Assistant Research Engineer - Full-Stack Web & Mobile Development

General DescriptionThe Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering and the Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design are seeking a motivated Assistant Research Engineer to join our dynamic team. The Assistant Research Engineer will support the research, development, and deployment of the VectorCam platform, an AI-enabled vector surveillance system funded by the Gates Foundation. Following the successful completion of a one-year randomized controlled trial, VectorCam is now scaling across multiple countries in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The engineer will play a central role in expanding the VectorCam web application by designing new features, customizing workflows for country programs, and implementing feature flags that support rapid and reliable multi-country deployments.The role operates in a fast-paced Agile development environment and involves close collaboration with the Software Lead, global research partners, and the Johns Hopkins University team. The ideal candidate is a mission-driven software engineer who enjoys solving complex workflow problems, iterating quickly based on user feedback, and building dependable systems for real-world global health applications.While the primary focus is on the web application, there are opportunities to contribute across mobile development, backend services, and cloud infrastructure for candidates with relevant interest or experience. The successful candidate will take ownership of technical decisions and help scale VectorCam across Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, Colombia, and additional countries as national programs adopt the tool.DevOps, CI/CD, and Infrastructure QualificationsManage cloud infrastructure (AWS preferred), including compute, storage, databases, and CDN.Implement and maintain CI/CD pipelines for web and mobile deployments.Configure multi-environment deployments (development, staging, production, per-country variants).Set up monitoring, logging, observability, and alerting systems for production reliability.Troubleshoot infrastructure issues and participate in incident response.Optimize deployments for multiple countries in terms of performance, reliability, and cost.Software Architecture and System DesignParticipate in architectural planning for new features and platform components.Design systems that are modular, maintainable, testable, and scalable.Define clear boundaries between data, domain logic, and presentation layers.Contribute to long-term roadmap decisions involving multi-country deployments.Produce technical documentation and architectural specifications.Web Application Engineering (Full Stack)Develop scalable, high-quality web applications using modern frameworks (Next.js, React, TypeScript) and the Backend for Frontend (BFF) design pattern.Build server-side logic for data access, authentication, and role-based authorization.Integrate with REST APIs and design well-structured API consumption layers.Implement responsive UI components, dashboards, data tables, and workflow-driven interfaces.Optimize performance, caching, bundling, and load times for real-world bandwidth constraints.Ensure clean code structure through modularization, shared utilities, and reusable components.Maintain high standards in security, data handling, and error recovery for production web systems.Android Application EngineeringDesign and develop modern Android applications using Kotlin and Jetpack Compose.Build clean UI/component architecture and state-management patterns.Ensure the app works reliably in offline/low-connectivity settings.Integrate with backend APIs using clean domain/data models.Maintain high levels of performance on mid-range Android devices.Debug concurrency issues, lifecycle edge cases, and memory/performance challenges.Multi-Country Deployment & ScalabilityBuild systems that can be configured per country, program, or workflow.Design a flexible architecture that accommodates localization, data segregation, and regulatory differences.Collaborate with global partners to understand local technical constraints.Integration with the VectorCam EcosystemCollaborate with mobile engineers, data scientists, and hardware teams.Integrate with backend APIs and support development of clean data models.Contribute to QA, troubleshooting, and field deployment readiness.Research, Dissemination & Global ImpactContribute to reports, manuscripts, and technical presentations.Support operational research evaluating usability and digital adoption.Participate in conversations about scale-up strategy, interoperability (e.g., DHIS2), and data governance.EducationBachelor, Master or Ph.D. in a related field.General EngineeringStrong software engineering fundamentals (architecture, design patterns, debugging).Ability to design end-to-end systems across multiple layers of the stack.Experience working in small teams, high-ownership environments, agile development.Web DevelopmentStrong experience with TypeScript, React, Next.js.Understanding of server-side rendering, routing, API integration, and client/server separation.Experience building data-driven web dashboards.Android DevelopmentStrong experience with Kotlin and Jetpack Compose.Experience with state management, coroutines, and lifecycle-aware patterns.Knowledge of Room, Dependency Injection, DataStore, WorkManager, and app architecture best practices.Other SkillsExcellent communication skills and willingness to work across disciplines.Strong ownership and initiative.Ability to adapt quickly and learn new technologies as needed.Comfort interacting with global partners and field teams.Preferred Skills (Not Required But Highly Desirable)Experience with edge AI, TensorFlow Lite, or mobile inference.Experience in digital health or public-sector deployments.Experience in low-bandwidth or offline-first system design.Understanding of DHIS2, healthcare data, or government tech infrastructure.Experience with observability tools (Sentry, PostHog, CloudWatch).Salary RangeThe referenced salary range represents the minimum and maximum salaries for this position and is based on Johns Hopkins University's good faith belief at the time of posting. Not all candidates will be eligible for the upper end of the salary range. The actual compensation offered to the selected candidate may vary and will ultimately depend on multiple factors, which may include the successful candidate's geographic location, skills, work experience, internal equity, market conditions, education/training and other factors, as reasonably determined by the University.Total RewardsJohns Hopkins offers a total rewards package that supports our employees' health, life, career and retirement. More information can be found here: https://hr.jhu.edu/benefits-worklife/.Equal Opportunity EmployerThe Johns Hopkins University is committed to equal opportunity for its faculty, staff, and students. To that end, the university does not discriminate on the basis of sex, gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status or other legally protected characteristic. The university is committed to providing qualified individuals access to all academic and employment programs, benefits and activities on the basis of demonstrated ability, performance and merit without regard to personal factors that are irrelevant to the program involved.Pre-Employment InformationIf you are interested in applying for employment with The Johns Hopkins University and require special assistance or accommodation during any part of the pre-employment process, please contact the HR Business Services Office at rehg.jobs@johnshopkins.edu. For TTY users, call via Maryland Relay or dial 711. For more information about workplace accommodations or accessibility at Johns Hopkins University, please visit accessibility.jhu.edu.Background ChecksThe successful candidate(s) for this position will be subject to a pre-employment background check including education verification.EEO Is The Lawhttps://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/22-088_EEOC_KnowYourRights6.12ScreenRdr.pdfVaccine RequirementsJohns Hopkins University strongly encourages, but no longer requires, at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The COVID-19 vaccine does not apply to positions located in the State of Florida. We still require all faculty, staff, and students to receive the seasonal flu vaccine. Exceptions to the COVID and flu vaccine requirements may be provided to individuals for religious beliefs or medical reasons. Requests for an exception must be submitted to the JHU vaccination registry. This change does not apply to the School of Medicine (SOM). SOM hires must be fully vaccinated with an FDA COVID-19 vaccination and provide proof of vaccination status. For additional information, applicants for SOM positions should visit https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine/ and all other JHU applicants should visit https://covidinfo.jhu.edu/health-safety/covid-vaccination-information/.J-18808-Ljbffr