Principal Ruby on Rails Engineer w/ 0.10% – 0.50% Equity
Bounty Amount: $13,500 - 16,500
Company Name: Arist
Role Type: Full-Time
Location: US / Remote - With Offices in NY
Salary / Hourly Rate: $180,000 - $220,000 per year
Benefits: US citizen/visa only
Role Information
Role Overview: N/A
Responsibilities: Own and evolve our core backend: Drive development of core application features and architecture in Ruby on Rails., Architect for scale and speed: Design systems that power real-time learning delivery across SMS, Teams, and beyond., Collaborate deeply: Partner with product managers, designers, and other engineers to ship features that delight users and align with business impact., Shape new product areas: Contribute to new AI-powered experiences and tools that extend Arist’s impact across the enterprise., Mentor and elevate: Set technical direction, establish best practices, and raise the bar for code quality, scalability, and performance.
Qualifications: 8+ years of professional experience in Ruby on Rails, including production-scale systems., Strong ability to design backend systems that balance flexibility, performance, and maintainability., Experience with REST APIs, PostgreSQL, ActiveRecord, Sidekiq, and GraphQL., Strong product instinct — translating business goals into elegant, well-scoped solutions., Excellent communication skills with both technical and non-technical audiences., Bias for action and pride in shipping meaningful work., Curiosity for AI and how it can transform learning.
Minimum Requirements: 8+ years of experience with Ruby on Rails, including production-scale systems.,Proven ability to architect and scale backend systems for performance and reliability.,Strong proficiency with PostgreSQL, REST APIs, Sidekiq, and GraphQL.,Excellent communication skills and a track record of shipping impactful products.,US citizen or visa holder.
Screening Questions: Please share a 2–3 minute video (screen share + voice) walking us through something you’ve recently built or worked on — ideally highlighting your Rails or backend architecture experience. You can share a Loom, Google Drive, or similar link. This is a hard requirement, and we cannot move forward without it.,Please include your GitHub and/or portfolio link (if available):
Company Information
About Company: N/A
Culture: N/A
Additional Information
Interview Process: Screening Interview with co-founder and CPO, Technical interview with with CTO, 20hr paid project (if feasible), Peer interview with 2 engineers, Final interview with 2 co-founders
Day to day: You’ll spend your time architecting, building, and scaling core Rails systems that power Arist’s real-time learning platform. Most days will balance deep backend development with close collaboration alongside founders, product managers, and designers. You’ll move quickly from idea to production, shaping new product areas while ensuring the platform remains performant, reliable, and secure.
Team: You’ll join a lean, highly technical founding team, reporting directly to the CTO and working closely with the CEO and product leads. The team has deep experience in backend systems, AI/ML, and enterprise software — all focused on building a platform used by hundreds of thousands of learners. You’ll have significant ownership and autonomy, with the ability to shape architecture, standards, and culture.
Growth: Own core backend systems from day one., Mentor and grow future engineers as the team scales., Influence product and technical strategy at the highest levels., Build a track record of shipping scalable systems — positioning yourself for future leadership roles within Arist or beyond.
Ideal Candidate Profile: Architect & Builder – Deep Rails expertise with the ability to design and scale complex backend systems., Strong Collaborator – Communicates clearly across technical and non-technical teams, driving impact through thoughtful solutions., Technically Excellent – Expert in Rails, PostgreSQL, Sidekiq, GraphQL, and modern backend patterns., Ownership Mentality – Operates with autonomy, product instinct, and a bias for shipping meaningful work fast., Examples of Candidates (do not contact):Yutong XueAndrew R. ReedZion BadashRyan Rishi, Yutong Xue, Andrew R. Reed, Zion Badash, Ryan Rishi
