Application Guide
How to Apply for Full-Stack Software Engineer
at Survival & Flourishing Fund
🏢 About Survival & Flourishing Fund
The Survival & Flourishing Fund is a unique philanthropic organization that uses a novel grant evaluation platform to help philanthropists delegate grant-making decisions to trusted advisors. This creates a more effective and impactful giving process by leveraging expert insights and structured evaluation. Working here means contributing to a mission-driven organization that applies quantitative rigor to philanthropy, making it appealing for engineers who want their technical skills to have direct social impact.
About This Role
This Full-Stack Software Engineer role involves enhancing and maintaining the grant evaluation software used by the Survival & Flourishing Fund, specifically focusing on features that support philanthropists and advisors in making data-driven giving decisions. You'll work on both front-end and back-end components, ensuring the platform handles sensitive grant data with privacy and correctness. The role is impactful because your technical contributions directly enable more effective philanthropic decisions, potentially influencing where significant funding goes.
💡 A Day in the Life
A typical day might start with reviewing tickets in Linear to prioritize bug fixes or new features for the grant evaluation platform, followed by coding in TypeScript/React for front-end improvements or Python for back-end logic involving numerical computations. You'd collaborate with team members via code reviews, monitor service health with tools like Sentry, and possibly participate in discussions with leadership about implementation tradeoffs to enhance the platform's impact on philanthropic decisions.
🚀 Application Tools
🎯 Who Survival & Flourishing Fund Is Looking For
- Strong numeracy with proven experience in calculus, numerical computing (e.g., Numpy or PyTorch), and utility theory, as these are critical for the grant evaluation algorithms.
- Full-stack development skills with experience in user account management, access controls, and database management, particularly for handling sensitive philanthropic data.
- Experience with the specific tech stack (TypeScript/React, Python, Postgres, etc.) or demonstrated ability to quickly learn these technologies, given the platform's reliance on them.
- Proven ability to prioritize and track work through ticketing systems (like Linear), maintain code quality via testing/linting, and communicate effectively with leadership about technical tradeoffs.
📝 Tips for Applying to Survival & Flourishing Fund
Highlight specific projects or experiences where you applied calculus, numerical computing, or utility theory in a software context, as strong numeracy is a key requirement.
Tailor your resume to emphasize experience with the tech stack (TypeScript, React, Python, Postgres, etc.) and mention any familiarity with NixOS, GCP, or Socket.IO, as these are listed as nice-to-haves.
Demonstrate your understanding of data privacy and correctness by describing past work with sensitive data, user roles, and access controls, which are crucial for this grant evaluation platform.
Include examples of using ticketing systems (like Linear or similar) and participating in on-call rotations, as these are explicitly mentioned in the qualifications.
Research the Survival & Flourishing Fund's mission and mention in your application how your skills align with enhancing philanthropic impact through technology.
✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter
["Explain your interest in applying numeracy (calculus, numerical computing, utility theory) to software development, linking it to the grant evaluation platform's needs.", "Describe relevant experience with full-stack development, database management, and user access controls, emphasizing how you've ensured data privacy and correctness in past roles.", 'Highlight your ability to work with the specific tech stack (e.g., TypeScript, React, Python) or your quick learning skills, and mention any remote work experience if applicable.', "Connect your technical skills to the company's mission of improving philanthropic giving, showing how you can contribute to impactful grant-making decisions."]
Generate Cover Letter →🔍 Research Before Applying
To stand out, make sure you've researched:
- → Explore the Survival & Flourishing Fund's website and any available materials on their grant evaluation platform to understand how philanthropists and advisors use it.
- → Look into the company's mission and values, focusing on how they apply quantitative methods to philanthropy, as this context is key to the role.
- → Research the tech stack (e.g., NixOS, GCP, Socket.IO) if unfamiliar, to show initiative and preparedness for the specific tools used.
- → Review any public information on the Survival and Flourishing Corp's structure or projects to grasp how the software fits into their broader operations.
💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics
Based on this role, you may be asked about:
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Applying without demonstrating strong numeracy skills (e.g., not mentioning calculus, numerical computing, or utility theory in your resume or cover letter).
- Overlooking the importance of data privacy and correctness, as the role involves sensitive grant data—failing to highlight relevant experience here could be a drawback.
- Being too generic in your application; avoid using boilerplate text and instead tailor your responses to the specific tech stack and philanthropic mission of the company.
📅 Application Timeline
This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.
Typical hiring timeline:
Application Review
1-2 weeks
Initial Screening
Phone call or written assessment
Interviews
1-2 rounds, usually virtual
Offer
Congratulations!
Ready to Apply?
Good luck with your application to Survival & Flourishing Fund!