Developer (ArchivesSpace) - U.S. Based

About Us

Lyrasis is a 501 c 3 non-profit membership organization.

Our Mission Statement is: Lyrasis empowers libraries, archives and museums through content services, open technologies and community-based solutions that expand access to information, preserve cultural heritage, and advance the shared goals of our members and the communities we serve. Collaboratively, we build a future that is inclusive, equitable, accessible and sustainable.

Lyrasis organizational and staff values are: communication, respect, collaboration, impact, and service. Lyrasis was created by its members to help them tackle wide-reaching challenges with collective strengths. Lyrasis helps its members amplify their impact and influence.

Summary Description

Lyrasis is seeking a collaborative Developer for ArchivesSpace, an open-source, archives information management web application designed for managing descriptive information about archives, manuscripts, and digital objects. (https://www.archivesspace.org/)

The ArchivesSpace Developer is primarily responsible for implementing features and fixing bugs identified and prioritized by the ArchivesSpace community of users, with modest responsibility for monitoring the application stack for possible updating to new technologies. They will work in collaboration with others including the ArchivesSpace Technical Lead and others on the Program Team, code committers, the Technical Advisory Council (TAC), and Lyrasis IT staff.

Responsibilities include: implement, test, and document feature requests and bug fixes; provide application support where necessary; interact with the ArchivesSpace community to promote code and other technical contributions; assist program staff and community members to refine functional requirements and specifications; and communicate effectively with the program staff, community members, and other code contributors.

The ArchivesSpace application was first released in September 2013, and it is sustained by an active member community of over 500 organizations. Community collaboration and member contributions support and guide all facets of ArchivesSpace-development, code review, migration support, technical and user documentation-and are key to the advancement of both the ArchivesSpace application and community.

Duties/Responsibilities

Software Development

• Implement feature requests, bug fixes, and application updates under the guidance of the ArchivesSpace Technical Lead / Senior Program Manager / ArchivesSpace Community.
• Ensure the application's code base has a robust test suite and thorough testing coverage.
• Monitor the application stack for necessary updating.

Application/Community Support

• Contribute to technical documentation of the application.
• Monitor and review Pull Requests for code changes and contributions submitted by community members.
• Provide occasional technical support to ArchivesSpace users as requested.
• Serve as program liaison to certain Technical Advisory Council sub-teams.
• Participate in the Core Committers group, review community code contributions and evaluate potential committers.
• Represent the ArchivesSpace application at technical conferences such as Code4Lib.

Required Skills and Qualifications

• Experience developing Ruby web applications and REST APIs using Rails and Sinatra, with MySQL.
• Experience with frontend development in HTML5, CSS and JavaScript, using JQuery and Twitter Bootstrap or similar frameworks, with a strong understanding of Web standards, accessibility, and usability.
• Experience testing software applications on a broad range of browsers and browser versions as part of the application development process and when troubleshooting problems experienced by end users.
• Knowledge of best practices in test-driven development, using RSpec, Selenium, static analysis and code coverage tools, and continuous integration.
• Experience with Apache Solr for search and indexing platforms.
• Experience using Git and GitHub for version control and release management.
• Familiarity with agile development methodologies.
• Commitment to writing clear, well-documented, re-usable code.
• Ability to work well in a distributed team environment with modest direction.
• Effective time and project management skills.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Three to five years relative work experience.
• Willingness to travel to conferences and meetings as needed.
• A commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment where differences and complexities in background, cultures, values, and viewpoints are valued.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in application and web service development for libraries, archives, and digital collections.
• Experience with XML-based library and archives metadata standards, including Encoded Archival Description (EAD), MARCXML, MODS, Dublin Core, and METS, as well as XSLT stylesheets associated with their transformation.
• Knowledge of and experience with archival management systems including ArchivesSpace, Archivists' Toolkit, or Archon.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• None

Physical Demands

• This position is fully remote and requires sedentary work that primarily involves sitting/standing. Incumbent must be able to meet and communicate regularly via Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and/or other teleconferencing means.
• While the position is fully remote, occasional travel to in-person professional conferences and meetings are required.

Application Notes

• Applications will be accepted through Monday, December 1, 2025.
• Applications must include:
• Cover Letter and Resume
• Applications without a Cover Letter will NOT be considered.

At Lyrasis, one of our core values is to provide an inclusive environment to all who are employed here. Therefore, the company is intentional in providing fair and equitable employment opportunities to all applicants, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.