Meet Empower Ministry
The Isaacson Foundation (Empower Ministry) is a faith-based, non-profit organization on a mission to develop quality people to equip Christian leaders to live out their God-given potential to advance the Kingdom. This role keeps Empower Ministry's technology built, running, and reliable so the organization can advance that mission.
About the Senior Full Stack Engineer
The Senior Full Stack Engineer is a hands-on builder who develops Empower Ministry's software across the full stack and stands up the infrastructure it runs on, working within the architecture, technical standards, and direction set by the Chief Technology Officer. This is an individual-contributor role: the engineer writes the code, builds and deploys the systems, and keeps them running, rather than setting strategy or directing a team.
The role has two core areas. First, full stack development: building both the frontend and the backend of Empower Ministry's applications and platform. Second, infrastructure and DevOps: not only writing the code that defines the infrastructure, but implementing, deploying, and operating it, including provisioning cloud environments, building deployment pipelines, and keeping systems secure, reliable, and cost-effective. Where the work touches the audience-facing brand and experience, the engineer builds to the user-interface and user-experience specifications owned by the Chief Marketing & AI Product Officer, and to the architecture owned by the Chief Technology Officer. As part of a start-up organization and team, the engineer is expected to be genuinely hands-on across software and infrastructure, and to be flexible in supporting the technology needs of a growing team.
The Director of Technology's Responsibilities Include:
Full Stack Development (Frontend and Backend)
- Build and maintain the frontend of Empower Ministry's applications and platform, the interfaces staff and ministry leaders actually use, to the user-interface and user-experience specifications owned by the Chief Marketing & AI Product Officer.
- Build and maintain the backend, including application logic, services, APIs, and data access, within the Chief Technology Officer's architecture.
- Develop in-house solutions and integrations, and implement the tools and platforms the Chief Technology Officer selects, so best-of-breed components work together as one experience.
- Write clean, maintainable, and well-documented code, and see features through from build to working, shipped software.
Infrastructure and DevOps (Build and Deploy)
- Build the organization's infrastructure as code, and, just as importantly, implement, deploy, and operate it, including provisioning cloud environments, standing up services, and putting the code into production.
- Build and maintain deployment pipelines (CI/CD) so changes ship reliably and repeatably.
- Provision, operate, and optimize the foundation's cloud infrastructure, including hosting, scalability, uptime, and cost, within the Chief Technology Officer's architecture.
- Own backup, disaster-recovery, and business-continuity execution, and maintain the monitoring, logging, and runbooks that keep systems recoverable.
- Implement and operate the security controls the Chief Technology Officer's posture calls for, including identity and access management, and endpoint and network protection, and safeguard donor and member data to the foundation's data-privacy and compliance requirements.
General Technical Execution & Support
- Serve as a support arm to the foundation’s technical endeavors as part of a small, hands-on team, taking on execution and build work across additional responsibilities as priorities require.
- Provide internal technical support.
- Develop user guides, quick-reference materials, and other technical documentation.
- Assist with user-feedback, analytics, and data-intelligence mechanisms.
- Coordinate with technology vendors.
Continuing Education
- Technology: stay current with full stack and infrastructure practice to keep the organization's systems modern, secure, and reliable.
- Faith: remain grounded in the mission.
- Leadership and skills: develop capabilities to better serve the team, ministry leaders, and the Kingdom.
What You Bring
The following describes many of the characteristics of the ideal candidate for the Senior Full Stack Engineer:
Education and Experience
- Bachelor's degree in computer science, software engineering, information technology or systems, or a related field, or equivalent hands-on experience.
- Cloud, DevOps, or security certifications are preferred but not required for candidates with strong hands-on credentials.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- 8+ years of hands-on, full stack software development, building and shipping working software as an individual contributor.
- Frontend and backend development, including modern frameworks, APIs, and systems-integration work.
- Infrastructure and DevOps, including infrastructure as code, CI/CD pipelines, and hands-on deployment and operation of what you build, not just designing it.
- Cloud infrastructure operations (AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud), including provisioning, scaling, uptime, backups, disaster recovery, and cost management.
- Security fundamentals, including identity and access management, endpoint and network protection, and data-privacy awareness.
- Comfort working directly with non-technical staff, and willingness to provide internal technical support on an as-needed basis.
- Experience in a non-profit or ministry environment is a meaningful plus.
Faith Alignment
- Agreement with the foundation's Christian mission, vision, purpose, core values, and beliefs; a demonstrated personal walk with Christ and active local church involvement; and a passion for advancing the Kingdom of God and supporting ministry leaders.
What it's like to live in Gallatin, TN
The Isaacson Foundation/Empower Ministry is located in Reader’s Digest’s nicest place in America (2017)—Gallatin, Tennessee. The foundation office is just five minutes from Hendersonville, Tennessee, which is another outstanding town. Gallatin is a growing suburb that is 25 minutes northeast of Nashville. In terms of living accommodations, there is something for everyone—very affluent suburban neighborhoods, convenient condo/apartment living options, and many rural homes right in Gallatin; plus, city living is a short drive away in Nashville. A significant portion of Gallatin is a lake/golf community. There are seven golf courses and five marinas in Sumner County. While rankings fluctuate, Sumner County consistently ranks among the wealthiest and