Working at MIT offers opportunities, an environment, a culture – and benefits – that just aren’t found together anywhere else. If you’re curious, motivated, want to be part of a unique community, and help shape the future – then take a look at this opportunity.

RESEARCH SOFTWARE ENGINEER, LIFELONG KINDERGARTEN (LLK), Media Lab, to lead the development and contribute to research of new programmable applications to expand creative and playful learning opportunities for children internationally. Will be an integral part of the research team developing and studying a new generation of mobile-phone apps that enable young people to express themselves creatively with code, building on the success of the Scratch programming language; and lead the iterative development of these apps, working closely with other members of the team on experimenting, testing, and studying the use of the apps in a variety of different contexts.

The LLK develops new technologies, activities, and communities to engage young people from all backgrounds in creative learning experiences.  With Scratch, children create and share interactive stories, games, and animation projects online.  

A full description is available at https://www.media.mit.edu/about/job-opportunities/. 

Job Requirements

REQUIRED:  bachelor’s degree in computer science/computer engineering, or related field; five years’ professional software developer experience; experience leading software production from conception to deployment, managing iterative software development processes, and working as part of a university research team; experience developing, instrumenting, debugging, and optimizing front-end applications (e.g., JavaScript); experience developing apps for iOS and Android platforms; comfort with a variety of programming paradigms, including server-side technologies; desire to learn new technologies and build delightful user experiences; excellent communication and collaboration skills; and interest and experience working with people from diverse backgrounds.  PREFERRED: master’s degree; experience developing educational/creative software and programming language interpreters; experience creating software that runs on a variety of hardware, including low-cost/legacy mobile phones; experience with Scratch codebase, including VM and 3.0 blocks; and experience with localization/translation workflows.  Job #19168

This is a one-year appointment with the possibility of extension based on the course of research and funding.

U.S. work authorization is required. The position is based at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, MA.