Graduate Backend Software Engineer- UpNEXT Program

Location: Kfar Saba, IL (hybrid)
ERGO NEXT's mission is to help entrepreneurs thrive. We're doing that by building the only technology-led, full-stack provider of small business insurance in the industry, taking on the entire value chain and transforming the customer experience.
Simply put, wherever you find small businesses, you'll find ERGO NEXT.
Since 2016, we've helped hundreds of thousands of small business customers across the United States get fast, customized and affordable coverage. We're backed by industry leaders in insurance and tech, and we still have room to grow — that's where you come in.
We're excited to launch UpNEXT - ERGO NEXT Insurance's new hiring and training program for early-career backend engineers!

If you're a curious, driven developer ready to level up, this is your chance to dive into real-world projects, learn from top mentors, and build the skills to grow your tech career from day one.Our backend stack is built around modern, scalable technologies. We're big fans of server-side Kotlin, writing clean, testable code that ships to production multiple times a day through our robust CI/CD pipeline. We also actively leverage AI tools to supercharge our coding workflow and build intelligent, automated systems. We're committed to staying up to date with the latest backend tools and best practices to support rapid development and high-quality delivery.

What You'll Do:

You will solve real customer problems: Work closely with Product, Design, Data, Marketing, and Backend teams to understand customer pain points and rapidly iterate on solutions that deliver the best user experience.
You will take ownership of features – from inception through design and coding, eventually bringing your feature to production at a high level of quality and test coverage.
You will work with modern AI frameworks and tools to enhance engineering efficiency and bring AI-driven capabilities to our product offerings.
You will quickly adapt to rapidly changing requirements and evolving business needs, maintaining high flexibility and a continuous learning mindset as our technologies and product roadmap evolve.

Requirements:

Strong academic background from leading institutions
Minimum GPA of 85.
Please attach your academic transcript
Quick learner with a strong drive to explore and master new technologies.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

Preferred Qualifications (Considered a Plus):

Prior experience in relevant professional or technical roles.
Background in technology units within the military.
Exposure to or hands-on experience with AI developer tools, AI frameworks, and LLM integrations.
Involvement in open-source projects or notable contributions on platforms like GitHub.

Note on Fraudulent Recruiting

We have become aware that there may be fraudulent recruiting attempts being made by people posing as representatives of ERGO NEXT Insurance. These scams may involve fake job postings, unsolicited emails, or messages claiming to be from our recruiters or hiring managers.

Please note, we do not ask for sensitive information via chat, text, or social media, and any email communications will come from the domain @next-insurance.com or @nextinsurance.com. Additionally, Next Insurance will never ask for payment, fees, or purchases to be made by a job applicant. All applicants are encouraged to apply directly to our open jobs via the careers page on our website. Interviews are generally conducted via Zoom video conference unless the candidate requests other accommodations.

If you believe that you have been the target of an interview/offer scam by someone posing as a representative of Next Insurance, please do not provide any personal or financial information. You can find additional information about this type of scam and report any fraudulent employment offers via the Federal Trade Commission's website (https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/job-scams), or you can contact your local law enforcement agency.

Don't meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that some underrepresented people are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At ERGO NEXT, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and respectful workplace, so if you're excited about this role but your past experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.
One of our core values is 'Play as a Team'; this means making sure everyone has an equal chance to participate and make a difference. We win by playing together. ERGO Next Insurance is an equal opportunity employer and prioritizes building a diverse and inclusive workplace. We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants of any type and do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, genetic information or characteristic, gender identity and expression, veteran status, or other non-job-related characteristics or other prohibited grounds specified in applicable federal, state, and local laws. ERGO Next's policy is to comply with all applicable laws related to nondiscrimination and equal opportunity and will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. 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.