About the Growth Lab & Our Tools
Located at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, the Growth Lab works to understand the dynamics of economic growth and to translate those insights into more effective policy making in developing countries. The Lab disrupts the conventional research setup by embedding a diverse software Digital Development & Design team alongside faculty and fellows, to build open-access web applications that translate and disseminate the Growth Lab’s cutting-edge economic research to improve the livelihoods of people on a global scale. We believe that user-friendly software can be a vital channel to effectively interpret complex concepts and to better understand the world.

The Growth Lab’s Viz Hub, is an online portfolio of data analysis and visualization platforms built in-house by the Digital Development & Design team.  Our flagship platform, The Atlas of Economic Complexity, delivers the ability to discover new economic growth opportunities for every country. Our award-winning platform, Metroverse, allows users to explore urban growth opportunities for over 1000 worldwide.  In addition to these tools, the team has built over 30 additional software products, prototypes and digital storytelling features. Our digital tools have been cited in major media outlets and are relied upon across the Harvard community and by policymakers, journalists, and leaders in international development.

As a front-end developer you’ll have the best of both worlds: all the benefits of being part of a world-class research institution combined with the autonomy and agility of a small, growing software team.

General Responsibilities

In this role you will be tasked with building, enhancing, and maintaining the front-end codebase of our flagship tools, The Atlas of Economic Complexity and Metroverse. These tools are built with React, TypeScript, and GraphQL and require proficiency in these frameworks.

Responsibilities will include:

• Leading the front-end development of major Atlas and Metroverse data visualizations and UI/UX components within large, existing codebases
• Leading aspects of quality standard development and testing that promotes code that is reliable, readable, maintainable, well-documented
• Collaborating closely with design, backend and product team members to scope new feature requests and articulate relevant trade-offs
• Participating in various phases of feature development, including requirements analysis, design, testing, brainstorming and sprint planning meetings
• Executing technical troubleshooting and bug fixes
• Maintaining up-to-date documentation for all relevant front-end aspects
• Helping to optimize our Google Analytics

You will also work with a wide assortment of interesting data sets to build brand new, innovative tools at the Lab.  This will involve responsibilities such as:

• Leading the development of front-end frameworks and standards that adhere with the Growth Lab’s high performance standards and design aesthetic
• Building custom and dynamic web-based data visualizations
• Planning and accommodating for various mediums, screen sizes and device types
• Occasionally presenting aspects of your work at staff meetings and Harvard events

Please note: This a hybrid position and we can consider candidates who want to work primarily remote, with the expectation to be able to come to our campus in Cambridge, MA 2-3 times per month for meetings and events.