The Big Picture

Are you an experienced data architect looking to thrive in a fast-paced collaborative environment? Do you enjoy applying your creative and technical skills to technology that impacts peoples’ lives for good? As part of our team at Zoobean, you will have the opportunity to help shape products that build lifelong reading habits for readers all around the world.

The Data Architect is a motivated team player who will work with our product team to build scalable solutions that inspire our clients and users. You will work closely with our development team, as well as our product manager, design manager, and a QA engineer to help ensure the stability and scalability of our production apps as we continue to grow. Communication and collaboration will be key to success.

You will join a kind, clear, and hard-working crew driven to achieve and make a measurable, meaningful impact. The best part is that you get a unique opportunity to use your strengths and skills to challenge others to read more. After all, reading is to the mind as exercise is to the body.

About Us

Zoobean’s flagship products help people achieve reading goals by tracking reading and participating in reading challenges. We serve more than 10,000 public library and school clients in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Over six million readers currently use our platform, Beanstack, to track their reading, earn incentives, and stay motivated to read.

Our Shark Tank appearance brought us Mark Cuban as an investor. We have since picked up Kapor Capital, Militello Capital, AlphaLab Gear, RevUp Capital, and the AT&T Aspire Accelerator as believers and backers to our wonderful cause. Our customers range from big to small and include the Los Angeles Public Library, the Hawaii Department of Education, and the Department of Defense.

Generally, these are some of the day-to-day tasks our Data Architect will be able to do for us:

• Perform ongoing query and index analysis and tuning to improve system performance, scalability, and cost efficiency
• Simulate load testing scenarios against existing architecture to predict capacity requirements
• Recommend solutions to improve existing database systems and performance
• Work closely with the product team to continually evaluate and deliver data models and schema in support of new and existing features
• Monitor and maintain production databases
• Provide subject matter expertise on best practices and ongoing management of databases    
• Retrieve and deliver reading data for internal analysis

Aside from technical skills, there are a few other traits we want to find in our Data Architect:

• You’re a nerd at heart - There’s not much that gets you more excited than diving into new technologies and data sets.
• Aaaand a great problem solver - Our platform comes with old and new challenges, and we need someone willing and able to solve them for us. 

You’re also a great fit if you are...

• Aligned with a team-first mentality that values success in collaboration and independent work.
• Excited to learn, implement, and evaluate new strategies.
• Motivated by the opportunity to learn and exceed goals.
• Intrigued by a K12 startup environment that has the potential to evolve rapidly.

Skills and Experience

• 5+ years of professional experience designing, developing and maintaining large-scale data systems
• Professional experience implementing horizontal scaling strategies
• Solid understanding of the features available in PostgreSQL
• Proficient in web, database, and object-oriented software technologies
• Analytical thinker with exceptional problem-solving skills
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written

A Big Plus

• Proficient in Ruby and/or Ruby on Rails
• Experience building scalable reporting tools for internal teams and end users
• BA/BS degree in Computer Science, related degree or equivalent practical experience
• Experience working with a remote team
• Able to demonstrate self-confidence, energy, and enthusiasm
• You can operate independently but know when to ask questions

Salary and Benefits

• Salary will range from $120,000 to $160,000 commensurate with qualifications and experience
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401K Plan with company match
• Participation in company’s stock incentive plan
• Participation in company's quarterly bonus plan for employees
• Work from home with the option to have the company lease co-working space on your behalf
• $500 home office setup stipend
• Attend in-person team lunches twice a year in Pittsburgh, DC, Florida, or Indianapolis
• Optionally participate in our annual team “fall break,” where we kick back together at a resort
• At least 15 vacation days annually + a one week winter break from Xmas Eve to New Year's Day
• Office closed for all federal holidays
• $1,200 annual professional development stipend

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

We believe diversity breeds innovation. We're building a product that helps librarians, educators, and families everywhere, and to do that well, we need a workforce that’s representative of the population we serve. We are actively looking to add members to our team who will bring diverse backgrounds, new perspectives, and a willingness to challenge us to improve the work we do every day.

From the Heart

At Zoobean, we live out three core values that are represented in our logo:

• Love: We are passionate about the work we do and give everything we can to our customers, investors, and each other.
• Inclusion: Our company grew out of a calling to help children and families see themselves in the books they read. That same commitment to diversity runs through all we do and gives each of us an opportunity to express our full selves while feeling a sense of belonging to a larger community.
• Awesomeness: This one speaks for itself.

If this hits you in the heart and mind, then come work with us.