Cohesion is a leading Intelligent Buildings software solution that is disrupting how buildings operate and how people engage with buildings – from real estate owners/investors, operators, building engineers, to tenants and visitors. Our cutting-edge converged IoT-enabled platform brings together building systems, building software, and business applications into a single portal for on web and mobile platforms to forge the path to autonomous buildings. 

We are searching for a Lead Backend Engineer to join our rapidly growing team in our Chicago office. This role will report to the VP of Engineering. The Lead Backend Engineer is responsible for leading a software development team in the accomplishment of its business goals while contributing hands-on coding to the development effort. The right candidate will enjoy solving difficult and novel problems with the leadership to build and maintain a high-performing team. 

You might be a good fit if you...

• Can code like a bad@$$
• See beyond your immediate expertise to drive technical excellence in the whole solution
• Are a servant leader – seriously – not the buzz word, but the real thing
• Motivate the team - your positive, can-do energy is contagious and inspiring

• You can work in the weeds writing and reviewing code, but you can quickly transition to the 30,000 foot level and take stock of the big picture – you are brilliant at knowing when to use each perspective and your understanding of both makes the team better

• Have grit – you never give up
• Can organize the right people at the right time to deploy and release to customer satisfaction
• Can set the standards to deliver quality code written for longevity
• Have a sense of best practices and can bring them to team and implement
• Are an influential voice in the overall organizational architecture
• Influence team ownership of design, architecture, quality, and overall delivery
• Know how to communicate a vision and give people the space and support to accomplish it
• The Product Owner’s right-hand person to build out the technical definition of work
• Know the difference between coaching and mentoring and are really, really good at doing both at the individual and team levels
• Create and use process effectively but burn through red tape to deliver
• Listen deeply
• Have never called people “resources”
• Can look at a problem, get the right people in the room, and come out of the room with a solution and concrete next steps – all that with the people thinking they did it themselves
• Can use data to tactfully and clearly articulate improvement areas and inefficiencies
• Thrive in chaos but move progressively toward structure and order in the right places at the right times

What You’ll Do 

• Lead, coach, mentor, and grow an engineering team of 3 to 6 developers. 

• Own technical design and work with Product Managers, designers, and other developers to design, develop, test, deliver, support, and improve software systems. 

• Manage priorities, dependencies, dates, and deliverables for the team. 

• Plan and coordinate the execution of work among a team while balancing priorities in coordination with the Product Manager. 

• Represent a long-term perspective on our technical landscape. 

• Support consuming applications such as web, mobile, or other systems. 

• Ensure the team’s adherence to software best practices. 

• Architect, develop, and integrate complex systems using modern cloud technology and industry best practices. 

• Drive efficiencies in systems and processes through automation:  capacity planning, configuration management, performance tuning, monitoring, and root cause analysis. 

• Write high quality, well tested code to meet the needs of the team’s customers. 

• Provide ongoing, transparent communication with a focus on expectations fostering trust with internal stakeholders and external partners. 

Required Qualifications 

• Minimum of 5 years of overall related experience. 

• Experience coaching and mentoring teammates. 

• Bachelor’s level education or higher in computer science, information technology, or related field. 

• Hands-on experience developing proofs of concepts, prototypes, and business cases. 

• Experience working in a global team. 

• Production experience running applications at scale on a cloud platform. 

• Proficiency with data analytics, visualization tools, and collaboration tools. 

• Strong conceptual, strategic thinking, problem solving, technical, and analytical skills. 

• Experience with the following technology concepts: 

• Data warehousing and data engineering 

• Designing and building microservice based architectures 

• SaaS Platform development 

• Frontend development 

• Security best practices 

• Production Kubernetes experience 

• Position requires flexibility to work outside of non-traditional business hours as required to perform job duties.

What you can expect from Cohesion   

Cohesion is proud to offer a comprehensive benefits package to eligible, full-time employees in the United States.  Our benefits are designed to invest in our employees— and their family’s —well-being, including investments in their health, happiness, and well-being.  

• Receiving a competitive compensation package including an annual performance bonus  

• Eligible for generous benefits such as health/dental/vision insurance, short- and long-term disability, and an employer sponsored 401k match program 

• Eligibility to participate in our Transit Benefits Program to receive tax-free benefits to assist with commuting costs 

• Receiving a monthly cell phone reimbursement 

• Eligibility to participate in the Wellness Reimbursement Program after 6 months of employment 

• Enjoying a responsible unlimited PTO program to help employees manage work life harmony 

• Enjoying a Week of Catch-Up during the last week of the calendar year to catch up on work or personal things so you can start the new year with a clean slate 

• 2-way flexibility of work schedules 

• Dressing for your day   

• Working in an open environment with creative optional brainstorming sessions for all employees   

• Participating in an Annual All Staff Meetings that is a two day mix of professional development and fun 

• Participating in an all-employee lunch per month, an all-employee breakfast per month, and monthly social event 

• Enjoying a hybrid work environment, including access to a great 6,000 square foot office space in Chicago with office snacks and drinks and breakout rooms 

• Enjoying family leave benefits   

At Cohesion, we see diversity and inclusion as a source of strength. We believe building trust and innovation are best achieved through diverse thought and practice. Individuals seeking employment at Cohesion are considered without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.