Principal Software Developer (Principal Crafter)

Who We Are 

At 8th Light, we take a human-centered approach to software development, collaborating with the people writing the code as well as those using it. We embrace the need for adaptability in a constantly changing world. We are a team of polyglot generalists—thinkers and doers ready to take on most any challenge that we encounter. 

An employee-owned software consultancy, we consider software development a craft. Our team of expert developers and designers hold the title of "Crafter" to reflect our dedication to quality, our emphasis on continual learning, and our belief that software is truly a craft—something that we take pride in, and value highly. We value colleagues who enjoy learning and teaching, which creates our collaborative organization. You’ll be mentored and supported, and you’ll further your expertise as a technologist, a manager, or both.

We enjoy working with empathetic, passionate collaborators who value the work they do. If this approach to software development resonates with you, we'd love to talk.

Who You Are

You’ve shown long-term repeated success on a variety of projects, typically over the course of 8+ years. You can be the go-to leader for any software development engagement. You have a broad and deep range of expertise that allows you to make an immediate impact on projects. In your previous experience, you have:

• Written production-quality code in 2+ programming languages
• Built high-quality, maintainable software collaboratively, incrementally, and pragmatically
• Built larger features or subsystems
• Used context-appropriate automated testing to inform software design choices and catch bugs
• Debugged and refactored pre-existing code to incrementally improve it
• Collaborated with teams using Git, MacOS/Linux, CI/CD
• Addressed architecture-level concerns like scalability, security, reliability, and performance

• Led projects or teams
• Brought together people from different functions and perspectives in forums that encourage idea sharing and problem solving
• Made thoughtful recommendations and set direction in the face of ambiguity 
• Mentored and shared knowledge with colleagues
• Actively sought out and effectively given feedback
• Communicated empathically with stakeholders and colleagues 
• Collaboratively led stakeholders to balance technical considerations with product needs

What You’ll Do At 8th Light

As a lead technologist on projects, you’ll work with a variety of clients, typically 1-2 in a year,  and in a variety of languages over the course of your career with us. You’ll lead more complicated projects, leading teams to do so. You’ll work with colleagues who share your passion for creating software. You’ll invest time developing your skills and sharing what you know with your colleagues. You’ll be responsible for:

• Making immediate contributions to projects, rapidly building trust with clients
• Working pragmatically to balance technology choices while delivering high quality work within deadlines
• Leading architecture and software design discussions
• Generating new potential solutions to challenges (technical and non-technical) in partnership with team members and clients
• Leading or initiating formal feedback conversations with teams and clients via retros
• Clearly articulating and documenting outcomes and driving forward action items
• Ensuring your team has a healthy, prioritized, estimated backlog 

• Managing high-level project roadmaps as the team lead for large engagements
• Maintaining relationships with client technical leaders
• Regular syncs with the client to provide status updates, and for identifying and evaluating risks and presenting potential solutions
• Serving as a manager or mentor to developers on your teams
• Identifying and resolving blockers to team progress
• Contributing to 8th Light by serving as a mentor to apprentices, leading or designing workshops internally or for clients, representing 8th Light in the tech community, or supporting our hiring processes

Nice to Have

We work across many areas, and encourage anyone with the experience mentioned above to apply. We have a place for you. Also, given recent client requests, we would particularly like to encourage applicants with experience in the following areas:

• infrastructure as code
• data engineering
• CI/CD pipelines
• native mobile development

 We truly hope to hear from you.

Join Us

We recognize that creating a truly diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization is an ongoing journey, and we’re excited to share our journey with you. We have a proud tradition of hiring talented colleagues with unusual career experiences. We're more interested in your experiences, results, and impact than brand names, degrees, or keywords that may appear on your resume. We appreciate your time in completing a few application questions to help us get to know you better.

8th Light is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, or Veteran status.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.