Full-Stack Web Developer

At Atlas Obscura, our mission is to inspire wonder and curiosity about the incredible world we all share. As we evolve from a content-led media brand into a product-driven community platform, we are implementing new strategies and tactics that will most effectively attract, engage, and retain audiences while fueling sustainable growth. Our vision is to build the world’s best travel and experiences platform—one that helps people discover the most remarkable places and things to do, powered by community, curiosity, and trust.

We’re building a platform that inspires curiosity around the world. Atlas Obscura is looking for a full-time Full-Stack Web Developer to join our team. In this role you'll report to the SVP, Head of Engineering & Technology and collaborate with Product, Design, and Content to develop new features, improve our existing code base, and ensure our applications stay sharp and snappy.

As AO evolves into a platform-driven product business, you will play a key role in scaling our platform to empower millions of people to discover the world's most amazing places and experiences.

Our team is fully embracing AI-accelerated and agentic development. We actively use tools like Claude, Codex, and Cursor to prototype, generate code, refactor systems, and move quickly from idea to production. We believe modern developers should treat AI as a core collaborator, not just a helper.

The ideal candidate enjoys experimenting with new tools and workflows — particularly AI-assisted development — and finding faster, smarter ways to build things.

AO’s culture leans on curiosity, candor, and speed. The ideal candidate will thrive in an environment where:

• Curiosity meets execution
• Feedback and continuous improvement are gifts
• Progress matters more than perfection

• AI coding agents and development tools (Claude, Codex, Cursor)
• Ruby / Rails
• Postgres / PostGIS
• Hotwire / Stimulus.js / View Components
• AWS
• Redis
• Tailwind
• Elasticsearch

Technologies evolve quickly, and we value engineers who can learn and adapt as our stack evolves.

• Write high-quality, maintainable, production-ready code that can serve millions of curious users around the world
• Use AI coding agents and development tools to accelerate development, explore solutions, and automate repetitive work
• Build across the stack, including:
  • Front-end components
  • API design
  • New product features
  • Brand partnership campaigns
  • Content projects
• Collaborate across the company to understand user needs and improve the product
• Help shape technical and product decisions, including thoughtful build vs. buy vs. AI-assisted approaches
• Improve development workflows, automation, and tooling so a small engineering team can move quickly

• 2–4 years experience in professional web development
• Experience working with a production web application framework (Rails or similar a plus)
• Experience building front-end components using a modern JS framework such as:
  • Stimulus
  • Vue
  • React
  • or similar
• Comfort using AI coding tools and agents such as Claude, Codex, and Cursor as part of your development workflow
• Experience collaborating with designers and implementing work within an established design system
• Familiarity with the development lifecycle, including:
  • Git workflows
  • Deploying to production
  • Iterative product improvements
• Strong communication skills with both technical and non-technical colleagues
• Ability to solve complex problems while recognizing when simpler solutions are better
• Curiosity and desire to keep learning new tools and approaches
• A passion for Atlas Obscura’s mission of discovery and wonder

• Experience with AWS and basic DevOps
• Experience building APIs or working with geospatial data
• Experience experimenting with:
  • AI-assisted tooling
  • Developer automation
  • LLM APIs

• Opportunity to shape the technical foundation of a platform in growth mode
• A culture that values curiosity, quality and the craft of building delightful user experiences
• Chance to work with a passionate team dedicated to celebrating the world's hidden wonders
• Flexible work arrangements
• Competitive salary of $115,000 - $120,000 commensurate with experience
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance
• Flexible work arrangements

Atlas Obscura is committed to building a diverse team that reflects the community we serve. We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds and experiences.

This role is based in our New York City headquarters and requires in-office work two days per week as part of our hybrid schedule.

To apply, please submit your resume and a cover letter.