Software Developer

Company Description

Founded by bestselling science writer Simon Singh MBE, Parallel is a charitable initiative that runs multiple programmes that support bright and keen students (aged 10-16, mainly in the UK) to develop their mathematical curiosity and problem solving skills beyond the curriculum. This includes:

• Parallelogram: a collection of ‘puzzle sheets’, released weekly for each year group and automatically marked.
• Parallel Circles: live, interactive webinars that can reach thousands of students at a time.
• Parallel Academy: a set of multi-year programmes established in 2023 that sets students up for long-term success in maths. The Tutorial Programme has rapidly grown in the past two years to support more 1200 students, with ambitions to double this number each year. More than five thousand students in the Academy have been placed on various webinar-based programmes.

All of these initiatives are managed through our proprietary online platform, which has distinct user experiences for students, school teachers, tutors and project administrators. Most of the functionality relates to the Academy, for which the platform serves as a bespoke and ever-evolving learning management system. It is central to all manner of logistics such as scheduling and real-time reporting, as well as the administration of homework, tests and other learning resources. Role Description The Parallel platform has thus far been developed and maintained by a single volunteer developer. As we look to expand the project to reach many thousands more students each year, we are looking for additional support to help maintain the platform, regularly attend to issues and support with new feature development.

We expect that this role will require up to 20 hours per month, delivered remotely. Our success to date has relied upon the rapid responsiveness of our lead developer and, working under his supervision, we require the same from this role.

We hope that applicants will take on this role on an unpaid voluntary basis, but we are also willing to consider a moderate monthly stipend.

Key Technologies & Tools The Parallel platform is built with the following technologies:

• Frontend: React, Typescript
• Backend: Node.js, GraphQL (AWS Appsync)
• Infrastructure: AWS (Lambda, AppSync, Dynamodb), Firebase

To express your interest, please email marsh@parallel.org.uk with a CV and short cover letter (and anything else you think might be useful).