Software Engineer

Job Description

Job Description

Position Title: Software Engineer

Location: Bend, Oregon - In Person

Status: Full-Time

At Shepherd’s House Ministries our mission is to create safe, healing environments where all individuals feel valued, respected, and empowered to pursue personal growth and stability. We strive to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and walk alongside those facing life-controlling challenges such as trauma, addiction, and homelessness. Through emergency shelter, case management, and supportive services, we seek not only to address immediate needs but to foster lasting, positive change. Our vision is to help individuals break cycles of hardship and achieve meaningful transformation, ensuring that everyone in Central Oregon has the opportunity to find hope, stability, and healing.

We are seeking a passionate and mission-driven Software Engineer to help expand the impact of Shepherd’s House Ministries across all sites and advance this life-changing work.

The Software Engineer is accountable for building, maintaining, and improving ShelterOps to provide reliable, effective technology that supports staff in serving guests and carrying out SHM’s mission. This role develops and delivers high-quality software, responds to operational needs, and protects the accuracy, security, and confidentiality of participant data.

Strategic Work Expectations:

1. Mission & Values: Demonstrate SHM’s mission and values through honesty, compassion, grace, community and stewardship.
2. Growth & Accountability: Maintain a teachable spirit, receive feedback with humility, take ownership of responsibilities, and pursue opportunities to learn and grow.
3. Collaboration & Culture: Work collaboratively across teams to strengthen SHM’s ministry, contribute to a healthy workplace culture, and proactively bring forward ideas, concerns, and opportunities for improvement.

Technical Environment:

1. TypeScript throughout. React on the front end, Node/Express and PostgreSQL on the back end. Hosted on AWS.
2. Automated tests and checks on every change, with continuous integration and automated deployment.
3. AI coding tools are used daily under a human review-and-merge workflow.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Build and maintain ShelterOps features from conversation with staff through deployment, including database changes, API handlers, user interface, and tests.
2. Pair regularly with the Head of Technology on design, implementation, and review.
3. Review pull requests and submit all work for review, following documented conventions and automated checks.
4. Use AI coding tools to accelerate work, and read, test, and correct their output before anything is merged.
5. Spend time at shelter sites observing how staff use the software, and translate what is learned into fixes and improvements.
6. Support data-quality and reporting work for state and federal requirements.
7. Respond to production issues and participate in maintenance, upgrades, and documentation.
8. Maintain accurate, confidential handling of participant data in accordance with organizational policy and applicable law.
9. Participate in team meetings and trainings while upholding confidentiality, ethical standards, and organizational values; perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

Education & Experience:

1. Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field, completion of a software development program, or equivalent combination of education and demonstrated experience.
2. At least one substantial software project, from school, a bootcamp, personal work, or employment, that the candidate built and can explain in depth.
3. Ability to write working code in a typed language and reason about why it works.
4. Experience with any of TypeScript, React, Node.js, or PostgreSQL preferred; willingness to learn the rest quickly is required.
5. Experience in social services, healthcare, housing, or nonprofit settings preferred.
6. Lived or professional experience with homelessness welcomed.
7. Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to ask for help when stuck and to explain technical tradeoffs to non-technical coworkers.
8. Ability to interact with guests, residents, staff, and volunteers in a compassionate and respectful manner while working on site.
9. Ability to pass required background checks in accordance with organizational policy and applicable law.

Working Conditions:

1. Primarily office-based with regular presence at shelter sites.
2. Work in unpredictable shelter environments with vulnerable populations.
3. Occasional after-hours availability for production issues.

Physical Requirements:

1. Ability to sit and work at a computer for extended periods.
2. Ability to sit, stand, walk, and move throughout facilities and community locations.
3. Ability to transition between administrative tasks (computer/data entry) and direct participant interaction.
4. Ability to bend, reach, stoop, and lift up to approximately 25 pounds on an occasional basis.
5. Ability to use a computer, phone, and other standard office equipment for documentation, communication, and reporting.
6. Ability to travel locally between program sites, as required by the role.
7. Ability to visually and audibly assess situations, read documentation, and communicate clearly with participants, staff, and partners.

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), we will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. To request an accommodation, please contact a member of The People Team. 

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.

Shepherd’s House Ministries provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.