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About brighthush
brighthush is a trailblazing education technology company that empowers students and universities to connect, collaborate, and thrive. With a mission to democratise access to higher‑education information, we build intuitive, data‑rich platforms that help prospective students navigate the complex world of university applications while giving institutions the tools they need to engage, support, and retain their most promising candidates. Our products are used by thousands of universities worldwide, and our impact is measured in the increased yield, student satisfaction, and institutional success that our solutions deliver.
Role Overview
As a Software Engineer II – Chat Systems, you will be at the heart of brighthush’s most dynamic product line. You will design, develop, and maintain the chat, assistant, and intelligence components that power real‑time conversations between students and university staff. Working in a fully remote, distributed team across Europe, you will collaborate closely with product managers, designers, data scientists, and DevOps engineers to deliver scalable, high‑performance services that delight users and drive measurable business outcomes.
Why brighthush?
- Impact: Your code directly influences the decision‑making process of thousands of students.
- Innovation: Work with cutting‑edge AI, GraphQL, and serverless technologies.
- Growth: Rapid career progression, mentorship, and continuous learning opportunities.
- Culture: Inclusive, flexible, and supportive environment that values diversity and work‑life balance.
Key Responsibilities
- Design, implement, and maintain high‑quality, scalable microservices using NestJS, TypeScript, and Python.
- Build and optimize real‑time chat and assistant features that integrate with GraphQL APIs and NoSQL databases.
- Collaborate with cross‑functional teams to define product requirements, user stories, and acceptance criteria.
- Write comprehensive unit, integration, and end‑to‑end tests to ensure reliability and performance.
- Participate in code reviews, architectural discussions, and knowledge‑sharing sessions.
- Monitor, troubleshoot, and resolve production incidents, ensuring minimal downtime and rapid recovery.
- Advocate for accessibility (WCAG) and inclusive design principles in every component you deliver.
- Explore and integrate AI‑driven features, such as intelligent agents, natural‑language understanding, and predictive analytics.
- Contribute to continuous improvement of our CI/CD pipelines, deployment strategies, and infrastructure automation.
- Mentor junior engineers and foster a culture of learning and collaboration.
Essential Qualifications
- 3+ years of professional software development experience in a fast‑paced, product‑driven environment.
- Proficiency in TypeScript and Node.js, with strong knowledge of NestJS or similar frameworks.
- Solid experience building reusable React components, managing state, and optimizing performance.
- Hands‑on experience with GraphQL APIs, including schema design, resolver implementation, and performance tuning.
- Familiarity with microservice architectures, containerization (Docker), and orchestration (Kubernetes or ECS).
- Strong understanding of NoSQL databases, especially MongoDB, and data modeling best practices.
- Experience writing robust test suites (Jest, Mocha, or equivalent) and using test‑driven development.
- Comfortable with AWS services (Lambda, S3, DynamoDB, RDS, CloudWatch, etc.) and infrastructure‑as‑code tools (Terraform, CloudFormation).
- Demonstrated ability to own a feature from conception to production, including monitoring, scaling, and maintenance.
- Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to non‑technical stakeholders.
Preferred Qualifications
- Python experience, especially with Flask or Django, for building AI pipelines or data‑processing services.
- Knowledge of event‑driven architectures using Kafka, RabbitMQ, or AWS Kinesis.
- Experience with serverless design patterns and cost‑effective scaling.
- Background in accessibility testing and WCAG compliance.
- React Native or mobile‑first development experience.
- Prior exposure to AI/ML tooling, such as LangChain, OpenAI APIs, or custom agent frameworks.
- Experience with CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, CircleCI, GitLab CI) and automated testing.
Skills & Competencies
- Product‑mindset: Deep empathy for users and a data‑driven approach to feature prioritisation.
- Ownership: Take full responsibility for the quality, performance, and reliability of your code.
- Curiosity: Constantly experiment with new technologies, frameworks, and best practices.
- Collaboration: Thrive in a distributed team, sharing knowledge and celebrating collective success.
- AI‑savvy: Leverage AI tools to accelerate development, automate repetitive tasks, and deliver smarter products.
- Adaptability: Quickly pivot in response to changing priorities, user feedback, or market dynamics.
Career Growth & Learning
At brighthush, we believe that learning is a lifelong journey. You will have access to:
- Monthly tech talks and hackathons that encourage experimentation and skill‑building.
- Mentorship programmes pairing you with senior engineers and product leaders.
- Annual conference budgets for industry events, workshops, and certifications.
- Clear career tracks: from Software Engineer II to Senior Engineer, Lead Engineer, or Technical Lead.
- Opportunities to transition into product management, data science, or AI research roles.
Work Environment & Culture
brighthush champions a culture of inclusivity, transparency, and flexibility. Our remote‑first model means you can work from anywhere in Europe, supported by:
- Fully remote work with flexible hours to accommodate different time zones.
- Regular virtual team‑building events, including game nights, wellness sessions, and cultural celebrations.
- Open‑door communication channels, from Slack channels to weekly all‑hands meetings.
- Commitment to diversity and inclusion, with a workforce spanning the UK, Europe, US, India, and Canada.
- Recognition programmes that celebrate achievements, milestones, and innovative ideas.
Compensation & Benefits
While specific salary ranges are tailored to experience and location, brighthush offers a competitive package that includes:
- Competitive base salary aligned with industry standards for mid‑level engineers.
- Performance‑based bonuses and equity options to share in the company’s growth.
- Private healthcare coverage and comprehensive life insurance.
- Matched pension plan up to 6% of your salary.
- Generous paid time off: 25 days of annual leave, plus a personal day for special occasions, additional days based on tenure, and 4 extra days during the year‑end shutdown.
- Enhanced parental leave, including maternity, paternity, and adoption support.
- All‑necessary equipment: a MacBook Pro, ergonomic accessories, and any software licenses required.
- Continuous learning stipend for courses, books, and conferences.
How to Apply
If you are passionate about building products that make a real difference, thrive in a collaborative, remote environment, and are eager to push the boundaries of chat and AI technology, we would love to hear from you.
Submit your application through our careers portal or send your résumé and a brief cover letter to careers@brighthush.com. We look forward to exploring how you can contribute to brighthush’s mission of connecting students with their future universities.
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