About the role

Retro Report is hiring a product engineer: a full-stack generalist who builds and runs our digital products and helps us use AI wisely. You’ll own our website, analytics and integrations, and bring the technical expertise to build solutions, collaborate on what’s feasible, and recommend the right approach based on audience and business goals/budgets. You’ll also work closely with our post-production team who manages our video asset system, EditShare FLOW.

This role suits someone several years into their career who wants broad ownership, real influence on product decisions, and hands-on work in an editorial and ed tech setting. Job is based in NYC with three days a week in the office.

What you’ll do

  • Maintain our hybrid WordPress/React website end to end (front end, CMS, performance), working with our hosting partner, Newspack, implementing direction from product and design, and supporting the edit and engagement teams.
  • Create a process for responding to internal user and end user reports of bugs.
  • Partner with the Head of Product and Design/UX Lead to scope features, estimate effort and recommend technical approaches including working on short, medium, and long term product and tech strategy.
  • Set up and maintain Google Analytics and event tracking, connecting website, newsletter and video data.
  • Build integrations between EditShare FLOW, the website and our newsletter platform, working with our post production team.
  • Prototype and ship AI features for editorial workflows (mapping to education standards, tagging and draft summaries) and for audience-facing products (such as search, registration, marketing and personalization), in line with product and company priorities.
  • Advise the team on build vs. buy decisions as they come up, and on when AI is or isn’t the right solution.
  • Keep our systems secure, documented and maintainable, since you’ll be the team’s primary engineer.

Qualifications

Requirements

  • 3–5 years of professional software development, with full-stack web experience
  • Strong JavaScript/TypeScript and at least one modern front-end framework (React, Vue, Next.js or similar)
  • Familiarity with WordPress and PHP
  • Further back-end experience with Node.js, Python or similar, plus databases and REST APIs
  • Can demonstrate hosting, deployment and infrastructural considerations within providers such as Vercel, AWS, GCP or similar
  • Hands-on experience building with AI models or APIs, through work or substantial projects, and the ability to explain what worked, what didn’t, and how you judged quality
  • Sound judgment about when a simple, conventional solution beats an AI one
  • Clear communicator who takes direction well, offers informed technical input, and pushes back constructively

Additional experience we are looking for

  • Experience with a headless or traditional CMS (WordPress, Contentful, Sanity or similar)
  • Google Analytics 4, Google Tag Manager or other analytics instrumentation
  • Newsletter platform integrations (e.g., Mailchimp, Beehiiv, Substack or similar)
  • Video players, video hosting or media APIs
  • Familiarity with Adobe Creative Cloud applications, particularly Premiere
  • Connecting AI models to your own content, prompt design or AI evaluation methods
  • Experience at an education, publishing or media organization, or on a small team where you owned a lot
  • Demonstrated passion for journalism, history and/or education
  • Salary: $125,00-150,000, depending on experience
  • Benefits: Retro Report offers a generous benefits package including employer-paid medical, dental, vision, life, and long-term disability insurance; an employer-funded HRA; FSA eligibility; a 401(k) retirement plan with employer contributions; and paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays. Benefits are subject to applicable eligibility requirements and plan terms.
  • Location: Hybrid, on-site in NYC 3 days a week
  • Reports to: Head of Product, working day to day with the product design lead, web producers, post-production and engagement team
  • Type: Full-time

Compensation

About Retro Report

Retro Report is an Emmy Award-winning nonprofit news organization dedicated to producing documentary journalism and classroom resources that connect the lessons of history to today’s most pressing issues. Our more than 300 documentary videos provide context to the fast-paced news of our world today using investigative journalism and narrative storytelling.

To apply, email a resume, cover letter, and work samples to joinourteam@retroreport.com

Retro Report, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer