Organization Overview:

The Ackerman Institute for the Family was founded in 1960 and is one of the premier institutions for family therapy treatment, and one of the most highly regarded training facilities for family therapists in the United States. The Institute serves a diverse population of families at all stages of family life by offering a variety of programs that address a broad range of issues and concerns. The faculty at the Institute have achieved national prominence and earned national awards for the development of innovative approaches to family therapy and professional training.

Position Summary:

Build and operate the automation systems that power Ackerman’s fundraising, training, clinic, and operations. Deliver working production systems with AI assistance and senior code review.

Essential Job Functions:

• End-to-end feature development for the automation systems, with AI assistance and human review.
• Integrate back-end data sources and AI agents; build clickable, data-backed tools that support Ackerman’s work.
• Write tests and basic observability for what you ship; iterate on user feedback.
• Over time, harden the systems for production: reliability, cost, and maintainability.
• Handle client and operational data in line with Ackerman’s privacy and security requirements, including HIPAA where applicable.
• Take part in daily standups, sprint demos, and architecture sessions.

Qualifications

• A computer science degree or equivalent practical experience, with at least one project shipped end to end.
• Working familiarity with Python or JavaScript, and SQL.
• Comfortable with AI-assisted development, agentic coding tools and coding harnesses (e.g., Claude Code, Cursor), and working under code review.
• Coachable, communicative, and structure oriented.

Preferred

• Experience with a JavaScript and/or Python framework (any).
• Experience integrating LLMs or AI agents into an application.
• Familiarity with handling PII, PHI, or other regulated data.

Work Environment:

• This position will be in-person, based on The Ackerman Institute’s New York, NY location, 4 days per week (40 hours per week).

Compensation:

• $80k-$90k

Welcoming Diversity:

The Ackerman Institute for the Family provides equal opportunities to all individuals without regard to race, religion, national origin, disability, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other status protected by law. It does not discriminate based on any status protected by law. This policy applies to all employment, education, volunteer, and clinical care related activities or in any other aspect of the Institute’s operation. Black, Indigenous, and people of color; trans, non-binary, and intersex people, especially transwomen; those from poor and working-class backgrounds, immigrants, people with disabilities; as well as people at the intersections of these experiences are highly encouraged to apply.

How to Apply:

Interested candidates should send a cover letter and resume to Human Resources at: jnazario@ackerman.org Subject: “Software Development Engineer (Junior).” Only those candidates for an interview will be contacted.