CR is recruiting engineers, public interest technologists, and entrepreneurs to develop innovative new ways of serving consumers. You’ll be joining a lean team that works openly and builds out the earliest, most experimental part of CR’s innovation pipeline.

 

Research engineers pursue novel technological solutions to CR’s business problems, producing ideas and prototypes for revenue-generating products and services, as well as scientific publications and disruptive, attention-getting projects in an effort to raise CR’s profile as a technology leader. Research engineers are T-shaped people: broad computer science and engineering generalists who also possess deep expertise in a specific domain. 

 

Under our CRFlex program, this is a hybrid position that is eligible for remote work

How You’ll Make an Impact:

 

You’ll create and ship technologies that have a real impact on the marketplace, the law, and people’s lives. CR's work includes solutions to help consumers secure their digital devices, help them take back control of their data, make it easier to buy locally and save money, and more.

• You will ontribute engineering and creative problem solving as part of a small research group.
• You will take ownership of programming work units from planning through delivery (e.g., improving source layouts, implementing new features, fixing bugs, designing UIs, benchmarking and developing optimization strategies, etc.).
• You will write clean, merge-friendly code, coherent docs, and good tests
• You will quickly master new computer science and math concepts as required.
• You will stay up to date on the academic literature, conduct self-directed study to help advance our research frontiers.

You’ll Be Highly Rated If:

• You have a Bachelors degree in related field and yrs relevant work experience (may be substituted for equivalent combination of work experience and education).
• You have demonstrated curiosity for solving challenging and non-straightforward computer science problems; this might be reflected in a prior research engineering position, contributions to open source projects, self-directed programming projects, or something you'll surprise us with
• You have a rigorous understanding of at least one technical aspect of distributed systems and the peer-to-peer networking stack; this could be applied cryptography, distributed hash tables, NAT traversal methods, state machine replication, CRDTs, byzantine consensus, the TCP/IP protocols, etc.
• If you have the following engineering skills: JavaScript fluency is mandatory -- both backend (Node.js) and frontend (React, Electron); we write testbeds in Python and use video game frameworks like Phaser to visualize network activity -- you should be able to contribute across all of these areas.
• You show evidence of rigorous thinking and strong communication skills across various layers of abstraction: Can you articulate the behavior of a nondeterministic bug and also articulate a vision for improving the Internet?
• You have a passion for decentralized problem solving: Believe in the wisdom of the crowd, and the superiority of complex systems over institutional gatekeepers

THIS POSITION REQUIRES YOU TO BE FULLY VACCINATED PRIOR TO YOUR START DATE

 

Our Commitment to Fair Pay

At Consumer Reports, we are committed to fair, transparent pay and we strive to provide competitive, market-informed compensation. The target salary range for this position is $126,000 to $155,000. It is anticipated that most qualified candidates will fall near the middle of this range. Compensation for the successful candidate will be informed by the candidate’s particular combination of knowledge, skills, competencies, and experience.

 

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Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to a fair and just marketplace for consumers. Our team is made up of truth tellers, change agents, and consumer advocates who investigate and build coalitions to fight for fairness and justice in the marketplace. We leverage our evidence-based approach to demand safer products, a healthier environment, and equitable services for everyone.

Our mission starts with you. We offer medical benefits from that start on your first day as a CR employee that include behavioral health coverage and unlimited sick days. There’s also generous family planning benefits and a generous 401K match (10%!). Learn more about how CR’s advocates for strong benefits on behalf of their employees here: https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/careers/landing-page/index.htm

Consumer Reports proudly seeks to build a richly diverse workforce by hiring people with a diversity of thoughts, identities, perspectives, and experiences that help advance the difference we make for consumers, and by ensuring our people experience equity and inclusion in their work lives. We encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, LGBTQIA people, people of color, and people with disabilities.