Lead Software Engineer (frontend focused)
about dscout
We are dscout. At our core, we are People Nerds. We empower our customers to meet the people who matter to them in the moments that matter most. Many of the world’s most influential tech companies use dscout to deliver better products and services, alongside customer-obsessed companies and agencies like Lyft, Nike, IDEO, and REI.
Product and UX professionals use our platform to build, field, and analyze user research via our web-based platform while scouts (research participants) share in-context moments from our native mobile apps on iOS and Android. For example, in the past 30 days we’ve conducted close to 500 research missions, had over 40,000 entries submitted by our scouts, and conducted over 500 real-time video user interviews.
our platform
Our platform is built on cutting edge technology with React.js frontend and Elixir backend tied together by GraphQL APIs with a small part done in Ruby/Rails and REST APIs. We make heavy use of PostgreSQL and Redis for our storage needs and we host our platform on Heroku. Another core part of our offering are two mobile apps - iOS and Android - that are written in Swift and Java respectively. We also employ WebRTC, Twilio, and Websockets for live video streaming and our Data Science team uses Python for NLP, video / audio processing, and data mining.
Eight years and 30K commits later, we've maintained a tidy code base that is well documented and battle tested by hundreds of thousands of users.
you are
We’re looking for smart, creative, driven Software Engineers to build great software with us. You have years of experience in product development as an engineer, creating and launching new technologies and products, and you look to join a company where you can make an impact. You love to write code, and strive to make it better with each commit. You're an expert with cloud-based, SaaS-focused modern frontends, APIs, and don't mind working on the backend either. You are hands-on, self-directed, and feel at home in a fast-paced, collaborative, and agile environment. You also love to share your expertise, collaborate with and mentor others, and you thrive in a team-based environment.
If you are excited about the challenge of building an incredible product while also helping to mentor and build a great engineering team, we’d love to hear from you!
the job
what you will do
- Be an active member of a cross-functional product development team that frequently interfaces with business stakeholders
- Communicate and drive improvement within and across teams as well as mentor other engineers
- Focus on frontend work, with some backend involvement
- Develop customer facing applications in a fast-paced agile development environment
- Be responsible for the technical quality of the team's product
- Work closely with the design team to deliver user-friendly and modern products
- Apply DevOps mindset to improve the Continuous Delivery pipeline and other operational aspects of our SaaS platform
- Mentor junior engineers and be open to mentorship from others
what you need to have
- 5+ years experience as a software engineer
- Desire and a track record of leading and mentoring engineers
- Expertise with React or a similar JS framework
- Experience with responsive design and implementation
- Experience with full stack architecture, as well as API design and implementation
- Familiarity with backend development (Ruby & Rails or Elixir is a plus)
- At home with Agile, DevOps, and CD
- Experience with cloud architectures - Heroku, AWS, or others
- Plus: entrepreneurial experience in a small business or startup
what we provide
Here at dscout, we are a team of passionate research, sales, technical, marketing, design, success, and operations professionals. We are driven by the power of research—how in-context insights from real people can build products and services that are more people-centric. We value learning, sharing, and building. We deeply value being a diverse and inclusive team and company, and we are looking for team members who align with that belief. We are proud of what dscout is today and we would love the opportunity to build our future with you.
In addition to joining a smart and passionate team that provides a great learning opportunity, you will get:
- A strong compensation package with bonus structure. Your success is tied to company success. We are all in this together.
- An incredible set of core benefits as well as a 401k with match, solid PTO policy, and generous company holidays. We are committed to helping build your future.
- Exposure to the inner workings of a growing company. And open, transparent communication within our team. You will know what is happening and why it matters.
- An education stipend. Keep learning and sharpening your skills.
- A beautiful workspace along the Chicago Riverwalk, in the heart of lots of places to eat, drink, and play. Read more about our new office space here!
- Plenty of snacks, drinks, and caffeine to keep you powered throughout the day, and a weekly happy hour to relax with the team.