Lead Developer — Rebuild, Modernize, & Scale (Social Good SaaS, Remote)

About This Opportunity

We are representing a confidential nonprofit technology client in a greenfield rebuild of their legacy SaaS platform. This is a lead developer role with complete ownership of technical architecture—you will choose the stack, rebuild from scratch, modernize mobile apps, and execute a structured tenant-by-tenant migration while keeping operations running smoothly.

Our client is a profitable, bootstrapped organization serving thousands of social-good organizations. They prioritize work-life balance, high-impact work, and sustainable growth without venture pressure. The team is small (four people), led by the original founder, and values puzzle-solving culture including daily crosswords, monthly virtual escape rooms, and annual retreats.

This is a 100% remote role. You must be authorized to work in the US and maintain US tax residency. Travel and digital nomad flexibility are welcomed as long as you maintain core sync hours (9:00 AM – 12:00 PM PST daily).

Responsibilities

• Lead a phased "small bang" migration from a legacy Drupal 6/MySQL architecture to a modern greenfield system
• Make final architectural decisions on the target stack (Python/Django, Laravel, or React-based) in partnership with leadership
• Deconstruct legacy schema into a clean, domain-driven PostgreSQL database
• Offload 100GB+ media files to AWS S3 or Cloudflare R2
• Implement application-layer field-level encryption (AES-256 for PII, Bcrypt/Argon2id for passwords)
• Build zero-trust dev environments so contractors never handle production user data
• Establish CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, clean API contracts, and maintainable runbooks
• Maintain and update two Ionic/Capacitor mobile apps using AI coding tools (mobile is a small fraction of the role)
• Partner with the product manager to extract legacy components step-by-step and migrate customers incrementally
• Establish engineering processes and own the technical helm as the sole developer in the short term

What We're Looking For

• 5+ years of core software engineering and architectural experience established before generative AI existed
• Strong first-principles understanding of database normalization, system design patterns, and architectural trade-offs
• Proven experience architecting and leading at least one successful legacy monolith migration
• Active use of AI tools to multiply output while maintaining strict architectural control, unit testing discipline, and manual code review standards
• US work authorization and primary US tax residency required (for payroll and legal compliance)
• Ability to maintain availability during core sync hours: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM PST daily
• Comfort operating as a sole developer with full technical ownership in the near term
• Experience with modern backend/frontend stacks (Python/Django, Laravel, or React preferred)
• Understanding of security best practices including encryption, zero-trust architectures, and data isolation

How We Work With You

Candidates apply directly through Get A Job.ai. Our recruiting team will conduct an initial screen to assess fit, then submit qualified candidates to our client for consideration. Please do not attempt to contact the client directly—all communication flows through our talent team to ensure a structured, confidential process.

When you apply, please include an authentically human explanation of why this specific role resonates with you. The client values genuine connection over polished pitches. A short Loom video in response to "Why should we choose you over anyone else?" is optional but strongly encouraged—be yourself, no rehearsals needed.

Pay

Pay via Get A Job.ai has not been disclosed for this role. Compensation will be discussed during the screening process.

Get A Job.ai is an equal opportunity recruiter. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.