The Developer will work primarily within Suffolk Law School's Legal Innovation and Technology Lab (LIT Lab), which is located both within Suffolk's nationally ranked Clinical Programs and the Law School's nationally recognized Legal Innovation and Technology (LIT) Institute. The LIT Lab provides legal tech and data science consulting services to organizational clients, while also engaging in independent research and product development. The mission of the LIT Lab is to apply technologies and design processes to improve access to civil legal services for the public. The LIT Lab enrolls and works with a broad range of law students each semester for experiential and seminar course credit, preparing our students for careers in the future of legal technology. The LIT Lab also employs students on grant or work-study funding.
This position will support the backend of the Lab's efforts to make civil legal processes more accessible to the public through electronic court filing initiatives across multiple states. That effort has already helped tens of thousands of litigants access legal forms, and applicants can learn more here. The position will also work on a new initiative to bring online dispute resolution tools to low income litigants. The Developer will continue working on planned features for the Lab's Tyler Technologies-certified "e-filing proxy" server, to maintain annual certification and respond to changes in Tyler Technologies' ECFv5-based electronic filing platform, and support additional ECFv5 compliant electronic filing jurisdictions over time. The position will also maintain and support the Lab's existing Java-based electronic filing service provider software that integrates with the Tyler Technologies platform. The position will monitor and implement changes in the code as required. It may also include updating the existing front-end interface (built in Docassemble).
As time permits, the Developer will also assist with documentation, testing, and development of the Lab's other ongoing software development projects, which are primarily built in Python (Flask or FastAPI), JavaScript/Next.JS, and Docassemble.
The Developer will report directly to Professor Christina Miller, Associate Director of Clinical Programs. For projects related to the LIT Institute, the Developer will report to Professor Dyane O'Leary, Director of the Legal Innovation and Technology Institute. As a member of the LIT Lab, the Developer will work closely with Practitioners in Residence and LIT Lab Co-Directors, David Colarusso and Quinten Steenhuis. The Developer will have the benefit of mentorship and supervision by the Lab's experienced staff of developers, attorneys, and academics.
Duration and Compensation: This position will begin as soon as possible. The Developer position is a full-time, 12-month grant-funded position with the possibility of annual extensions for an additional 2 years. This salary is competitive based on experience, and the position includes generous benefits.
Qualifications:
Required qualifications include:
- A degree from a 4-year college or equivalent
- At least 2 years of experience writing production code in Java and experience with at least one other language
- experience writing and communicating about technical information
- experience working with data, databases, and data structures
- experience using version control tools such as git
- experience writing unit tests and documentation
- ability to work effectively and collaboratively in a team environment
- ability to meet deadlines, follow written specifications, and maintain software to comply with external certification requirements
The following qualifications are preferred, but not required:
* A Bachelor of Science or Master's degree in computer science, data science, logic, statistics, or equivalent experience in software development
* Familiarity with Python, including Flask and FastAPI
* Experience with, or comfort working with SOAP or similar protocols
* Experience with XML
* Experience with Postgresql
* Familiarity with Docassemble
Required Application Documents:Cover Letter
Resume or CV
List of three references
Code sample (if you do not have any representative code you are able to share, please apply and we will find alternatives)