Technical Lead

Job Title: Backend Developer

Job Description: We are seeking a skilled Backend Developer to join our dynamic team. The ideal candidate will be responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining the server-side logic, databases, and APIs of our applications. Key responsibilities include collaborating with cross-functional teams to develop scalable and efficient backend systems, troubleshooting and resolving issues, and staying updated on industry trends. Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, Java, or Node.js, along with experience in database management and API development, are essential for success in this role. Strong problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and a passion for creating robust and high-performance backend solutions are highly valued.

Requirements:

Proficiency in one or more backend programming languages (e.g., Python, Java, Node.js)

Experience with database management systems (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB)

Knowledge of RESTful API design and development

Familiarity with cloud services (e.g., AWS, Azure) is a plus

Strong problem-solving and troubleshooting skills

Collaborative mindset with excellent communication skills

Ability to work in a fast-paced and dynamic environment

Role Overview 

As a Senior Backend Engineer, you will be working closely with our core team in building products from  scratch into large-scale platforms and solving business problems leveraging new and innovative  technology. More than anything, we are looking for engineers that are eager to learn and build a  meaningful company. We are a small team and encourage engineers to wear many hats 

Responsibilities  

• Design and build highly reliable and performant applications that deliver a great user experience.
• Own large technical deliverables and execute in a structured manner.
• Take the accountability of the overall health of the applications you build.
• Platformize components as libraries, utilities and promote reuse.
• Be able to conceptualize and develop prototypes quickly

Skills & Requirements

      ▪ Work Experience between 2 to 6  years in large scale applications with desire to work  in fast paced startups  

▪ Experience/Knowledge of Node.JS, Express .JS, AWS, MongoDB.

      Deep understanding of your tools: Languages, frameworks, systems.

About us:
Equal parts creative agency, engineering firm, and consultancy, Grappus has a reputation of doing things differently. We work with brands big and small, far and wide, helping them understand, prototype and deploy a broad range of custom tech. We value design and we cringe at bad UX. Each project is a clean slate, we don’t have frameworks, or any pre-made formulas. We’re not here to just grow big, make money and win awards. We’re here to crack the process of building truly innovative products from scratch. Products that make people say ‘damn’.

People at Grappus usually experience a highly accelerated career growth well beyond the narrow constraints of their ‘job description’. Here, the growth ladder is tailored to you. It operates exactly as fast as you can manage to grow. We think it's a waste when smart people are unable to make an impact. Our aim is to unleash your potential by giving you massive challenges and the freedom to solve them.

We’re in a fluid world, where we don’t know what technologies we’ll use next, or the projects we’ll work on. We’re actively searching for ways to shine a light on our blind spots, whether it is in the products we want to build, the problems we like to solve, or the company culture we try to create. That’s what makes life at Grappus so exciting. Grappus is an ongoing experiment and you are a part of it. We'll be a different company a few years from now because you are going to change it for the better. We can’t wait to see where you take us.

About the role:
We are seeking a Senior Backend Developer who has a knack for coming up with creative solutions to unique problems, planning development cycles and writing technical documentation while leading a team of developers. You should have experience with different design pattern implementation and be quick in making architectural decisions. You can get in where needed to write clean, reusable, and performant code, with creative sensibilities to push projects towards perfection. You should have good time management skills and be able to work both autonomously and collaboratively with a cross-discipline team of product managers, strategists, UX designers, art directors, and developers.

What we’d like to see:
● Ability to write elegant and readable code
● Excellent problem solving skills and love technical challenges
● Comfortable working in a team-oriented and collaborative environment
● Strong understanding of Agile and Lean software development processes and practices
● Stays plugged into emerging technologies/industry trends and applies them proactively
● Taking leads on projects as needed
● Knowledge of software best practices, like test driven development and continuous integration
● Directing the development team in the design, development, coding, testing and debugging of applications

Must have:
● BE/ BTech in Computer Science or a related field or equivalent practical experience
● 4+ years of professional backend development experience
● Experience coaching and mentoring junior developers
● Aggressive problem diagnosis and creative problem solving skills and client handling      skills
● Ability to work and thrive in a fast-paced environment, learn rapidly and master diverse web technologies and techniques
● Experience working with Python/Django or NodeJS
● Knowledge of DRF, Redis, Celery, RabbitMQ, Jenkins, MongoDB and PostgreSQL
● Implemented CI/CD in any of the projects done
● Strong understanding of the full web technology stack (i.e. HTTP, caching, headers, cookies, etc)
● Proficiency in working with API’s and third party integrations
● Demonstrated ability to learn new technologies
● Experience with multi-tenant architectures (SaaS)
● Experience with Test Driven Development
● Excellent project and time management skills

Nice to have:
● Familiarity and experience using a variety of architectural Design Patterns
● Knowledge of Kubernetes/Docker and Devops
● Personal projects or contributions to the open source community
● Strong organizational skills to juggle multiple tasks within the constraints of timelines
● Team player (those great personality types that people love to work with)
● Great communication skills

Why you’ll love it here:
(Besides working with our team with infinite charm)

● We have no fixed work timings or leave policy, you can take unlimited leaves and start your day whenever you want. (Just make sure others in your team don’t suffer)
● We don’t track these hours you put in or ask you to fill time sheets. We don’t believe in
micromanaging, if you’re struggling, ask for help. If someone else is, offer some support.
● We never mind if people make mistakes or screw up in any way, and offer full encouragement to help people learn fast by failing fast.
● We always encourage people to be completely candid, raise alarms, or log complaints
anonymously in our feedback tool, no matter how harsh.
● We are a ‘Work from Anywhere’ company, since passionate, driven people can work from
anywhere they want; their homes, or cafes, or mountains, or beaches, anywhere.
● We have a 15-day notice period. We want to build a place where people work willingly and passionately.

Syook is an established Series A funded high growth startup headquartered in Bengaluru, working in the B2B space. We are currently on the path of high growth and productivity, and great culture building (because we know the two go hand in hand)! We are looking for folks who will ask questions like why/why not, what can I do to make this better, how can I help the company and most importantly, what can the company do to help you.

Our flagship product Syook InSite allows businesses to visualize their operations, providing information that can easily translate into measurable impact on the bottom-line. InSite is an Industrial Internet-of-Things (IIoT) solution that uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons to generate highly-accurate location data of all your resources (both assets and people), at much lower costs than https://syook.com/rfid-vs-ble-vs-uwb-vs-wi-fi/">comparable technologies. The result: Quick RoI and Improved Operational Performance. It’s Industry 4.0, ready for deployment!

First and foremost, we're looking for people who are excited about what we're doing -- you don't need to know anything about IoT, but should be excited to learn. We're building in an entirely new space, so you'll be able to use creativity to help us solve problems and delight our customers.

Our product stack is MERN (React, Node + Express, MongoDB) with a few services also written in Java and Go and we use React Native on mobile.

We’re looking for someone who loves to solve problems and enjoys building algorithms that identify all possible scenarios. You must enjoy breaking down a problem statement into smaller chunks and have a knack of designing scalable systems using modular pieces.

A day in your role will involve any of the following (or a combination):

• Develop APIs for new features that will be consumed by the frontend (web and mobile)
• Develop APIs for integrations into 3rd party ERP & HRMS systems like SAP, etc
• Build new services or add functionality in existing systems & services like IoT Data Parsers and Ingestors, etc
• Build modular sub-systems that can be reused to develop a scalable system
• Optimize application backend for speed and scalability
• Ship out bug free code using TDD
• Work towards more stability & scalability of the backend
• Understand the requirements and give adequate time estimates for the features
• Coordinate with QA for every feature and make sure releases are bug free

This list is not exhaustive at all, and you'll have a lot of autonomy over your work.

This is a full time position based out of Bengaluru with the option of working remotely few days of the week. During the interview, you'll be able to share what you're most interested in.

1. We're working to solve a massive global problem and help organizations be more competitive. We love solving problems using technology and are bridging a massive gap in the operations excellence domain.
2. We're small, so you'll be able to contribute efficiently and without bureaucracy. You'll quickly have responsibility over big areas of our product.
3. Our team has a wide range of experiences (Oilfield, Telecom, Psychology PhD, etc.) and are excited to learn from you, too.
4. You'll be able to work independently and set your own schedule. We don't micromanage and will help you do great work. We trust our people and believe that each person here puts their best foot forward.
5. We'll mould your role to shape a career you're excited about. We care a ton about your satisfaction and job happiness, and will help prep you for whatever you're looking for in the future.
6. We work hard and also highly value balanced work/life. We care about family and your own personal development, and don't expect for you to be always engaged with work.

1. We're small (35+ people in the company now), so if you like more established companies, it's not (yet) the right time. You'll help build our company's culture.
2. Since we're an early stage startup, projects and priorities may shift.
3. Our customers love us, and there's a lot we can improve. It's a great place to be, but it means there's some jank. (Nothing too scary! 😃)
4. We can't (yet) provide constant close mentorship for junior developers. As we grow, we'll get a lot better at this.
5. Since you'll have a lot of responsibility and creativity over projects, they may not be defined perfectly initially. You'll be expected to bring your own experience and perspective to help us do the right things, and raise flags if you think we should do things differently.

None of these are requirements, but do describe the kinds of people that we think would be most effective at Syook right now.

1. Love thinking broadly about problems and thinking creatively about how to solve them efficiently.
2. Happy to try things out to validate new features, and move on if they no longer solve a problem.
3. Excited for a front-row seat into a fast growing, early stage company. Things will change a lot!
4. Enjoy thinking through trade-offs, with both mindfulness of short-term needs and our long-term direction.
5. Happy writing documentation so that others can ramp up super easily and you're never a single-source-of-failure. We're a bit too small to have silos.
6. You are driven and care about doing a good job and improving your craft.
7. You have a growth mindset, can keep up with the latest technology changes and trends and suggest enhancements based on these 
8. Most importantly, you’re the kind of person who is friendly, approachable, ready to help others and personally driven to put your best foot forward.

Technically these are some of the things we would like for you to have to be able to contribute effectively in this kind of a position:

1. You are fluent working with server-side languages and frameworks, in particular NodeJS, but any other language proficiency is also fine e.g. Go, Python, Java, as long as you can pick up a new language and contribute
2. You are fluent in using SQL Database, preferably Postgres and at least one NOSQL Database, preferably MongoDB, but feel free to surprise us!
3. You can write non-trivial programs in Javascript
4. You can write clean, modular code in either Object-Oriented style or Functional style
5. You are comfortable with Test Driven Development
6. You are fluent in using the tools of the trade: Testing, Editors, Git, Command line, Slack

Apart from the above it would be a plus if you also have

• Knowledge of Docker
• Knowledge of Kafka, RabbitMQ or other pub / sub and queue management systems
• Open source contributions 

Since we're an early-stage startup, we constantly have to ask "what gets the most value, cheaply, to validate our assumptions?" We build some things to last a long time, and others as prototypes.

We use linting, e2e testing, CI CD, observability logging, and production probers. We've documented both our web and mobile apps so that you should be able to get started easily—and if you need help, we'll absolutely improve our docs—and contribute your first day.

We recognize the value of maintainability and keeping our developer experience nimble. Our sprints are for 2 weeks and we push releases to production as per this schedule.

You'll help push us to be our best, and we're excited for recommendations and insights you have as you join. You'll be an owner and contribute towards how we work.

We want you at your best, and won't be giving you gotcha-style algorithms questions. We want to get to know you, hear about what you're interested in, and learn about what you hope to do in the future.

You'll first talk to Sarlaksha or someone from the People Services team (over phone or video) and won't need to prepare anything in advance. The goal of this conversation is to get to know you and mutually explore if we might be a good fit for each other. You'll learn more about Syook and have a chance to ask any questions about our company, team culture, and product.

We'll also talk in depth about your technical experience. We'll talk about frameworks you've used, how you make technical decisions, types of problems you like to solve, etc. You won't need to prepare anything in advance.

This is primarily used to get a better feel for your experience, how you work, and where you may fit in. It'll be used to design the rest of the interview process.

Through this and the next steps, you'll meet more people in the company so we can get to know each other.

Everyone has different strengths, and we want you to do your best. Our goal is for you to clearly demonstrate your technical aptitude. We're open to accommodating what would work best for you.

We can choose mutually between several different options:

1. A live pair coding session where we'll work through some problems.
2. Working through similar problems independently as a take home challenge.
3. Presenting any previous work you've done (example: open source, side project, or even another interview you did).

If you clear the technical challenge then we will have a few rounds of technical discussions where we interact with you to understand in depth about your craft. These discussions will be with one of the engineers at Syook whom you will end up working with and the final discussion will be with our CTO (Aman Agarwal). We will try and see how you can augment our engineering culture and we’ll discuss the bigger picture also. You will also get to understand what your role is all about and how you can grow with us. Feel free to ask for feedback and any other questions you may have about the company and we will be happy to share the same.

If you reach this stage, it automatically means that we’re convinced of your technical skills. However, that’s never enough for us. We want to ensure that you will feel comfortable working with us and that we can give you an environment where you can be your productive best. We will use this discussion to understand what you bring to the table apart from your technical skills in terms of initiatives, personality, and a certain entrepreneurial mindset.

We will talk to a few people you've worked with before to learn more about how we can best work with you. We expect to hear great things, so this is primarily so we can work with you as effectively as possible.