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Code the Dream

At Code the Dream, we envision a world in which tech innovation comes from all of us and benefits all of us.

ASCEND: a new path to the CTD Labs apprenticeship for North and South Carolinians

Launching your software career in North or South Carolina? Gain experience and get paid to build live products for real clients while making a difference in our communities.

Code the Dream’s new ASCEND program provides a direct pathway into the CTD Labs apprenticeship for recent computer science graduates who are living in North or South Carolina. Qualified North Carolina/South Carolina-based applicants who demonstrate a solid proficiency in software development can bypass our traditional class sequence and apply directly to the apprenticeship.

  • Live in North Carolina or South Carolina
  • Computer science degree
  • Apply by October 19, 2026
Start your application

Students who do not live in North or South Carolina, and/or who do not have a computer science degree, become eligible to apply for the CTD Labs apprenticeship following successful completion of our free training program, open to anyone in the country. Learn more at codethedream.org/code-school.

ASCEND Apprentice Developer

Code the Dream | CTD Labs | North & South Carolina
  • Salary: $31,200/year to start, with pay increases tied to skill development and program milestones.
  • Schedule: Full-time, 40 hrs/week
  • Length: 12 months, with possibility to extend for a second year
  • Location: Remote-first, with some project placements requiring hybrid or in-person work in the Raleigh/Durham or Charlotte areas. Must reside in North Carolina or South Carolina.
  • Start Date: December 1, 2026
  • Apply by: October 19, 2026

The job market is tough for new grads. ASCEND is built for that.

Entry-level software roles increasingly ask for experience that new college graduates haven’t had a chance to get. ASCEND closes that gap. As a full-time, paid apprentice at CTD Labs, you’ll spend your days shipping code on live projects for real partners, inside a real agile team, with supportive coworkers and experienced developers reviewing your work and helping you grow. Best part? You’ll be working on projects that benefit communities in need, in Code the Dream’s own tech-for-good dev shop. You’ll finish with a portfolio of production work, professional references, and the confidence to walk into your next role and contribute from day one.

Everything You Need to Know

Code the Dream creates opportunity that changes lives, builds technology that benefits our communities, and expands access to the skills we need for a more innovative world. CTD Learns is our free code school for aspiring engineers from underrepresented backgrounds, and CTD Labs is our software development shop, where apprentices and senior developers build technology for nonprofit, government, and company partners. Recent and current projects include:

  • A benefits-navigation app that tells low-income North Carolina families, in six minutes, exactly which of 20+ benefits and tax credits they qualify for — and how much money that’s worth — before they ever fill out a form.
  • Vamos, a route-planning and visit-tracking app used by legal aid organizations and migrant health clinics to run farmworker outreach — cutting hours of paperwork so advocates spend more time in the field.
  • An evidence-based educational platform that has been proven to help young children with learning differences improve their reading skills.
  • Real experience, not busywork. Your code goes to production and is used by real people.
  • Mentorship built in. Senior developers review your code, pair with you, and check in with you regularly.
  • Modern tools. Depending on the project, work with React, Node.js, Python, cloud platforms, data pipelines, and applied AI and LLM tools.
  • Career launchpad. Leave with shipped projects to show employers, references, and interview practice.
  • A paid, full-time job with benefits. This is employment, not an unpaid internship.
  • Mission that matters. Build technology that helps communities while joining a kind, supportive, and diverse team.
  • Build and ship software (~60%): Write, test, and debug clean code; build features across the stack; troubleshoot issues; and write clear tickets and documentation.
  • Work as part of an agile team (~20%): Join sprint planning, stand-ups (and lead them on rotation), retrospectives, and partner demos.
  • Review and collaborate (~10%): Give and receive code reviews, pair program, and help fellow apprentices succeed.
  • Keep growing (~10%): Learn new technologies, apply feedback, and take part in workshops and career preparation.

You live in North or South Carolina. You have a degree in computer science, giving you a solid foundation in software development, and you’re hungry to keep growing. You come from a background traditionally underrepresented in the tech industry, and you’re ready to make a difference in your community. You have curiosity, persistence, collaboration, and a willingness to learn. You bring experience from university coursework, and potentially other sources including internships, jobs, hackathons, open-source, or personal projects, in areas like:

  • Building software, especially web applications (JavaScript, React, Node.js, Python, or similar; no specific language required)
  • Working with databases, APIs, or structured data
  • Using Git and GitHub on a team
  • Working through unfamiliar problems, asking for help, and applying feedback

Bonus (not required): data science or engineering, cloud and deployment (AWS, Azure, GCP, Docker, CI/CD), applied AI (LLM APIs, RAG, embeddings, vector databases), or AI agents and multi-step workflows.

  • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from an accredited college or university.
  • Live in North Carolina or South Carolina.
    • Most ASCEND apprentices work remotely. Depending on the partner, some project teams meet in person or on a hybrid schedule in the Raleigh/Durham or Charlotte areas, and you may be assigned to one of these teams. Because of this, we give preference to applicants within commuting distance of those areas.
  • No prior professional developer experience required.
  • Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States. We are unable to offer visa sponsorship at this time.
  • Salary: $31,200/year to start, with pay increases tied to skill development and program milestones.
  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance: CTD covers 100% of employee medical premiums and 50% for dependents
  • Generous paid holidays and vacation
  • Retirement plan, remote work and technology stipends
  • Student loan benefit: Code the Dream is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and a qualifying employer for the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. Full-time apprentices with eligible federal loans may be able to count their time here toward the 120 payments required for forgiveness, a head start that carries over to future qualifying jobs. Learn more at StudentAid.gov/PSLF.
  • A kind, supportive community of developers from many backgrounds

The application deadline for the current cycle is October 19, 2026.

Fill out the application below, and be prepared to upload the following documents:

  • Your resume,
  • Your college transcript (unofficial is fine),
  • A link to your GitHub profile,
  • A link to a portfolio or a specific project you’d like to talk about (recommended, not required),
  • At least one letter of recommendation, and
  • A short statement of interest of up to 500 words. No formal cover letter is needed; just tell us your “why”: what brought you to software development, why ASCEND appeals to you, why you are a good fit at Code the Dream, what barriers you have overcome to get here, and what you hope to gain from the experience.

AI Usage: We want to get to know you, so please write your statement of interest and any coding projects yourself. Using AI for a quick grammar check is fine, but if AI played any other role in materials that you submit, including a coding project you share, please tell us exactly how you used it.

Interviews: Selected candidates will be invited to an interview where you’ll talk through your background, any experience on a development team, and the technical aspects of a project you’ve worked on. Expect to hear from us by the first week in November if you have been selected for an interview.

Apply by October 19, 2026

Expect to hear from us by the first week in November if you have been selected for an interview.

Apply to ASCEND

Questions? Contact Kathryn Castelloes, kathryn@codethedream.org.

Code the Dream is an equal opportunity employer.