Senior Fullstack Engineer II, Khan Kids

Notice to applicants:

We have seen a rise in recruitment scams. Please note that outreach from Khan Academy recruiters will only come from the @khanacademy.org domain. Our team does not use Gmail or other personal accounts for contacting potential candidates. Khan Academy will never solicit money, equipment fees, or sensitive financial information at any stage of the hiring process. We also do not work with external recruiting agencies, so outreach from headhunters presenting opportunities on behalf of Khan Academy is illegitimate. Please always check the email domain and cross-reference the position with the official Khan Academy Careers page to confirm an opening is valid.

ABOUT KHAN ACADEMY 

Khan Academy is a nonprofit on a mission to provide a free, world-class education to anyone, anywhere. We already reach millions of students every month and are growing rapidly. We’re building a library of high-quality instructional and practice resources that empowers learners and the teachers who support them. Whether they’re studying metaphors, mitosis, Marbury v. Madison, or multivariable calculus, we want to offer students the resources to realize that they can learn anything. 

ABOUT KHAN ACADEMY KIDS

Khan Academy Kids is a free and fun learning program for children ages 2 to 8. Kodi Bear and a cast of animated characters lead children on a personalized education journey filled with fun, standards-aligned activities in early literacy, math, executive functioning and social emotional skills. Built by a small but mighty team, Khan Academy Kids is used by millions of children in homes and classrooms around the world. 

THE ROLE 

As a Senior Software Engineer II on the Khan Academy Kids team, you will be a core technical contributor responsible for building and maintaining the fullstack web infrastructure that supports our educational platform. You'll work across the entire technology stack—from frontend user interfaces to backend APIs and databases—ensuring that teachers, parents, and administrators have powerful, intuitive tools to support young learners. This role offers the opportunity to tackle complex technical challenges while directly contributing to our mission of providing free, world-class education to every child.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design, build, and maintain fullstack web applications and services that power dashboards and administrative tools used by educators and families worldwide.
• Lead complex technical projects from conception through launch, collaborating with cross-functional teams including engineering, product, design, and content to deliver impactful features that advance our educational mission.
• Drive engineering excellence by writing clean, testable, well-documented code, conducting thorough code reviews, and championing best practices that elevate the entire team's technical capabilities.
• Participate in technical planning and architecture decisions, bringing deep fullstack expertise to shape the long-term technical direction of the Khan Academy Kids platform.

WHAT YOU BRING

Professional Experience & Scope

• 7+ years of fullstack web development experience. Strong proficiency in modern web frameworks with a demonstrated ability to work across frontend and backend systems.
• Project leadership capabilities, with the ability to drive initiatives from concept through launch. Capable of coordinating with cross-functional stakeholders and managing complex technical projects.

Core Technical Skills

• Extensive experience with modern web frameworks including Vue.js or React, and TypeScript or JavaScript, with the ability to build scalable, maintainable web applications.
• Extensive backend development experience building RESTful APIs and server-side applications, with a strong understanding of web application architecture, authentication, and security best practices.
• Experience working with relational databases (SQL), including schema design, query optimization, and data modeling for scalable applications.
• Demonstrated ability to design, build, and maintain complex, testable software systems while upholding high standards for readability and automated testing.

Mission & Mindset

• High empathy for the Khan Academy Kids audience and a genuine passion for the mission to deliver a free, world-class education to every child.
• Experience working collaboratively with both technical and creative team members.
• A commitment to pushing the team forward through technical contributions, mentorship, and solving hard technical problems.

Nice to Have

• Experience with C++ and understanding of native mobile development workflows
• Experience building educational apps and tools for kids or educators
• Prior experience in a startup or small team environment

PERKS AND BENEFITS

We may be a non-profit, but we reward our talented team extremely well! We offer:

• Competitive salaries
• Ample paid time off as needed – Your well-being is a priority.
• Remote-first culture - that caters to your time zone, with open flexibility as needed, at times
• Generous parental leave
• An exceptional team that trusts you and gives you the freedom to do your best
• The chance to put your talents towards a deeply meaningful mission and the opportunity to work on high-impact products that are already defining the future of education
• Opportunities to connect through affinity, ally, and social groups
• And we offer all those other typical benefits as well: 401(k) + 4% matching & comprehensive insurance, including medical, dental, vision, and life

At Khan Academy we are committed to fair and equitable compensation practices, the well-being of our employees, and our Khan community. This belief is why we have built out a robust Total Rewards package that includes competitive base salaries, and extensive benefits and perks to support physical, mental, and financial well-being.

The target salary range for this position is $165,446 - $186,126 USD / $223,568 - $251,514 CAD. The pay range for this position is a general guideline only. The salary offered will depend on internal pay equity and the candidate’s relevant skills, experience, qualifications, and job market data. Additional incentives are provided as part of the complete total rewards package, in addition to comprehensive medical and other benefits.

MORE ABOUT US

• Sal’s TED talk from 2011
• Sal’s TED talk from 2015
• Sal's TED talk from 2023
• Our team:  http://www.khanacademy.org/about/the-team

OUR COMPANY VALUES

Live & breathe learners

We deeply understand and empathize with our users. We leverage user insights, research, and experience to build content, products, services, and experiences that our users trust and love. Our success is defined by the success of our learners and educators.

Take a stand

As a company, we have conviction in our aspirational point of view of how education will evolve. The work we do is in service to moving towards that point of view. However, we also listen, learn and flex in the face of new data, and commit to evolving this point of view as the industry and our users evolve.

Embrace diverse perspectives

We are a diverse community. We seek out and embrace a diversity of voices, perspectives and life experiences leading to stronger, more inclusive teams and better outcomes. As individuals, we are committed to bringing up tough topics and leaning into different points of view with curiosity. We actively listen, learn and collaborate to gain a shared understanding. When a decision is made, we commit to moving forward as a united team.

Work responsibly and sustainably

We understand that achieving our audacious mission is a marathon, so we set realistic timelines and we focus on delivery that also links to the bigger picture. As a non-profit, we are supported by the generosity of donors as well as strategic partners, and understand our responsibility to our finite resources. We spend every dollar as though it were our own. We are responsible for the impact we have on the world and to each other. We ensure our team and company stay healthy and financially sustainable.

Bring out the joy

We are committed to making learning a joyful process. This informs what we build for our users and the culture we co-create with our teammates, partners and donors.

Cultivate learning mindset

We believe in the power of growth for learners and for ourselves. We constantly learn and teach to improve our offerings, ourselves, and our organization. We learn from our mistakes and aren’t afraid to fail. We don't let past failures or successes stop us from taking future bold action and achieving our goals.

Deliver wow

We insist on high standards and deliver delightful, effective end-to-end experiences that our users can rely on. We choose to focus on fewer things — each of which aligns to our ambitious vision — so we can deliver high-quality experiences that accelerate positive measurable learning with our strategic partners.

We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, or Veteran status. We value diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we encourage candidates from historically underrepresented groups to apply.

As part of this commitment, Khan Academy will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations for the hiring process. If reasonable accommodation is needed, please contact careers@khanacademy.org