(Independent Contractor): Content Maintenance Mentor-Frontend Maintenance Specialist

Udacity • Contract • Remote (United States) • 4d ago

Fast Facts

Join Udacity as a Content Maintenance Mentor-Frontend Maintenance Specialist, where you'll leverage your expertise in JavaScript/TypeScript or Python to update and maintain online educational content for diverse programming courses.

Responsibilities: Analyze course performance, update outdated content, troubleshoot student issues, and maintain Docker images for programming courses.

Skills: 2+ years of experience in JavaScript/TypeScript or Python, strong understanding of web frameworks, proficiency in debugging, and familiarity with Docker-based environments.

Qualifications: Relevant professional experience and a solid foundation in web development frameworks and modern build systems are preferred.

Location: Nationwide

Compensation: Not provided by employer. Typical compensation ranges for this position are between $50.00 - $85.00 per hour.

Udacity is a pioneer in online technical education, offering high-quality courses across a wide range of disciplines. Our catalog includes short and long programs, Nanodegrees (bundled courses), and content tailored to multiple skill levels, foundational, beginner, intermediate, and advanced as well as business leadership audiences.

To ensure our content remains current, impactful, and industry-aligned, we continuously review and update our courses. We take a data-driven approach to evaluating content quality and identifying outdated material. Key performance metrics, such as student satisfaction, lesson ratings, and page-level feedback, help us determine whether a course requires maintenance. Throughout the year, various courses are kept under active maintenance to ensure they receive timely updates. To do this effectively, we regularly collaborate with expert contractors who help update the course content.

As new needs arise, we contact qualified candidates within our contractor pool to share project details, scope, and timelines. Contractors work closely with a Udacity team member who provides tooling, guidance, and logistical support. In most cases, contractors operate as individual contributors, though they may collaborate with other teams, such as Content Developers, Program Managers, and Learning Architects, to define scope, set priorities, and gather necessary information about the content under maintenance.

About the School of Programming

We are creating a contractor pool of experts across the software engineering ecosystem. Our courses span:

JavaScript, TypeScript, React, Next.js
Node.js, Express, API development
Python programming
C++ fundamentals and advanced topics
Android (Kotlin) and iOS (Swift) development
Databases (SQL, NoSQL), ORMs
Docker and Linux developer tooling
Git, GitHub, GitHub Actions, CI/CD
REST APIs, GraphQL, microservices
Software testing

Understanding Our Learning Infrastructure

To effectively maintain and update our cloud courses, you'll need to understand how students interact with our content. Our courses use two key technologies:

Udacity Workspaces

For practitioner content, we provide in-classroom workspaces so students don't need to install or purchase any tools or set up environments locally. These workspaces are Docker containers running in Kubernetes, and students access them directly in the classroom page through their browser. There are different types: Jupyter, VS Code, SQL, and Web Terminal. These workspaces need continuous updates and patching, and the exercises/project starter code must be updated to remain compatible with the updated workspace.

Udacity Cloud Labs

We also provide temporary access to various cloud services providers via Cloud Labs. Cloud Labs are federated accounts allowing students to use AWS Console, GCP Console, or Azure Portal using temporary credentials. These cloud labs are pre-configured with RBAC and policies. Sometimes, we pre-create several resources via Infrastructure as Code to provision the resources required for an exercise or project.

If you thrive on challenges, want to make an impact, and are interested in joining our contractor community, we encourage you to read on and apply.

JOIN THE TEAM TODAY

Required skills/qualifications:

2+ years of professional experience in JavaScript/TypeScript or Python
Solid understanding of web dev frameworks (React, Next.js, Express, Flask, etc.)
Ability to debug real-world codebases and student submissions
Experience with Git/GitHub
Strong troubleshooting and issue reproduction skills
Ability to write clear, world-class instructional documentation
Familiarity with Docker-based development environments
Understanding of modern build systems and package managers

Responsibilities:

Content Maintenance & Improvements

Analyze course performance, lesson ratings, and learner feedback to identify content needing updates.
Review and prioritize student feedback at scale.
Update written content, code examples, screenshots, and demonstrations to reflect the latest frameworks, SDKs, and tooling.
Refresh instructions and workflows for:
Modern JavaScript/TypeScript versions
Node.js LTS changes
React/Next.js updates
Python library/version updates

Bug Fixed and Compatibility Updates

Update outdated starter code, dependencies, and package versions.
Migrate workspaces and exercises to newer runtime environments (e.g., Node 18 → 20, Python 3.8 → 3.12).
Fix broken code templates, build failures, environment issues, or incorrect instructions.
Patch dockerized workspace images using Udacity’s Studio tool.

Learner Experience & Testing

Reproduce and resolve bugs reported by students in labs and exercises.
Validate workspace behavior, code execution, and automated test systems.
Ensure instructions are accurate, easy to follow, and technically correct.

Docker Image Creation & Maintenance

Create, update, and optimize Docker images for programming courses.
Write and maintain Dockerfiles, Makefiles, entrypoint scripts, and Linux setup scripts.
Optimize images for size, performance, and developer usability.

Linux System & Developer Tooling

Install, configure, and maintain programming runtimes (Node, Python, Java, Kotlin, Swift).
Troubleshoot Linux package issues, dependency conflicts, or environment failures.
Manage build tools such as:
npm/pnpm/yarn
Gradle
CocoaPods
pip/Poetry