Junior Engineer

The federal government spends over $700 billion a year hiring private companies to do critical work, from staffing veterans’ hospitals and maintaining military bases to supporting federal logistics and IT. Many of those contracts legally require employers to set aside money for employee benefits, earned hour by hour. Today most of that is managed through spreadsheets, disconnected vendors, and compliance rules that are nearly impossible to navigate — so employers overspend and risk audits, and workers end up with benefits they can't use or never fully access.

CVRD is building the modern infrastructure for this market. Our platform helps employers track benefit dollars in real time, stay compliant, and manage healthcare, retirement, payroll, and reporting in one place, turning a complex, high-stakes system into software that actually works.

We’re looking for a Junior Engineer to help increase the engineering team’s operational capacity and overall velocity. This role is designed for someone early in their engineering career who wants to learn quickly, ship real work, and contribute to a product that customers use every day.

You’ll work closely with senior engineers and product leaders on clearly defined tickets across the core platform, including bug fixes, small features, follow-ups, tests, integrations, and product improvements. You will not be expected to own major parts of the application independently from day one, but you will be trusted to take ownership of scoped work, ask good questions, move quickly, and follow through with attention to detail.

Because we’re a small team, there is very little red tape. If you notice something that can be improved, you can raise it, help fix it, and see your work make an immediate impact. This is a great role for someone who wants mentorship, real production experience, and the chance to build a strong engineering foundation inside a fast-moving startup.

• Build, test, and ship features across the front end and back end — work that customers and internal teams rely on — guided by senior engineers.
• Integrations: Support payroll, benefits, and data partner workflows, including REST APIs, file-based exchanges, and third-party systems that move real data through the product.
• Contribute to core workflows — enrollment, deductions, reporting, and related calculations — with close attention to accuracy and data integrity.
• Bug Fixes & Improvements: Debug, troubleshoot, and improve existing features, helping the team move faster and reduce technical debt over time.
• Write clean, tested code and take part in code reviews to learn and uphold engineering best practices.
• Testing & QA: Write tests for the work you ship, help develop test cases, and support QA so issues are caught before they reach customers.
• Collaborate with engineers and product in standups, sprint planning, and design discussions — turning requirements into working software in two-week sprints.
• Documentation: Maintain clear technical documentation for the features, fixes, and systems you work on.
• Security & Compliance: Follow HIPAA-aware engineering practices and handle sensitive data carefully on every ticket.

Must-haves

• Strong programming fundamentals: You write clean, readable code in at least one language. JavaScript/TypeScript and/or a backend language is preferred.
• Core technical foundation: You understand the basics of data structures, Git, debugging, APIs, HTTP, JSON, and how software systems and databases talk to each other.
• Web development experience: You’re comfortable building or maintaining web applications across the front end, back end, or both.
• A fast, adaptable learner who picks up new tools, frameworks, and unfamiliar codebases on the fly.
• Problem-solving mindset: You can break down unclear problems, research independently, and know when to ask for help.
• Clear communication: You explain technical ideas clearly, document your work, and collaborate well with engineers, product, and non-technical teammates.
• Ownership and initiative: You’re self-motivated, organized, and willing to dig into unfamiliar territory to get things working.
• Builder mindset: You’re genuinely excited to build software people actually use, especially in a small, fast-moving startup where your work is visible.

Bonus points

• Experience with a modern front-end framework, such as React or similar.
• Familiarity with SQL, relational databases, and REST API integrations.
• Exposure to cloud platforms, AWS, or CI/CD workflows.
• A side project, repo, tool, or technical deep dive you’re genuinely proud of.
• Strong curiosity about how systems work under the hood.

• You are curious, quick, and detail-oriented. You want to understand how things work, not just close tickets. You ask good questions, take feedback well, and get better fast.
• You do not need a huge team or layers of process to stay motivated. You like being close to the product, the users, and the people making decisions. You care about quality, but you also know how to keep moving.
• You are early in your career, but you are serious about becoming great.

• Real impact: You’ll ship work that customers and internal teams rely on, helping the platform scale through its next stage of growth.
• You will learn directly from senior engineers while getting a rare view into how product, engineering, operations, customers, and company strategy connect. You will also work closely with the CEO and senior leadership, which gives you unusual exposure for an early-career engineering role.
• Small-team visibility: Your work will be seen, used, and felt quickly. There are no endless layers between you and the problems we’re solving.
• Room to grow: You’ll start with well-defined work, then grow into owning small features end-to-end as you ramp and prove yourself.

We're an early-stage, venture-backed company building the operating system for the people side of government contracting. We move quickly, care deeply about the workers our customers employ, and hold ourselves to a high standard. 

We're building something ambitious, and that requires people who are curious, accountable, and excited to solve hard problems. If you enjoy creating order from complexity, improving systems, and helping shape how a company grows, we'd love to hear from you.