistent with the best interests of MAPC and the region. We encourage all our staff to develop new ideas to make MAPC’s planning and policy work more relevant and impactful, and to adapt to changing times.
This is an opportunity to work in a dynamic, interdisciplinary, and innovative environment with professionals who are committed to building a more sustainable and equitable future for everyone who lives and works in Greater Boston. For more information about MAPC or MetroCommon2050, please visit www.mapc.org
The Senior Full-Stack Developer works under the direction of the Digital Services Manager as part of the digital services group, a small team responsible for building and maintaining digital tools that meet the needs of our users, most often by making civic data more accessible and useful to planners, policymakers, and other community stakeholders.
This is a senior hands-on engineering role—ideal for someone excited to work across backend and frontend stacks, lead implementation during all parts of the development cycle, and from time to time support and mentor other developers. They will not be expected to be an expert in every possible tool; instead, we’re looking for someone strong in a solid core set of web and data technologies, with an ability to learn and guide the technical direction with a particular focus on the back-end and data-engineering work most relevant to our core open data product(s) and data-as-a-service strategy.
- Lead development of the DataCommon regional open data portal: Improve and maintain existing backend and frontend, and implement new features to evolve the product into a modern open data portal and data-as-a-service platform.
- Implement and maintain MAPC’s data infrastructure: Work with data administrators and analysts to implement and oversee ETL/ELT pipelines, provide database management, and develop APIs to support high-quality, accessible data for internal and external consumption.
- Collaborate to support solutions for users: Work in close collaboration with product and data staff and with other MAPC teams and clients (researchers, analysts, planners) to understand needs and scope, build, and/or deliver features and approaches to meet those needs.
- Maintain, manage, and improve existing product portfolio: Quickly become familiar with a mature existing code base and maintain, deprecate, or improve existing digital tools as needed.
- Serve as a technology leader and mentor: Support Digital Services Manager in overseeing work product of developers, contracted vendors, and fellows/interns, providing code review, feedback, mentorship, and guidance/training as appropriate.
- Contribute technical expertise to inform strategy: Advise on strategic decisions relating to software development and technology infrastructure, providing guidance to Digital Services Manager, Data Services Director, and IT Manager on data and software systems, solutions approaches and tradeoffs, including level of effort and time and budget needed to achieve desired features and functionality.
Candidates for this position should have at least five years of experience as a software developer and at least one year of experience leading a software or engineering team and/or mentoring/guiding and overseeing the code and work product of other (more junior) developers.
Successful candidates for this position will demonstrate all or most of the following:
- Proficiency with modern web technologies: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and front-end frameworks (preferably React)
- Experience working with relational databases (preferably PostfreSQL / PostGIS a plus)
- Experience building and maintaining APIs using server-side languages/platforms (JS/TS/Node.js, Python, Ruby/Rails,)
- Experience with ETL/ELT concepts and approaches (experience with tools like Dagster, Apache Airflow, Snowflake, FME, etc. or custom scrips welcome)
- Basic DevOps fluency: ability to manage Linix servers, cloud environments (e.g. AWS other cloud hosting options like Heroku or GitHub Pages) and deployment processes
- Competence using Git and GitHub for source control and collaboration in a team context
- Familiarity with geospatial data, software, and APIs
- Strong communication and collaboration skills: you’re comfortable working with technical and non-technical colleagues alike to identify problems and priorities and deliver practical solutions
Preferred Skills (the following are not required, but if you have any of them, be sure to tell us about it):
- Demonstrated experience working with geospatial data, software, and SDKs/APIs (especially ESRI products)
- Experience with Airtable, especially working with the Airtable API and writing Airtable extensions, automations, integrations, etc. in JavaScript.
- Experience with data analysis and preprocessing (with Python, R, etc.) and/or visualization for the web with common charting libraries and tools (such as d3.js, PowerBI, Tableu, etc.)
- Familiarity and experience with best practices in iterative, agile development and user centered design
The salary ranges from $100,000 - $108,000, depending on qualifications and experience. This is a full-time exempt position. MAPC offers excellent Massachusetts state employee benefits, a flexible, supportive, and family-friendly work environment and a commitment to professional development.
How To Apply
Apply online at www.mapc.org/jobs. The position is open until filled, and applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Interested candidates should submit a cover letter and resume. Candidates selected to interview will be asked to submit three (3) references plus a sample of relevant writing or work product. Candidates must have legal authorization to work in the USA and a valid driver's license and/or the ability to arrange transportation to meetings in different parts of the region. MAPC participates in E-Verify, which is a federal program that helps us to determine work eligibility in the United States. MAPC may consider sponsorship on a case by case basis.
MAPC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe that a staff with a range of perspectives, experiences, and skillsets strengthens our work. We are committed to building a more equitable workplace that allows staff with diverse backgrounds and identities to thrive, grow, and lead. For more information on MAPC’s culture of equity, see our Equity at MAPC page.
Salary : $100,000 - $108,000
