Software Engineer 1 (New Grad)

Software Engineer 1 (New Grad)

College Board – Technology 

Location: This is a remote role. Candidates who live near CB offices have the option of being fully remote or hybrid (Tuesday and Wednesday in office). All CB employees are required to occasionally travel to meet in person for business purposes. 

Type: This is a full-time position 

About Technology at College Board 

We are a mission-driven engineering team building and evolving the technology that powers and protects the future of learning. Our systems support highly trusted education programs used by millions of students each year, operating at significant scale and public responsibility. Today, we are focused on designing and delivering a critical new initiative that extends our platform in meaningful ways: blending foundational system work with thoughtful experimentation as we adapt to emerging technologies and new learner needs. We combine modern, cloud-native engineering practices with years of platform modernization, security hardening, and large-scale digital delivery, operating as an experiment factory that tests assumptions and iterates based on evidence rather than tradition. What makes this team distinct is the rare combination of meaningful public impact, platform-scale technical challenges, and the freedom to shape how mission-critical systems are built and evolved. 

About the Team 

The Core Assessment Platform is a group of cross-functional teams responsible for building and evolving shared platform capabilities that support assessment-related systems used by institutions at scale. The work spans a range of assessment contexts, from routine evaluation to more complex, high-stakes environments, where accuracy, consistency, and trust are essential. Teams collaborate across engineering, product, design, data, and operations to build reliable capabilities that can be reused and adapted over time. What makes this group special is its focus on continuous learning, experimentation, and steady improvement, with success driven by thoughtful collaboration, iteration, and careful decision-making in environments where reliability and quality matter. 

About the Opportunity   

In this role, you’ll contribute to production systems used at significant scale while learning how large, secure platforms are designed, built, and evolved responsibly. You’ll work alongside experienced engineers to ship code, test ideas, and improve shared capabilities that support assessment-related systems used by institutions. The focus is on learning by doing, while gaining exposure to real-world engineering challenges while building a strong foundation in modern development practices. This role emphasizes growth, feedback, and continuous learning. You’ll be encouraged to ask questions, experiment thoughtfully, and develop an understanding of system, not just features, while contributing meaningful work in an environment where reliability and quality matter. 

In this role, you will: 

Design & Implementation (65%) 

• Contribute to the design and implementation of high-quality software using modern technologies, focusing on building component-based, cost-effective, scalable, and secure solutions. You’ll learn and apply established design patterns to support integration with other services and applications, promote code reuse, and improve collaboration across teams. 

• Contribute to the development of application logic and responsive user interfaces using ReactJS, JavaScript (ES2015+), TypeScript, and Node.js. 

• Assist in building, maintaining, and scaling, cost-effective serverless solutions using Amazon Web Services (AWS). 

• Follow and uphold engineering standards in collaboration with product owners, architects, and stakeholders, in support of our systems and services. 

• Learn to understand new product capabilities and decompose the implementation into specific functional changes for verification. 

• Apply and continue to develop skills best practices in Agile development, CI/CD pipelines, and DevOps to deliver reliable, high-quality software. 

Team Operations & Analysis (20%) 

• Participate in Agile SCRUM ceremonies (Sprint Planning, Grooming, Daily SCRUM, Demo) and contribute to team commitments. 

• Review requirements and provide input, asking questions and learning how  design decisions are made. 

• Participate in peer reviews of code, designs, and other software engineering artifacts, giving and receiving constructive feedback. 

• Practice continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) by implementing, testing, and delivering code in line with the team’s DevOps model. 

• Actively develop skills needed to work effectively in a poly-skilled Agile team, including collaboration, communication, and continuous learning. 

Software Solutioning & Support (15%) 

• Develop an understanding of the customer’s business processes and operational needs, learning how systems are used in real-world contexts.  

• Work closely with Solutions Architects, Senior/Lead Engineers and Data Leads to evaluate requests, help assess level-of-effort and contribute to sprint planning activities.   

• Participate in peer code and design reviews.   

• Assist in troubleshooting and resolving application issues, including access, communications, and feature behavior, with support from the team. 

About you, you have: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, MIS, or equivalent professional experience. 

• 0-3 years of production-level software development experience or exposure using the College Board technology stack, including JavaScript/TypeScript, React, Node.js, and AWS. 

• Hands-on experience developing, debugging, and supporting web-based software applications in professional environments. 

• Proficiency in reviewing and improving code structure and architecture for testability, maintainability, scalability, and security. 

• Experience participating in software design discussions for new features and bug fixes. 

• Strong analytical, strategic thinking, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify issues, ask the right questions, and develop effective solutions. 

• Clear communicator with practical decision-making skills and a strong belief in clean code, meaningful comments, and thorough documentation. 

• Demonstrated commitment to continuous learning and growth, including learning from setbacks and seeking expertise from others. 

• Ability to travel 3–5 times per year to the NYC or Reston, VA office. 

• Authorization to work in the United States. 

All roles at College Board require:    

• A passion for expanding educational and career opportunities and mission-driven work   

• Authorization to work in the United States for any employer   

• Curiosity and enthusiasm for emerging technologies, with a willingness to experiment with and adopt new AI-driven solutions and a comfort learning and applying new digital tools independently and proactively.    

• Clear and concise communication skills, written and verbal   

• A learner's mindset and a commitment to growth: welcoming diverse perspectives, giving and receiving timely, respectful feedback, and continuously improving through iterative learning and user input.   

• A drive for impact and excellence: solving complex problems, making data-informed decisions, prioritizing what matters most, and continuously improving through learning, user input, and external benchmarking.   

• A collaborative and empathetic approach: working across differences, fostering trust, and contributing to a culture of shared success.  

About Our Process    

• Application review will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. This role is expected to accept applications for a minimum of 5 business days. 

• While the hiring process may vary, it generally includes: resume and application submission, recruiter phone/video screen, coding assessment prescreen, and a panel interview.  

What We Offer   

At College Board, we offer more than just a paycheck, we provide a meaningful career, a supportive team, and a comprehensive package designed to help you thrive. We’re a self-sustaining nonprofit that believes in fair and competitive compensation, grounded in your qualifications, experience, impact, and the market.   

A Thoughtful Approach to Compensation   

• The hiring range for this role is $106,000 – 125,000  

• Your exact salary will depend on your location, experience, and how your background compares to others in similar roles at the College Board.   

• We aim to make our best offer upfront—rooted in fairness, transparency, and market data.   

• We adjust salaries by location to ensure fairness, no matter where you live.   

You’ll have open, transparent conversations about compensation, benefits, and what it’s like to work at College Board throughout your hiring process. Check out our careers page for more.  

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