Sr. Software Engineer

Description

The Opportunity

At Dwell, we champion modern architecture and design that improves people's lives. We are seeking a talented Software Engineer to take ownership of the digital backbone of Dwell.com—a respected platform serving millions of design enthusiasts, architects, and homeowners.

In this role, you will work primarily on our proprietary Content Management System (CMS), a custom-built platform engineered in JavaScript and MySQL. You will partner directly with our Product, Editorial, Design, and Ad-Operations teams. You will play a pivotal role in evolving a custom publishing engine alongside our membership and transactional features, ensuring the site scales seamlessly with our audience while delivering a fully optimized, secure and visually stunning user experience.

Key Responsibilities

• Custom CMS Development: Architect, build, and deploy new features for Dwell’s custom JavaScript-based Content Management System to support editorial workflows and digital storytelling.
• Database Management & Optimization: Design, write, and optimize complex MySQL queries, schemas, and migrations to ensure high data integrity and sub-second retrieval times for high-traffic pages.
• Full-Stack Feature Delivery: Write clean, highly maintainable frontend and backend JavaScript code, translating UI/UX designs from Figma into responsive, accessible web pages.
• Community, Membership & Commerce Platforms: Own the development, maintenance, and continuous optimization of user-generated content (UGC) features, subscriber membership programs, and secure transactional workflows.
• Publishing & Ad-Tech Enablement: Collaborate with the Product team to build custom tooling for editors, integrate third-party APIs, and optimize our digital monetization and ad-delivery frameworks.
• Site Performance & Stability: Proactively monitor application health, resolve production bugs, tackle technical debt, and optimize for Core Web Vitals and SEO best practices.
• Agile Collaboration: Participate actively in sprint planning, technical scoping, and peer code reviews to uphold high engineering standards across the team.

Job Qualifications

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Attributes

• Core Stack Mastery: Deep, production-level expertise in JavaScript (ES6+, asynchronous patterns, Node.js) and relational database design via MySQL.
• Web Fundamentals: Strong command of modern HTML5, CSS3/Sass, the DOM, and browser rendering behavior.
• System Architecture: Solid understanding of RESTful APIs, client-server architecture, caching strategies, and web security fundamentals (CSRF, XSS, SQL Injection prevention).
• Workflow Tools: Proficiency with Git version control, branch management, and modern CI/CD deployment pipelines.
• Problem-Solving: A pragmatic approach to debugging complex legacy code combined with the foresight to build scalable, modern solutions.
• Communication: Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to explain complex technical trade-offs to non-technical editorial and product stakeholders.

Required Education and/or Experience

• 3–7+ years of professional software engineering experience building and maintaining high-traffic web applications.
• Proven, hands-on experience working inside a custom or enterprise CMS (building internal publishing tools, rich-text editors, or media pipelines).
• Experience operating within an Agile/Scrum team environment.
• Preferred: Experience in digital media, publishing technology, or high-volume content platforms.
• Preferred: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or equivalent practical field experience.

About Dwell

For over two decades, Dwell has been the definitive voice of modern architecture and design. Through our print magazine, Dwell.com, and our social channels, we explore how good design can make everyday life better. We are an ecosystem for architects, interior designers, makers, and enthusiasts to share ideas, discover sustainable products, and celebrate spaces that reflect smart, intentional living. Working at Dwell means joining a creative, design-forward culture that values aesthetics, empathy, and the power of the built environment.

About Ziff Davis

Ziff Davis (NASDAQ: ZD) is a vertically focused digital media and internet company whose portfolio includes leading brands in technology, shopping, gaming and entertainment, connectivity, health, cybersecurity, and martech. Today, Ziff Davis is focused on seven key verticals – Technology, Connectivity, Shopping, Entertainment, Health & Wellness, Cybersecurity and Marketing Technology. Its brands include IGN, Mashable, RetailMeNot, PCMag, Humble Bundle, Spiceworks, RootMetrics, Everyday Health, BabyCenter, Moz, iContact and Vipre Security.

Our Benefits

Lifestyle offers competitive salaries in addition to robust, health and wellness-focused benefits. We are committed to work-life balance with paid time off when you need it.

At Ziff Davis, we remain dedicated to creating an environment where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to succeed. We offer Employee Resource Groups, company-sponsored events, and regular opportunities for professional growth through educational support, mentorship programs, and career development resources. Our employees are recognized and celebrated through employee engagement programs and recognition awards.

If you're seeking a dynamic and collaborative work environment where you can see the direct impact of your performance and thrive both personally and professionally, then Lifestyle is the place for you.

Ziff Davis is an Equal Opportunity Employer. At Ziff Davis, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has always been about fairness, equal opportunity, and belonging. DEI enables us to attract and retain the best talent, regardless of background or circumstances, while enabling our thousands of employees worldwide to thrive. If you have a disability or learning difficulty that requires accommodation, please let us know by sending an email to [email protected]