dscout

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Principal Software Engineer (multiple openings)

Sorry, this job was removed at 11:17 a.m. (CST) on Thursday, July 25, 2019

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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, and driven Software Engineers to build great software with us. You've worked in product development as an engineer for 10+ years, creating and launching new technologies and products across the full stack. You love to write code, create maintainable and resilient designs, and have a holistic view of cloud-based, SaaS-focused architectures from DevOps, to backend, to frontend. You are hands-on, self-directed, and feel at home in a fast-paced agile environment and have a history of driving process improvement within your team and across the organization. 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 joining a company where you can make an impact, you like the challenge of building an incredible product, and you thrive in mentoring other engineers in order to 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
Drive continuous improvement on your team, across the department, and help other engineers to grow
Be a polyglot engineer ready and willing to work across the stack
Set the long-term direction for platform scalability, security, and maintainability
Work across the stack to deliver product and platform features and improvements
Be responsible for the technical quality of the platform
Work closely with the design team to implement user-friendly and modern products
Apply DevOps mindset to improve the Continuous Delivery pipeline and other operational aspects of our SaaS platform

what you need to have

10+ years experience as a software engineer
Desire and a proven track record of leading and mentoring engineers
Strong experience leading agile and/or lean software development process improvements
Expertise with cloud-based SaaS architectures and evolutionary design
Ability to work across the full stack with expertise in either front or backend development and a strong working knowledge of the other side
At home with Agile, DevOps, and CD with experience in leading continuous improvement of the software development process
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.

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Ayumi Perez

Research Advisor, CXR

STRENGTH IN DEI

A culture that cultivates evolution and empathy

At dscout, Ayumi Perez acts as an advocate in several capacities. As a research advisor, Perez advocates for clients by gathering feedback on improving the platform. They also keep accessibility and inclusion at the forefront while collaborating with designers and engineers. Internally, Perez’s commitment to advancing DEI is at the heart of their work as chair of dscout’s inclusion committee. “Diversity, equity, and inclusion are important to me because, as an empathetic, BIPOC and queer dscouter, DEI is an integral part of who I am, what I learn from and what I work on daily,” she said, while acknowledging that DEI work is never truly done.

Being able to be a part of the inclusion committee has created a space for me to advocate for the prioritization of actionable change, not just talk about it.

Spurthi Reddy

Research Advisor, CXR

EMPLOYEE-DRIVEN CONVERSATIONS

Continuous learning comes with the territory

Driving learning initiatives and raising awareness is common practice for dscout’s team members. In fact, it’s something that resonates, considering the company facilitates research conducted across a variety of industries. This year, its learning communities have a slate of initiatives and opportunities focused on continuous education and spanning a range of topics like AI, research best practices, creative thinking, and mind, body and well-being. Spurthi Reddy is involved in facilitating the far-ranging conversations that impact those — both internally and externally — across industries, and finding community in the process.

We all lean on each other for support when we need to and it’s a collaborative process. We also strive to build our own team relationships by having team-bonding events.

Debbie Park

Product Designer, Product

LEARNING COMMUNITIES

Listen and learn to foster growth

‘Act curiously’ is one of dscout’s team values. In the company’s learning communities, diversity of thought is something to celebrate, and different perspectives are sought out. This year, the company is ushering in a new form of community via employee resource groups. “I am especially excited about this as it offers an opportunity for folks with common identities or interests in a workplace to come together in a safe space,” said Debbie Park. As team members keep up with what’s impacting their fellow dscouters and clients, these ERGs will ensure they can bring their authentic selves to work.

The learnings of many communities have made a direct impact at dscout; from introducing internal policies to improving product features.

What are dscout Perks + Benefits

Culture

Volunteer in local community

Our “dscout gives back” program is an opportunity to volunteer in our community. Previously, we’ve worked with organizations like the Chicago Parks Foundation, Cara Collective, and the GCFD.

Partners with nonprofits

dscout will match up to $200/year on contributions you make to registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations.

Open door policy

OKR operational model

Team based strategic planning

Pair programming

Open office floor plan

Employee-led culture committees

In-person revenue kickoff

Employee awards

Flexible work schedule

dscout offers flexibility to accommodate for different schedules and responsibilities, including flexibility for parental care, appointments, etc.

Remote work program

dscout is a remote-first company with a work from almost anywhere policy. Team members have the flexibility to decide your best way of working no matter where you live, across (most of) the country.

Diversity

Documented equal pay policy

Dedicated diversity and inclusion staff

Mandated unconscious bias training

Diversity manifesto

Mean gender pay gap below 10%

Hiring practices that promote diversity

Health Insurance & Wellness Benefits

Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

dscout’s FSA helps employees cover out of pocket medical expenses with pretax contributions up to $2,850 annually.

Disability insurance

dscout’s benefits program offers short-term disability options up to 13 weeks providing partial salary, and long-term disability options up to 24 months.

Dental insurance

dscout’s prides itself in offering employees the best insurance at the lowest cost. Our medical, dental, and vision programs cover a significant majority of premium costs.

Vision insurance

dscout’s prides itself in offering employees the best insurance at the lowest cost. Our medical, dental, and vision programs cover a significant majority of premium costs.

Health insurance

dscout’s prides itself in offering employees the best insurance at the lowest cost via BCBS. Our medical, dental, and vision programs cover a significant majority of premium costs.

Life insurance

Pet insurance

dscout offers pet insurance via Figo, through which employees receive a 5% discount and reimbursement for pets unexpected medical costs.

Wellness programs

Mental health benefits

dscout it is proud to offer support through our Employee Assistance Program through BCBS, and through the “Headspace for Work” app, which offers crisis help and mindfulness tools.

Transgender health care benefits

Financial & Retirement

401(K)

dscout provides 401(k) pre-tax and post tax (Roth) retirement savings plans, offering a broad selection of investment options.

401(K) matching

dscout’s retirement plan matches 100% of your contributions up to 4%.

Company equity

All dscout employees are eligible to become equity holders, as a part of your total compensation package.

Performance bonus

dscout offers company-based performance bonuses to employees every year, as a part of your total compensation packages.

Charitable contribution matching

As a dscout employee, you are entitled to up to a $200 match each year on contributions you make to registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations.

Child Care & Parental Leave Benefits

Generous parental leave

dscout offers up to 12 weeks of fully paid paid parental leave for new parents, regardless of the path to parenthood. This includes FSA dependent-care with pretax contributions up to $5,000 annually.

Family medical leave

All paid time off under dscout’s Parental Leave policy, short-term disability, and state benefits will run concurrently with the FMLA, as applicable.

Adoption Assistance

dscout offers up to 12 weeks of fully paid paid parental leave for new parents, regardless of the path to parenthood.

Restricted work hours

While we have employees working across multiple different states and timezones, our headquarters are based in Chicago. This means our core working hours are loosely based on central time.

Company sponsored family events

The dscout team works to offer company sponsored events for families, including a recent play date for all parents, with a guest appearance from a family magician.

Vacation & Time Off Benefits

Unlimited vacation policy

Generous PTO

We believe in promoting work/life balance and do not want to restrict your time off. We have implemented a flexible PTO policy and encourage dscouters take off at least 4 weeks during the year

Paid volunteer time

Our “dscout gives back” program is an opportunity to volunteer in our community. Previously, we’ve worked with organizations like the Chicago Parks Foundation, Cara Collective, and the GCFD.

Paid holidays

Paid sick days

Our flexible PTO policy includes sick days, so our teammates are able to take this time off when needed.

Office Perks

Commuter benefits

dscout offers pre-tax commuter benefits for all employees for transit and parking.

Company-sponsored outings

dscout provides quarterly team outings as well as annual company-wide holiday parties and in-person meetup events.

Free snacks and drinks

dscout has a fully stocked kitchen for those wanting to use the office space. This includes a variety of snack options, coffee and tea, and of course unlimited LaCroix.

Some meals provided

Company-sponsored happy hours

Onsite office parking

Recreational clubs

dscout has sponsored a variety of sports leagues year-round, including kickball, softball, broomball, etc.

Home-office stipend for remote employees

dscout offers an annual stipend of $200 for home office supplies, to make your remote office environments as comfortable as possible.

Meditation space

Mother's room

Onsite gym

Professional Development Benefits

Job training & conferences

Lunch and learns

Promote from within

Continuing education stipend

dscout offers up to $2,000 (based on your role) per calendar year to use for work-related professional development purposes.

Continuing education available during work hours

Our teams have created a series of learning committees that focus on topics like sustainability, work well being, working parent perspectives, etc. as an opportunity to further curiosity.

Online course subscriptions available

Customized development tracks

View full list of perks + benefits

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