Junior Developer

Description

Lyrasis is seeking a collaborative Junior Developer for ArchivesSpace, an open-source, archives information management web application designed for managing descriptive information about archives, manuscripts, and digital objects. (https://www.archivesspace.org/)

The Junior Developer works on user-facing development in the ArchivesSpace application. They implement, test, and document features and fix bugs identified and prioritized by the ArchivesSpace community, and communicate effectively with program staff, community members, and other code contributors. This is a three-year term with the possibility for continuation dependent on funding.

The ArchivesSpace application was first released in September 2013, and it is sustained by an active member community of over 500 organizations. Community collaboration and member contributions support and guide all facets of ArchivesSpace-development, code review, migration support, technical and user documentation-and are key to the advancement of both the ArchivesSpace application and community.

Duties/Job Responsibilities:

Software Development

• Implement feature requests, bugfixes, and application updates under the guidance of the ArchivesSpace Technical Lead / Senior Program Manager / ArchivesSpace Community.

• Include automated tests with all submitted code.

• Work with program staff and community members to refine requests and specifications as necessary.

Community Support

• Contribute to technical documentation of the application.

• Participate in selected Technical Advisory Council sub-teams, including Technical Documentation sub-team.

• Represent the ArchivesSpace application at occasional technical conferences such as Code4Lib.

Required Skills and Qualifications:

• Experience developing Ruby web applications and REST APIs using Rails and Sinatra, with MySQL.

• Experience with frontend development in HTML5, CSS and JavaScript, using JQuery and Bootstrap or similar frameworks, with a strong understanding of Web standards, accessibility, and usability.

• Experience testing software applications on a broad range of browsers and browser versions as part of the application development process.

• Experience with Solr for search and indexing platforms.

• Experience using Git and GitHub for version control and release management.

• Familiarity with agile development methodologies, commitment to Test-driven development.

• Commitment to writing clear, well-documented, maintainable code.

• Test-driven development using rspec and capybara.

• Familiarity with common software design patterns.

• Ability to work well in a distributed team environment with modest direction.

• Effective time and project management skills.

• Excellent communication skills.

• Willingness to travel to conferences and meetings as needed.

• A commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment where differences and complexities in background, cultures, values, and viewpoints are valued.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in application and web service development for libraries, archives, and digital collections.

• Experience with CI pipelines and Docker.

• Experience with open-source software development.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• None

Physical Demands:

• This position is fully remote and requires sedentary work that primarily involves sitting/standing. Incumbent must be able to meet and communicate regularly via Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and/or other teleconferencing means.

• While the position is fully remote, occasional travel to in-person professional conferences and meetings are required.

Application Notes:

• Applications will be accepted through Wednesday, August 27, 2025.

• Applications must include:

  • Resume

  • Cover Letter

    • Applications without a Cover Letter will not be considered.

At Lyrasis, one of our core values is to provide an inclusive environment to all who are employed here. Therefore, the company is intentional in providing fair and equitable employment opportunities to all applicants, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.